-591- ... rrAeevceonmAuLmeTeEsnhdaNartAiinoTgnEs.fuBfnoUdrDsGET 1975~76 santa cruz county . tRilreepcaoremdmubnya. ty ·. . .· congress . .. -593- COMMUNITY CONGRESS 615A Mission Street Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060 OVERVIEW I • -A STATEMENT -O-F -N-E-ED- Santa Cruz, as is the rest of the nation, Is In a time of economic recession. This neens high Inflation and unemployment for the residents of Santa Cruz. In 1974, 24% of the County's families <7,867 famll les> had incomes less than $5,000 , and the_~ Increase of famll los below the poverty !eve! though uncomputed Is most surely higher. The cost of living Increase to families for rent, fuel, food, etc. Is averaging between 12-15%. Further exploration Is warranted on just what are the most pressing needs of these flllllllies. The U.S. Department of Agricu:-t-L1re cites that families with below medhm Incomes must spend more than famll les with medium to high Incomes on food. The average sized family with an Income below $3,800 per year must spend 40% of this Income for an adequate dIet. Other housIng surveys by HUD have shown a renta I increase of 25-50% from 1972-1975 and over 50% e>fdhe:.;eounty's ho~seholds are I lving i,n "Inadequate conditions." CU.S. Department of Housing &Urban Development 1973.) These'statlstlcs aro certainly not oomplete enough and·deal only with the needs of jobs, food and housing, more research on the condition of low Income families would certainly reflect a similar deplorable situation concerning health, mental health, transportaHon and child care needs. · Families are not the only group affocted by these times of financial hardships.: Groups living on fixed Incomes such as seniors, handicapped, women with dependents, and youth are severely affected. The trl county Senior Study cites a figure of over 8,000 seniors living In this county below tho poverty level. Seniors constitute 20% of this (;: county's population, the real question Is do they constitute 20% of the county's budget. Those elderly couples living on fixed Incomes pay a similar high proportion of Income for food. Elderly couples with an Income of $3,000 after taxes must spend 35% of their Income for food. t reflect the priorities of those groups of persons most In need. The needs are the basic: Income &jobs, health services, housing, mental health, child care,_ food-nutrltlo~ ~rograms, transportation, youth programs and other similar services that. will better the I lves of Santa Cruz County residents most effected In this recession-depression. THE USE OF REVENUE SHARING The State and Local Public Assistance Act of 1972 commonly known as the Revenue Sharing Act provides local governments with portions of tax money to be s~ent In compliance to certain standards. These standards are expenditures on "ordinary and necessary maln- ·tenanco and operating expenses for publ lc safety, environmental protection, public trans- ,portatlon, health, recreation, libraries, social servtces for the poor or aged and financial 'acinlnfstratton." ' -594- ~bered that thiS iS the only Of'pOrt\Jrtlfy tor the COOYTIUnlt) {o i·ruly partlclpa·r~. ~ .. bl.idgetary process. Across the nation the substantial portion of revenue sharing Is being used by edmlnlstrators In capital expenditures, with as I ittle as 2% being used In community pE p~rams. This county has followed that trend. In the last two years the majority of county revenue sharing money has gone to capital expenditures (of 5.7 million In 74-75 1540,000 went to community programs). This year out of avai fable 4.6 mi II i.on, 3.3 Is proposed In the plant acquisition budget. The capital expenditures are not all critic --however many of them do not reflect the Immediate needs of people In this county the hardest hit by the economic crisis. Of that money placed aside In capital-type expend! S2,228,771 was unspent and up for reallocation this year. Money sitting In bands alI ~ does not aid the people of this county. Money being used for large one time expendltur (the ongoing maintenance and cost factors remained unconsidered) on the basis of sound Management do not necessarily aid the people of this county. The past use of revenue sharing has not dealt with real needs and priorities of people, It has only dealt with the "priorities" of 11good" management. Community Congress bel Ieves revenue sharing funds. are an easl ly isolated categor~ of funds that can be allocated in ways to meet the above stated needs of people. What needed are programs that ..pump money and jobs into our local economy in a framework that first reflects. priorities and secondly are of social value. Programs are needed that provide food, jobs and services to low income, youth, women, senior, and disabled persc Programs are needed, for example, that stimulate low and moderage housing construction. agricultural development, environmental alternatives, and criminal justice alternatives Gonerally, what Is needed are solutions to tho enormous problems and life-situation difficulties faced by a substantial portion of the county's population. A way to find solutions Is to use our revenue sharing in the programs that propose to deal with those problems and situations. Who~ Community Congress! What have~ done Community Congress Is a broad based coal itio~ of community nonprofit corporations who provide services to the community. Tho member groups are in direct contact with th persons who are In need of basic services and employment in this county such as seniors youth, agricultural migrant workers, women, handicapped, etc. Community Congress memb6 ongaged in a process of agreeing upon prio;ities for budget expenditures in tho county end subsequently engaged In lengthy self and group review and evaluation of Individual proposals. Tho priorities based on group knowledge, census data, CETA reports, CAB rep agreed upon were generally that the following groups are most in need and oppressed fn present system: racial, sex, handicapped, elderly, youth, largo families, single heade households, veterans and ex offenders. It was agreed that according to Income breakdow priority people are those with no income, the unemployed poor CAFDC, SSI, etc.) and the underemployed poor. The following services were idbntified as unmet therefore priority Income &jobs, food, housing, child care, health and mental health, education, transpor tlon and recreation. The subsequent recommendations and criticisms are based upon thes· general priorities. Why .2!1 AItern at Ive Budget? .. Community Congress members decided to produce an alternati.vo budget for two reaso. first, within the existing budgetary process ther~ Is no overview consi?tently interjec· of the most pressing community-people needs' of this county. The Alternative Budget -595p-~rports to do this with one segment of tho budget-- Revenue Sharing. The presence of an organized voice from the community concerning community needs Is a first and necessary addition to the budgetary process in Santa Cruz. Secondly, Community Congress members do not wish to be put in the position of vying for a minimal portion of funds with each other. The result is seniors fighting handicapped or women against chi id core faci iities. This type of competition Is not only unfair but distorts the overal I perspective on community needs and priorities. The budget Is organized Into a critique of the existing budget ~nd recommendations on Real locations. Community Congress bel !eves this process of the Alternative Budget has been most worthwhl le. It Is In such processes that we learn what real needs are and how best to meet them. It Is In such a process that the unique future of Santa Cruz County wIll be determIned. -596- EQUIPMENT AND ·MAINTENANCE $ 603,717 PLANT ACQUISITION $ 3, 400,000 $ 150,·000 1 Jail: I, 300,000 County Governmental Center: 650,000 ·Watsonville Clinic: 539, 150 General Capital Improvements: 275,000 Other Buildings/ Land/ Equipment: 596,000 'COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE BUDGET COMMUNITY DEVELOPEMENT COMMUNITY PROGRAMS .. $ I, 700,000 TAX RELIEF $·500, 000 PLANT ACQUISITION $1,409,000 J IWatsonville Clinic: 539,000 Parks: 170,000 · Jail: SUO, 000 . Other Buildings/. . Lands/ Equipment: 200,000 CO.. M. MUNIT.Y...C.ONGRESS BUDGET From the Reader of the Conference on Alternative State & Local Public Policies held June 10-13, 1976 in Austin, Texas. The reader was edited and compiled by Derek Shearer, California Public Policy Center Los Angeles, California and Lee Webb, Professor of Public Policy, Goddard College Plainfield, Vermont. This item was made available by the Cornell University Library. From Collection #6756, Conference On Alternative State And Local Policies Records. Copyright and Permissions Most of the items included in the Reader on Alternative Public Policies were published without copyright notice and hence entered the public domain upon initial publication. Some of the items found in the Reader are still subject to copyright. In some cases, even after extensive research efforts, we were unable to identify a possible rightsholder. We have elected to place the items in the online collection as an exercise of fair use for strictly non-commercial educational uses. 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