Local officials try to keep up with the confusion that now unfolds in Sacramento. At the City of Bishop offices, Administrator Rick Pucci said that the threat to Bishop’s gas tax revenue seems to have been relieved.state_capitol_1-12-09

Bishop receives around $100,000 in gas tax, and Pucci said that research by the League of California Cities shows a list of small cities exempt from the State raid on gas tax revenue. Bishop is on the list and so is Mammoth Lakes. Mammoth stands to preserve $1.4 million in gas tax revenue.

Large cities in California are not so lucky. Los Angeles has threatened to sue the State over its loss of hundreds of millions in gas tax dollars.

Administrator Pucci added that Bishop Police Chief Kathleen Sheehan found out that COPS grant money is intact. That’s another $100,000 that Bishop will keep.

Still up in the air – if the state will take property tax dollars away from counties and cities. Pucci said his best understanding is that the State will “borrow”, as they put it, 8% of property tax dollars and supposedly pay it back in three years. That would be another $100,000 from the City of Bishop.

Pucci said the City went into the new fiscal year 20% down due to sales tax and property tax drops. He feels additional loss of funds will not lead to lay-offs.

Pucci called the State budget situation “really frustrating.” He feels that the State plans amount to a band aid approach. “They deferred problems for another year. They’ll be back next year to try to take local dollars.”

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