[jennyo]

I actually work on that document, and if you look at page iv in the 2007-08 FBS, you see the General Fund column that totals $101 billion for GF, plus a prior year carryover balance of about $4 billion. To the right you will see other funding sources listed which add to “total expenditures” of $145 billion.

However, I was wrong in stating that the 2003-04 GF total was $99 billion, it was only $73 billion that year with a $1.4 billion prior year carryover. Like a lazy state worker, I did not look at the budget before responding to your post, so I apologize. You were comparing apples to apples, but not citing General Fund totals. I forgot how low it got that year. That was the last year that Davis was around, and that budget rips all the special funds to prop up General Fund programs.

Believe me, if there was $145 billion General Fund coming in annually, we would all be getting fat tax refunds, not closing state parks and letting inmates out of prison.

[jennyo]

I actually work on that document, and if you look at page iv in the 2007-08 FBS, you see the General Fund column that totals $101 billion for GF, plus a prior year carryover balance of about $4 billion. To the right you will see other funding sources listed which add to “total expenditures” of $145 billion.

However, I was wrong in stating that the 2003-04 GF total was $99 billion, it was only $73 billion that year with a $1.4 billion prior year carryover. Like a lazy state worker, I did not look at the budget before responding to your post, so I apologize. You were comparing apples to apples, but not citing General Fund totals. I forgot how low it got that year. That was the last year that Davis was around, and that budget rips all the special funds to prop up General Fund programs.

Believe me, if there was $145 billion General Fund coming in annually, we would all be getting fat tax refunds, not closing state parks and letting inmates out of prison.

[jennyo]

I actually work on that document, and if you look at page iv in the 2007-08 FBS, you see the General Fund column that totals $101 billion for GF, plus a prior year carryover balance of about $4 billion. To the right you will see other funding sources listed which add to “total expenditures” of $145 billion.

However, I was wrong in stating that the 2003-04 GF total was $99 billion, it was only $73 billion that year with a $1.4 billion prior year carryover. Like a lazy state worker, I did not look at the budget before responding to your post, so I apologize. You were comparing apples to apples, but not citing General Fund totals. I forgot how low it got that year. That was the last year that Davis was around, and that budget rips all the special funds to prop up General Fund programs.

Believe me, if there was $145 billion General Fund coming in annually, we would all be getting fat tax refunds, not closing state parks and letting inmates out of prison.

[jennyo]

I actually work on that document, and if you look at page iv in the 2007-08 FBS, you see the General Fund column that totals $101 billion for GF, plus a prior year carryover balance of about $4 billion. To the right you will see other funding sources listed which add to “total expenditures” of $145 billion.

However, I was wrong in stating that the 2003-04 GF total was $99 billion, it was only $73 billion that year with a $1.4 billion prior year carryover. Like a lazy state worker, I did not look at the budget before responding to your post, so I apologize. You were comparing apples to apples, but not citing General Fund totals. I forgot how low it got that year. That was the last year that Davis was around, and that budget rips all the special funds to prop up General Fund programs.

Believe me, if there was $145 billion General Fund coming in annually, we would all be getting fat tax refunds, not closing state parks and letting inmates out of prison.

[jennyo]

I actually work on that document, and if you look at page iv in the 2007-08 FBS, you see the General Fund column that totals $101 billion for GF, plus a prior year carryover balance of about $4 billion. To the right you will see other funding sources listed which add to “total expenditures” of $145 billion.

However, I was wrong in stating that the 2003-04 GF total was $99 billion, it was only $73 billion that year with a $1.4 billion prior year carryover. Like a lazy state worker, I did not look at the budget before responding to your post, so I apologize. You were comparing apples to apples, but not citing General Fund totals. I forgot how low it got that year. That was the last year that Davis was around, and that budget rips all the special funds to prop up General Fund programs.

Believe me, if there was $145 billion General Fund coming in annually, we would all be getting fat tax refunds, not closing state parks and letting inmates out of prison.

[jennyo]

NSR, you are correct in pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that the current governor has exercised any kind of fiscal discipline. But the budget totals you are citing are not an apples-to-apples comparison. You are using the 2003 General Fund total, and the 2007 “all funds” total. The 2007 GF total is closer to $101 billion. There is always around $45 or so billion in special fund spending that is counted in the overall state budget, but does not come from the General Fund and your income, sales and corporation taxes. Instead it is funding from fees like the Motor Vehicle Account (supports DMV and CHP), professional licensing fees for doctors, nurses, and hair stylists, and transportation funds that come from the gas tax and other separate revenue sources that have restricted uses.

[jennyo]

NSR, you are correct in pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that the current governor has exercised any kind of fiscal discipline. But the budget totals you are citing are not an apples-to-apples comparison. You are using the 2003 General Fund total, and the 2007 “all funds” total. The 2007 GF total is closer to $101 billion. There is always around $45 or so billion in special fund spending that is counted in the overall state budget, but does not come from the General Fund and your income, sales and corporation taxes. Instead it is funding from fees like the Motor Vehicle Account (supports DMV and CHP), professional licensing fees for doctors, nurses, and hair stylists, and transportation funds that come from the gas tax and other separate revenue sources that have restricted uses.

[jennyo]

NSR, you are correct in pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that the current governor has exercised any kind of fiscal discipline. But the budget totals you are citing are not an apples-to-apples comparison. You are using the 2003 General Fund total, and the 2007 “all funds” total. The 2007 GF total is closer to $101 billion. There is always around $45 or so billion in special fund spending that is counted in the overall state budget, but does not come from the General Fund and your income, sales and corporation taxes. Instead it is funding from fees like the Motor Vehicle Account (supports DMV and CHP), professional licensing fees for doctors, nurses, and hair stylists, and transportation funds that come from the gas tax and other separate revenue sources that have restricted uses.

[jennyo]

NSR, you are correct in pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that the current governor has exercised any kind of fiscal discipline. But the budget totals you are citing are not an apples-to-apples comparison. You are using the 2003 General Fund total, and the 2007 “all funds” total. The 2007 GF total is closer to $101 billion. There is always around $45 or so billion in special fund spending that is counted in the overall state budget, but does not come from the General Fund and your income, sales and corporation taxes. Instead it is funding from fees like the Motor Vehicle Account (supports DMV and CHP), professional licensing fees for doctors, nurses, and hair stylists, and transportation funds that come from the gas tax and other separate revenue sources that have restricted uses.

[jennyo]

NSR, you are correct in pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion that the current governor has exercised any kind of fiscal discipline. But the budget totals you are citing are not an apples-to-apples comparison. You are using the 2003 General Fund total, and the 2007 “all funds” total. The 2007 GF total is closer to $101 billion. There is always around $45 or so billion in special fund spending that is counted in the overall state budget, but does not come from the General Fund and your income, sales and corporation taxes. Instead it is funding from fees like the Motor Vehicle Account (supports DMV and CHP), professional licensing fees for doctors, nurses, and hair stylists, and transportation funds that come from the gas tax and other separate revenue sources that have restricted uses.

[jennyo]

HLS is correct. This transaction does not require a lawyer. My husband did this recently over the phone and via mail with the Contra Costa county assessor for a house inherited from his grandfather.

[jennyo]

HLS is correct. This transaction does not require a lawyer. My husband did this recently over the phone and via mail with the Contra Costa county assessor for a house inherited from his grandfather.

[jennyo]

TG-I wasn’t saying that the “hero” types don’t deserve more pay or a pension. I think they do, my father was a SD City firefighter for 35 years, and I am a public employee as well. But the OP asked where all the additional property tax went during the housing appreciation boom. A great deal of it went to higher salaries and benefits for these local employees. Probably rightly so because for years their salaries were too low. Prop tax goes to schools too, but it doesn’t necessarily result in increased spending because whenever prop tax revenues are up, the state is able to back off the General Fund share of the prop 98 guarantee. That is one of the only ways the state benefits from higher property tax revenues. Now property tax has stopped growing, but the Prop 98 floor will continue to increase, even as the number of kids in K-12 decreases.

I have worked on the state budget for 10 years-through three governors-and one thing that never changes is that the locals always feel like the state is ripping them off. The state didn’t do that, Prop 13 did that. But recently, for once, the locals had more money coming in than the state, and they have much more discretion with which to spend it.

[jennyo]

TG-I wasn’t saying that the “hero” types don’t deserve more pay or a pension. I think they do, my father was a SD City firefighter for 35 years, and I am a public employee as well. But the OP asked where all the additional property tax went during the housing appreciation boom. A great deal of it went to higher salaries and benefits for these local employees. Probably rightly so because for years their salaries were too low. Prop tax goes to schools too, but it doesn’t necessarily result in increased spending because whenever prop tax revenues are up, the state is able to back off the General Fund share of the prop 98 guarantee. That is one of the only ways the state benefits from higher property tax revenues. Now property tax has stopped growing, but the Prop 98 floor will continue to increase, even as the number of kids in K-12 decreases.

I have worked on the state budget for 10 years-through three governors-and one thing that never changes is that the locals always feel like the state is ripping them off. The state didn’t do that, Prop 13 did that. But recently, for once, the locals had more money coming in than the state, and they have much more discretion with which to spend it.

[jennyo]

Local property tax revenue surpluses have largely been used to hire more public safety employees and to increase the salaries/benefits of those employees over the past few years, to probably unsustainable levels. San Diego is the poster child for this. Local public safety agencies statewide have been playing leapfrog with salaries and benefits for police and fire for several years. Most safety employees can retire at 50 with 3 percent of their highest salary for every year worked, plus lifetime medical benefits. Many of these employees get disability retirements due to the strenuous nature of their jobs and therefore only have to pay income tax on 50 percent of their pension income.

The state gets very little property tax, its revenues come from the “big 3”–the personal income tax, the sales tax, and corporation tax. That (among other reasons) is why the state continued to face structural deficits even when real estate was booming from 2001-2005. Income tax revenues are very volatile. The locals have been riding a gravy train since 2001 and are going to start howling soon because the revenue growth has come to a halt. The smart ones, that spent the funds on one-time purposes like infrastructure improvements or set aside rainy-day funds will be fine. But those that expanded safety employee benefits are in for some hard times, with few options for cutting costs. Trying to reduce or eliminate pension benefits from public safety “heroes” is political suicide.

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