The California Local Government Finance Almanac

Revenue Limits: Proposition 13 (1978), Proposition 218 (1996) and Proposition 26 (2010)

Proposition 1A Protection of Local Government Revenues

California Local Government Governance and Reorganization

Fiscal Condition of Municipalities

Diagnosing and Managing Financial Health

Managing Fiscal Stress and Municipal Bankruptcy

• 
  State-Local Fiscal Conflicts in California: From Proposition 13 to
  Proposition 1A. Elisa Barbour, Public Policy Institute of
  California. December 2007. An excellent overview.
• The State-City Fiscal Relationship
  Since Proposition 13: Is AB8 Still Alive? by Michael
  Coleman. (PDF)
• 
  Major Milestones: Over Four Decades of the State-Local Fiscal
  Relationship. Legislative Analyst’s Office with state’s persepective, Updated 2012 (PDF)
• 
  California City – State Gives and Takes Since Proposition 13 (1978).
  An accounting of state general revenue gives and takes to/from
  cities since 1978 in table and chart form. (PDF)
• Overview of State Assistance to Local Governments Since Proposition 13 Assembly Local Government Committee, California State
  Legislature 1983. A detailed description of legislative changes to state assitance and property tax allocations in the five years following Propositon 13.
• Comparing State and Local
  Government Finances. Charts comparing revenues, taxes and
  spending of the state, cities and counties over the last thirty+
  years. June’06 (PDF 34kb)
• Comparing State and Local Government
  Employment. Charts comparing employment the state, cities,
  counties and schools over the last fifteen+ years. June’06 (PDF
  34kb)
• Cal Facts: California’s Economy and Budget in Perspective – State
  and Local Finances. Legislative Analyst’s Office,
  January 2013 (PDF)
• 
  Perspectives on Local and State Finance and Infrastructure in
  California: Surveys of City Officials and Residents. Mark
  Baldassare, Christopher Hoene, and Dean Bonner. Public Policy
  Institute of California.
• 
  Perspectives on State and Local Finance: Surveys of City Officials
  in California and the U.S. Mark Baldassare and Christopher Hoene.
  Public Policy Institute of California. December 2005
• 
  Perspectives on State and Local Finance in California: Surveys of
  City Officials and Residents. Mark Baldassare and Christopher
  Hoene. Public Policy Institute of California. October 2005
• The Origin & Devolution of
  Local Revenue Authority. Michael Coleman and Michael
  G. Colantuono. June 2003 Western City
• Toward Fiscal Authority and
  Stability: Power and Risk in California City Revenues. Michael Coleman and Michael
  G. Colantuono. August 2003 Western City

• 
  The State-Local Fiscal Relationship in California: A Changing
  Balance of Power . Fred Silva and Elisa Barbour, Public
  Policy Institute of California 1999.

• 
  Waiting for the State to Get its House in Order: The Origin of
  Cities’ Fiscal Relationship With the State . Betsy Strauss and
  Michael Coleman, Sept 1998 Western City (PDF 206k)

Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF): Property Tax Shifts

State-Local Mandates in California

Redevelopment Dissolution under ABx1_26 (2011)

Frozen property tax allocations may not be the most efficient or preferred allocation now. Inefficiencies persist due to the fragmentation of policy and finance among too many local authorities and the decline of general purpose
government policy making authority.

The disconnect between service costs and revenues in urban development impairs the provision of city services and deters balanced planning.

There have been more than a dozen
task forces, commissions, studies and proposals on local government
finance reform over the last decade alone. Here are some articles on the
problem, ideas, and analyses of recent proposals. It is important to note that, in 2004,
two important changes occurred in the state-local fiscal relationship:
the passage of Proposition 1A of 2004, and the swap of $4 billion of
state Vehicle License Fee backfill payments to cities and counties for
greater shares of local property tax revenues. These major changes
make obsolete some of the recommendations in pre-2004 reports.

Background and Overview

Local Government Fiscal Reform – Commissions, Studies and Articles

Legislative Proposals

Selected Presentations by Michael Coleman on California Local Government Finance Reform

The largest source of revenue for city
and county government, the complex machinations of California property
tax assessment, collection and allocation are understood by few.

Overviews and Statistics

Allocation of Tax Revenues

Property Tax in Lieu of
VLF

Property Tax Administration

The second largest source of
general purpose revenue for cities statewide and the largest for some
California cities, the sales and use tax faces a tenuous future.
The local component of the sales and use tax is distributed to cities
and counties primarily on point-of-sale.

Overviews and Explanations

Data and Statistics

Local Transactions and Use Taxes: “Add On” Sales Taxes

The Sales Tax Triple Flip

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Rule on Use of Revenues

Sales Tax Issues: Interagency Competition, Allocation, Concentration, Local Kickbacks

Sales Tax Issues:
Remote & Internet Sales, Simplification and Conformity (Also see above section)

Sales Tax Issues:
Base Broadening, Exemptions

• Utility User Tax Facts. Key facts
  about Utility User Taxes in California. revised January ’17 (PDF)
• Utility User Tax by city through
  FY16-17. Current rates. Historic revenues, revenues per
  capita, revenues as % of general revenues, summary statistics. November’19 (Excel)

Local Taxes – Other than Property Tax, Sales Tax, Utility User Tax
• Admissions Tax Revenues.
  Historic revenues, summary statistics. Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)
• Business License Tax by city.
  Historic revenues, summary statistics. Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)
• Construction Development Tax Revenues by city. Historic revenues, summary
  statistics.Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)
• Parking Tax Revenues by city.
  Historic revenues, summary statistics. Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)
• Property Transfer Tax / Documentary Transfer Tax Revenues. Historic revenues, summary statistics. Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)
• Transient Occupancy Tax by city.
  Current rates, revenues, per capita, and % of general revenues and summary statistics. Through FY16-17.
  November’19 (Excel)

Analyses of Local Revenue Measures in California

Summary Reports and
Analyses of Elections – California Local Ballot Measures

Resources for Local Ballot
Measure Efforts

Established in 1935 as a
uniform statewide tax, the VLF is a tax on the ownership of a registered
vehicle in place of taxing vehicles as personal property. By law,
all revenues from the VLF fund city and county services, but the state
legislature controls the tax rate and the allocation among local
governments. In 2004, the Legislature permanently reduced the VLF
tax rate and eliminated state general fund backfill to cities and
counties. Instead, cities and counties now receive additional
transfers of property tax revenues in lieu of VLF.

Property Tax in Lieu of VLF, also called Vehicle License Fee Adjustment Amount (VLFAA) is Property Tax, not VLF. It should be budgeted, accounted for, and reported as property tax, not VLF and not intergovernmental.
To avoid confusion, it should be called “Property Tax in Lieu of VLF” and not “VLF.”

VLF for Incorporations and
Annexations

Property Tax in Lieu of VLF

✔
Regarding infrastructure bond funds, see “2006
Infrastructure Bonds: Proposition 1B, 1C, 84” under California State
Budget.
✔
Regarding the history and issues surrounding state funding of California
municipalities, see “The State-Local Fiscal
Relationship.”
✔
Regarding transportation funds (Prop 42 gas tax, highway users tax,
etc., see “Transportation Funding.”

State grants and local assistance

Overviews and Issue Briefs

Transportation Funding Sources

• Are California Cities Required to Have Budgets? No. But …
  April ’13
• Appropriations Limits by city.
  Historic Gann Limits and appropriations subject to limit. Through
  FY16-17. Nov’19 (Excel)
• City Expenditures by Category. Total expenditures, salary & benefits, contracts, materials &
  supplies. Percent of total expenditure comparisons and summary
  statistics. Through FY16-17. Nov’19 (Excel)
• City Service Responsibilities.
  California Cities have differing funding responsibilities and
  methods of providing services. Per Capita spending and
  reported service method by city. Aug’10
  (Excel)
• ——–
• Fire and Emergency Services Spending by City. Historic
  operating, total and net spending for fire and emergencey medical services by cities. Per
  capita and percent of general revenue comparisons and summary
  statistics. Through FY16-17. Nov’19 (Excel)
• Fire Staffing by City.
  Historic paid and volunteer firefighters. Total budgeted staffing and
  per capita by city. Through FY16-17. Nov’19 (Excel)
• Special Sales (Transactions and Use) Tax Rates. Voter approved sales tax increases (two-thirds approval required) for specific purposes, including fire.
• ——–
• Police Spending by City. Historic
  operating, total and net spending for police services by cities. Per
  capita and percent of general revenue comparisons and summary
  statistics. Through FY17-18. June’20 (Excel)
• Police Staffing by City.
  Historic budgeted police officers, total police staffing, volunteers
  and per capita officers by city. Through FY17-18. California State Controller. June’20 (Excel)
• Funded police sworn and non-sworn, jail and non-jail, by local agency 1991-2018. California Department of Justice. June’20 (Excel)
• Police – Who Provides Services? All California cities are financially responsible for law enforcement services but some provide police services with city employees, some via contract with the county sheriff or another public agency.
• Crime in California. California Deparment of Justice. Statewide Crime and related statistics including statewide totals (all agencies) of criminal justice personnel by category.
• Special Sales (Transactions and Use) Tax Rates. Voter approved sales tax increases (two-thirds approval required) for specific purposes, including police.
• ——–
• Police, Fire and EMS Spending by City –
  per capita and as a
  percentage of general revenue. Historic, city-by-city
  statistics. Note that not all cities are responsible for
  providing and funding fire services. Through FY16-17. Nov’19 (Excel)
• ——–
• Library Spending by City. Historic
  operating, total and net spending for library services and programs by
  cities. Per capita and percent of general revenue comparisons and
  summary statistics. Through FY17-18. June’20 (Excel)
• Parks & Recreation Spending by City.
  Historic operating, total and net spending for parks and recreation
  services and programs by cities. Per capita and percent of general
  revenue comparisons and summary statistics. Through FY17-18. June’20 (Excel))
• Streets Spending by City.
  Historic operating, total and net spending for streets, roads, storm drains, street lighting and street landscaping
  services and programs by cities. Per capita and percent of general
  revenue comparisons and summary statistics. Through FY17-18. June’20 (Excel))
• Special Sales (Transactions and Use) Tax Rates. Voter approved sales tax increases (two-thirds approval required) for specific purposes.
• ——–
• Comparing State and Local
  Government Finances. Charts comparing revenues, taxes and
  spending of the state, cities and counties over the last thirty+
  years. June’06 (PDF 34kb)
• Comparing State and Local Government
  Employment. Charts comparing employment the state, cities,
  counties and schools over the last fifteen+ years. June’06
  (PDF 34kb)

• 
  California Debt Issuance Primer and Overview.
  A 40 page summary of the comprehensive
  California Debt Issuance Primer
  including on-line links. California Debt and Investment
  Advisory Commission, Office of the State Treasurer. Oct 2005. (PDF).
• California Debt Issuance Primer.
  Extensive, comprehensive guidebook on municipal debt financing in
  California. On-line version is regularly updated. California Debt
  and Investment Advisory Commission, Office of the State Treasurer.
  March 2006. 660 pages (PDF).
• 
  An Overview of (California) Local Government Bond Issuance Trends
  (1985-2005) California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission,
  Office of the State Treasurer. 2008. (PDF).
• 
  Guidelines for Mello-Roos Financing. California Debt and
  Investment Advisory Commission, Office of the State Treasurer. 1991.
  (PDF).
• 
  Guidelines for Leases and Certificates of Participation.
  California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, Office of the
  State Treasurer. 1993. (PDF).
• 
  Looking Beyond the Horizon: California Debt Affordability Reports.
  California State Treasurer.
• 
  California Debt Issuance Database. California Debt and
  Investment Advisory Commission, Office of the State Treasurer.
• The California Infrastructure
  and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank). Located within the
  California Business, Housing and Transportation Agency, I-Bank
  finances public infrastructure and private investments that promote
  economic growth, revitalize communities and enhance the quality of
  life throughout California.
• The California
  Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC). CDIAC
  provides information, education and technical assistance on public
  debt, investments, and economic development financing tools to local
  public agencies and other public finance professionals.
• California Statewide
  Communities Development Authority (CSCDA). CSCDA is a
  joint powers authority sponsored by the California State Association
  of Counties and the League of California Cities to provide local
  governments and private entities access to low-cost, tax-exempt
  financing for projects of public benefit.
• Pension Obligation Bonds
• Government Finance Officers Association Advisory: Pension Obligation Bonds. “GFOA recommends that state and local governments do not issue POBs….”
• Pension Obligation Bonds: Risky Gimmick or Smart Investment? by Eric Schulzke. Governing Magazine. January 2013.
• An Introduction to Pension Obligation Bonds and Other Post-Employment Benefits. Third Edition. Roger Davis. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
• Pension Obligation Bonds: Are States and Localities Behaving Themselves or Do the Feds Need to Get Involved? by
  Allan Beckmann. Spring 2010. A paper submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Administration.
• California agencies gamble on pension bonds to cover debts and lose by Jennifer Gollan. October 2013. Center for
  Investigative Reporting.

Regarding impacts of the state budget on municipalities see “Cities
and the California State Budget.”

Infrastructure Bonds

Regarding the history and issues surrounding state funding of California
municipalities, see “The State-Local Fiscal
Relationship.”

Data: Socio-Economic
The Data Source Handbook A list of state, federal and private data providers in subject areas related to the
people of California. California Department of Finance.
California
Department of Finance – Demographic estimates and projections
California
Department of Finance – Economic estimates and projections

California Department of Finance – Price and Population Data for the Calculation of Appropriation Limits.
Go to bottom of the page.
California Department of Finance – Reports.
California Department of Finance – Monthly Economic and Revenue Updates
California Employment
Development Department Labor Market Information.

California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) California Consumer Price Index (CPI)

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Western Region, CPI Summaries

U.S.
Census Guide: How to Get the Most Out of Census.gov from backgroundchecks.org
U.S.
Census Bureau Government Statistics Census of Governments, Government Finance and Employment
Classification Manual, Governments Integrated Directory public
employment & payroll, federal state and local government finance, public
employee retirement systems, state and local government tax collections,
federal expenditures, Federal Audit Clearinghouse, criminal justice
statistics, elementary-secondary education statistics, library
statistics.
U.S.
Census Bureau – Local Government Employment Data. Statewide summary.
U.S.
Census Bureau – Employment of Major Local Governments
U.S.
Census Bureau – California
(or other state) Quick Facts. State and county demographic statistics and more.

U.S.
Census Bureau – California QuickFacts. Various summary facts and links to datasets on California.
American Community
Survey US Census Bureau community level data. Updated estimates of social and economic characteristics for California, counties, incorporated cities and Census Designated Places. U.S.
Census Bureau
. Selected data from the American Community Survey from the California Department of Finance.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development
“State of the Cities Data System” Data for individual
metropolitan areas, central cities, and suburbs. Detailed demographic
and economic characteristics of the population; unemployment rates;
information on jobs, business establishments, and average pay in the
1990s; and FBI crime data.

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Research and Statistics
State
Controller’s Monthly Analysis of State General Fund Cash Flow and
Economic Snapshot.

California Department
of Transportation Division of Research, Innovation and System Information. A variety of California streets and highways statistics.
National Association for
Business Economics.
DataQuick Real Estate News. Home
sales, pricing, and mortgage charts and statistics.
Financial Forecast Center.
An assortment of US economic data and forecasts.
City-Data.com.
Profiles of US cities and towns with graphs and data drawn from a wide
variety of sources.
California Online
Directory. State employee phone / address directory

Data: Government Finance

State Budget

State and Local Revenue Collections and Allocations

Local Government Revenues and Spending

Grants and local assistance

Western City Magazine Monthly
magazine of the League of California Cities.
Public Policy Institute of California
A private, nonprofit organization dedicated to independent, nonpartisan
research on California’s economic, social, and political issues.
The Tax Policy Center.
Provides analysis and facts about tax policy. A joint venture of the
Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.
National League of Cities special reports. Topic: Finance.
Legislative Analyst’s Office Provider of fiscal and programmatic expertise and nonpartisan analyses of the state’s budget to the California Legislature.
CalTaxDigest articles
from the California Taxpayers Association.
California
Research Bureau reports, an office of the California State Library.
California Budget & Policy Center A nonprofit
research and public education organization addressing state fiscal
policy.

State Law

State Legislation

Court Decisions
City and County Law and Legislation

California Ballot Propositions

Cities

Counties and County Finance Officials

Finance Officers and Treasurers

Special Districts
Other