In California, a Proposed Cut Angers Local Officials

(From the nytimes.com) Nobody around here doubts that the pie is getting smaller. With the state facing a $25 billion budget gap, cuts have to come from somewhere. So in the two weeks since the newly installed Gov. Jerry Brown released his budget proposal, the howls of complaints have come from nearly every corner. But perhaps the loudest protests have come from city and county officials, who say that after years of slashing local budgets, Mr. Brown’s cuts could cripple them.

Most significant, the governor is proposing to eliminate local redevelopment agencies, which funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to real estate projects meant to improve struggling areas. Such projects, he argues, cannot be immune to cuts while other basic services, like education and health care, are trimmed yet again.

“You’re all riled up,” Mr. Brown said recently at a meeting with city leaders from across the state. As a former mayor himself, Mr. Brown says he is empathetic to their concerns, but he has not backed off his own demands. “I look all across it, and none of it looks good,” he said. “But tell me where else to draw the lines. It’s a zero-sum game right now.”

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