County, city budget cuts loom
Sacramento County is cutting its sheriff patrols, closing mental health clinics, closing parks, and closing emergency health care clinics. There has been an almost 30% decline in sales tax revenues in the past two years. Property tax funds are a large share of county budgets, and plummeting real estate values have meant even less income for counties to pay their bills . The on going state budget-crisis state cuts funding for counties yet the state still requires them to provide costly programs. The reality is that almost all of California's counties are facing significant budget shortfalls resulting in cuts in programs, services and staffing.
Sacramento City is closing fire stations on a part time basis, closing senior centers, and reducing police protection. Both the county and the city are depending upon major concessions from labor unions to respond to declining revenues.
In the last two years California’s k-12 schools have received over a $16 billion cut back in state funding. California presently ranks 44th of the states in per pupil spending and last among the states in class size. This year in the budget the Governor proposes to reduce k-12 spending by another $2.4 Billion.
