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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RES 95-095f T' RESOLUTION NO. 95-95 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, SUPPORTING THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES' RESOLUTION ON SALES TAX REDISTRIBUTION TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT RECEIVED BY CITIES TO 2%. WHEREAS, the state receives five times as much sales tax revenue as cities throughout California; and WHEREAS, the sales tax revenue retained by the state from individual cities often exceeds the general fund budgets of those cities where the sales tax revenue originates; and WHEREAS, cities provide services that directly benefit the quality of life in hundreds of communities throughout California; and WHEREAS, the public benefits of cities' services include the maintenance of property values, reduced risk to health and safety caused by crime, fires, medical emergencies, poor sanitation, and poor building and road construction; and WHEREAS, cities' services provide important cultural and economic benefits through parks and recreation programs, library and senior programs, removal of blight from inner cities and older neighborhoods, and through business attraction efforts that provide jobs; and WHEREAS, the state has acted to reduce the amount of revenue received by cities in recent years forcing many cities throughout California to augment their revenues by imposing local assessments, fees, or taxes -- or to make cuts in essential services; and WHEREAS, because cities receive only a small fraction of the money collected through voter -approved Proposition 172 (Public Safety Augmentation Fund), public safety services like police and fire services face drastic financial reductions in many cities throughout California in light of state takeaways and state -imposed mandates; and WHEREAS, on August 3, 1995, the Los Angeles County Division of the League of California Cities adopted a resolution which seeks legislative action that would result in a more equitable distribution of sales tax revenue by shifting 1% sales tax revenue from the state to cities; and RESOLUTION NO. 95-95 WHEREAS, the League's resolution will help cities provide essential local services. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, as follows: 1. That the above recitations are true and correct and constitute the findings of the City Council in this case. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council, held on this 28th, day of September , 1995, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: BENSON, KELLY, SNYDER, SPIEGEL, CRITES NOES : NONE ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE .ATTEST: SHEILA R. GILLIGANJ City Clerk City of Palm De t, California lr L. BUFORD A: CRITES, M y `r Resolution No. 95-95 EXHIBIT A ADOPTED RESOLUTION OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DIVISION OF THE LEAGUE Off CALIFORNIA CITIES --ADOPTED AUGUST 3, 1995-- RESOLUTION TO REDISTRIBUTE SALES TAXES WHEREAS, cities throughout California receive 1% of the sales taxes paid on each dollar within their jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, the State receives 5% of the a sales taxes paid on each dollar in each city throughout California; and WHEREAS, the State has reduced the amount of funding to cities in recent years; and WHEREAS, costs of operating cities have increased in recent years due to a variety of factors, including increases in crime and increases in the number of mandates cities must comply with; and WHEREAS, voters throughout the State are weary of paying additional taxes, fees, and assessments for what they view as diminishing local services; and WHEREAS, the above circumstances have led to drastic cuts in the areas of Police, Fire, Library, Parks and Recreation, and Street Maintenance services by many cities throughout California; and WHEREAS, the effects of such cuts, and continued erosion of services in these areas will result in increased crime, reduced property values, reduced sales tax revenues, and increased costs to manage cities; and WHEREAS, the voters throughout California seem to consider such local government services a higher priority than many services provided by the State that are funded with sales tax revenue; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the General Assembly of the League of California Cities assembled in Annual Conference in San Francisco, October 24, 1995, that the League will sponsor legislation or sponsor a ballot initiative effort that will redistribute sales taxes received by the State such that the State's share is 4% and the cities' share is 2% of the sales taxes paid per dollar; and, be it further RESOLVED, that the amount of sales tax revenue to be redistributed shall be allocated to cities using the same method as is currently being used to distribute the existing 1% share per dollar cities receive.