Gov. Gavin Newsom's revised May budget proposes big money for cities’ big priorities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kayla Woods
Cell: (530) 844-1744, kwoods@calcities.org

Sacramento – Following the release of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised May budget proposal, League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman issued the below statement:  

“We applaud the Governor’s proposed transformative investments in our families, schools, small businesses, and communities in the California Comeback Plan.

“There is more funding available to local governments in this proposed State Budget than ever before and we are pleased to see a clear commitment from the Governor to invest in our shared priorities – housing California’s homeless, accelerating the availability of affordable housing, expanding broadband services, and strengthening our transportation systems, drought resilience, and emergency preparedness.

“As this proposal moves forward, Cal Cities will be working closely with the Legislature and the Governor to ensure the process for allocating and distributing this funding is transparent and fair to all of our communities.   

“While the State sits with a $100 billion dollar windfall, the contrast between the fiscal realities of the State and California’s 482 cities could not be more disparate. The healthy stock market has contributed to an historic surplus for the State, however cities have lost more than $5 billion in revenue since the start of the pandemic and expended over $5 billion in unanticipated expenditures protecting their residents. The $8 billion in federal assistance in the American Rescue Plan on its way to California cities, will be critical to recovery, but local fiscal gaps remain.

“The State’s massive surplus presents a historic opportunity to invest directly in the hearts of our communities – our local governments – to help stabilize operations, which are essential to preserving local jobs and jumpstarting local economic recovery. We were disappointed that the Governor did not propose any direct funding for our cities to address these local budget gaps.

“We call on the Governor and the Legislature in the coming weeks to prioritize direct and flexible aid to cities in the final budget, and not miss the opportunity that this windfall presents, to ensure that all cities can not only survive, but thrive in recovery.”