Available from Solano Press
The most comprehensive treatment of local government finance in any state that I have ever seen. This guide will prove useful to elected and appointed local government officials, business leaders, reporters, students, faculty, and
others who are struggling to understand the highly complex world of local government finance in California.
~ Chris McKenzie,
Exec.Dir. League of Calif Cities 1999-2016
Available from The League of California Cities
The California Municipal Revenue Sources Handbook, NEW! Sixth Edition by Michael Coleman. The definitive resource on municipal funding for city and county managers, finance officers, academics and other professionals
engaged in the complex world of municipal finance in California.
Financing California Cities - Overviews and Primers
- A Primer on California City Revenues by Michael Coleman. December 2016 Western City (PDF)
- You Pay Taxes - Where Does it Go? A presentation from the California taxpayers' perspective showing common taxes, emphasizing how much cities receive. Oct'16 (PDF)
- Understanding the Basics of Municipal Revenues in California: Cities, Counties and Special Districts. Institute for Local Government. 2016
- Brief Glossary of Financial Management Terms; This glossary, available in English and Spanish, is designed to help non-finance experts understand some of the terminology used in public agency financial management. Institute for Local Government.
- A Voyage Into the Strange World of California City Finance; An overview of the structure and problems of City budgets in California. April'06 (PDF 450k)
- Cal Facts 2018. Legislative Analyst's Office.
Revenue Limits: Proposition 13 (1978), Proposition 218 (1996) and Proposition 26 (2010)
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Proposition 1A Protection of Local Government Revenues
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In November 2004, the voters of California approved Proposition 1A, an amendment to the California state constitution intended to restore predictability and stability to local government budgets.
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California Local Government Governance and Reorganization
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Fiscal Condition of Municipalities
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Diagnosing and Managing Financial Health
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Managing Fiscal Stress and Municipal Bankruptcy
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The State-Local Fiscal Relationship
- 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
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In 1992, facing a serious deficit position, the State of California began shifting local property tax revenues from cities, counties and some special districts into these funds to reduce the cost of education to the state general fund.
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State-Local Mandates in California
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Redevelopment Dissolution under ABx1_26 (2011)
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The Fragmentation of Local Finance & Governance
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.
- Rethinking Property Tax Allocation. Why do property tax shares vary among cities? A thorough look at reasons and remedies. May 2015
- Reforming Property Tax Allocation and Authority Remarks before the Little Hoover Commission hearing "Special Districts: Relics of the Past or Resources for the Future" August 2016
- Report of the Little Hoover Commission: "Special Districts: Improving Oversight & Transparency" see page 26-28, "Special Districts and Property Tax Inequities" Aug 2017
- Property Tax Fairness Among Local Governments Means Consolidating Local Governance. Michael Coleman, Nov 1999. CalTax Digest.
- Allocating the Property Tax . by Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill, July 2000. CalTax Digest.
- Allocating Property Tax Revenue in California: Living With Proposition 13. by McCarty, Therese A., Terri A. Sexton, Steven M. Sheffrin, Stephen D. Shelby. Annual Conference on Taxation and Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the National Tax Association. Vol.94. 2001 Full report
- Demystifying The California Property Tax Apportionment System. by Dave Elledge, 2006. A step by step guide through the process County Auditors use to allocate property tax revenues among local governments.
- Property Tax Essentials: What You Need to Know about How County Auditor-Controllers Allocate Property Taxes. A February 2007 CSMFO podcast panel with Santa Clara County Auditor-Controller Dave Elledge.
The Fiscalization of Land Use
The disconnect between service costs and revenues in urban development impairs the provision of city services and deters balanced planning.
- Comparison of City Budget Impacts of New Development. A detailed table comparing the annual revenues and service expenses from several development alternatives in a theoretical city. (PDF)
- Does New Housing "Pay For Itself?" Some say a study sponsored by the California Home Builders says "yes" but experts in local finance and land use economics question this conclusion and some methods and assumptions of the study.
- Allocating Local Sales Taxes. Legislative Analyst's Office 2007
- Retail Politics: Local Sales and Use Taxes and the Fiscalization of Land Use. Paul G. Lewis. February 2001, Economic Development Quarterly (PDF)
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Growth Challenges and Local Government Finance: A Primer for the
Sacramento Valley
Paul G. Lewis and J. Fred Silva, September 2001. -
Residential Development and Growth Control Policies: Survey Results
from Cities in Three California Regions
Paul G. Lewis and Max Neiman. Public Policy Institute of California. July 2000. - California Cities and the Local Sales Tax. Paul G. Lewis and Elisa Barbour. Public Policy Institute of California, July 1999.
- Growth Challenges and Local Government Finance: A Primer for the Sacramento Valley . Paul G. Lewis and J. Fred Silva, Public Policy Institute of California 1999.
- Development Priorities in California Cities: Results from a PPIC Survey. Paul G. Lewis and Elisa Barbour, Public Policy Institute of California. December 1998.
Local Revenues in a Changing World
- Revenue Volatility in California. Legislative Analyst's Office. January 2005.
- E-Commerce reports and studies. California State Board of Equalization.
- Why Have Sales Taxes Grown Slower Than the Economy? Legislative Analyst's Office 2013.
- E-Commerce Taxation . Links to reports, background papers and statistics. Prepared by Dr. Annette Nellen.
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Streamlined Sales Tax
Project (SSTP). Multi-state project seeking improvement and
standardization of sales and use taxes.
- SSTP California Board of Governance representing California on the Streamlined Sales Tax Project pursuant to SB157 (Chapter 702, 2003) including meeting agendas and reports.
- The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement: A California Perspective, Martha Jones, California Library Research Bureau, Feb 2005.
- Analysis of Specific Sections of the SSTP Agreement by Board of Equalization staff.
- Ride Sharing in the New Economy: Regulatory options for cities by Joan Borger and Rebecca Moon. June 2015 Western City. The Home Sharing Economy in Cities: Regulatory options for cities by Trevor Rusin and Andrea Visveshwara. August 2015 Western City.
Local Government Fiscal Reform
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
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Local Government Fiscal Reform - Commissions, Studies and Articles
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Legislative Proposals
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Selected Presentations by Michael Coleman on California Local Government Finance Reform
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Public Employee Pension and Other Post Employment Benefit Costs
- League of California Cities' Pension Information Center: "Retirement System Sustainability"
- Donald J. Boyd and Peter J. Kiernan, "Strengthening the Security of Public Sector Defined Benefit Plans" Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government January 2014. An excellent reveiew of the issues.
- Reducing Unfunded Liabilities for Other Post-Employment Benefits by Nancy Kerry. May 2015 Western City.
- Ed Mendel's Calpensions Blog
- Pension Obligation Bonds
- California Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission. Final Report on state OPEB obligations issued January 2008.
- CalPERS
- Public Employee Pension Costs in California, a presentation to the Council of State Governments, November 12, 2009, by the Legislative Analyst's Office.
- Retiree Health Care FAQ. Legislative Analysts Office.
- "State Retiree Costs May Skyrocket in Future Years" from the 2009-10 Budget Analysis. Legislative Analyst's Office.
- Funding the Golden Years in the Golden State: An Overview of Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits and Recent Concerns About How to Provide and Pay for Them. Grant Boyken. California Research Bureau. April 2007
Property Tax
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
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Allocation of Tax Revenues
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Property Tax in Lieu of VLF
Assessed Valuation of Real Property for Taxation |
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Property Tax Administration
Property Transfer Taxes and Documentary Transfer Taxes - see Other Locally Adopted Revenues |
Sales & Use Tax
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
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Data and Statistics
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Local Transactions and Use Taxes: "Add On" Sales Taxes
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Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Rule on Use of Revenues
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Sales Tax Issues: Interagency Competition, Allocation, Concentration, Local Kickbacks
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Sales Tax Issues: Remote & Internet Sales, Simplification and Conformity (Also see above section)
Sales Tax Issues: Base Broadening, Exemptions
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Utility User's Tax
- Utility User Tax Facts. Key facts about Utility User Taxes in California. revised January '21 (PDF)
- Utility User Tax by city through