Local Impacts from State Budget Continue to Ripple
Although the governor and the legislature have finally agreed on a new state budget, effects of the state’s budget crisis continue to extend well beyond Sacramento to local organizations and our environment in the Monterey Bay Area.
Ecology Action is one of dozens of local organizations experiencing significant impacts due to budget actions at the state level, especially including freezing payments on contracts. These frozen dollars mean critical environmental projects are halted, and key organizations and their staff are facing layoffs and even closure.
Ecology Action has seven staff members involved in projects for which payments are currently frozen for an undetermined amount of time. The State Water Resources Control Board froze payments on projects beginning December 18, 2008, and the Department of Conservation is freezing payments through at least July 2009—because in order to manage cash flow, the state will be borrowing funds from their special recycling funds and transferring them to the state’s general fund.
Locally, Ecology Action is not alone on this issue. With its partner, the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District, Ecology Action conducted a snapshot survey of Central Coast public agencies and departments, non-profits and sub-contractors working on environmental projects. The survey showed the participating organizations are owed by the State of California a combined $11,783,302 and have 91 existing contracts that are frozen. The total value of those frozen contracts (through at least June 30, 2009) is approximately $29,618,000.
Ecology Action urges you to stay involved in the resolution of the state’s budget crisis, including voting in the special election, scheduled for May 19, 2009. Among other things, the special election will decide whether funds are provided to quickly pay outstanding invoices to organizations like Ecology Action.
More details on the economics impact survey.
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