Responding to impact of both the coronavirus itself and the
government actions taken to lessen the resulting economic
effects, CSAC today sent the Governor
a letter outlining a variety of urgent county fiscal
stability and budget needs, including backfilling deferred sales
taxes, issuing an executive order on property taxes, and
assisting any counties with critical cash flow needs.
The letter, which follows a discussion on the topic at last
week’s CSAC’s Executive Committee meeting, points out that
counties are the level of government most directly helping
Californians affected by the coronavirus. At the same time,
counties face eroding revenues due to both the direct impacts of
the economic downturn and actions taken by the state to assist
California residents and businesses.
CSAC is urging the Governor and Legislature to:
Backfill revenues delayed due to the sales tax layaway
program, especially for 1991 and 2011 realignment.
Allow counties to opt out of the Teeter Plan and specify that
a property owner’s COVID-related economic hardship can be
factored into a decision to cancel tax delinquencies.
Provide cash flow assistance, in part by immediately
distributing the local share of remaining CARES Act funds to
counties with populations under 500,000.
Partner with counties to provide stability for programs
funded by 1991 realignment, 2011 realignment, and Proposition
172.
The list of needs is not exhaustive, but they represent the most
critical and urgent needs at this moment. CSAC urges county
supervisors and other officials to emphasize these points to
their legislative delegations and the Governor’s office.
