Elected leaders throughout California say the California Forward Action Fund’s Government Performance and Accountability Act (GPAA) – based on the framework developed by California Forward – is essential to breaking down silos, holding elected leaders accountable to voters, and allowing agencies to collaborate. It will also help communities by stabilizing funding streams and giving communities more control over their financial resources.
The GPAA offers local leaders a new set of tools to tackle these challenges. It will shift power closer to local communities, stabilize the state’s finances, and give local leaders more flexibility in how they deal with the 2011 Realignment.
Below is a sampling from a growing chorus of public sector support for the GPAA:
“Changing State Government is difficult and complicated but California Forward is leading the way for needed reform.”
– Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Sheriff
“I think the measure is critical. The last thing we want is to see more initiatives to manage California, but this is the right initiative to bring California back into focus. The money we’re managing is the public’s money, and we owe it to the public to ensure that we are accountable to certain measures. How do you know you’re doing well, and how do you know you’re doing bad without measures in place? You don’t. They are absolutely critical.”
– Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione
“Thank you California Forward for taking a serious look at the structural problems facing California State Government.”
– Andre Quintero, Mayor, City of El Monte
“I’m excited to support California Forward’s Performance & Accountability Act because Californians (and Oaklanders) deserve to understand just how state and local governments are spending their precious tax dollars for results that matter.”
– Oakland City Councilmember Libby Schaaf
“California Forward is exploring ways to make State and Local governments more accountable, transparent and ultimately more effective.”
– Wendy Greuel, Los Angeles City Controller
“I support California Forward’s Government Performance and Accountability Act (GPAA). I believe that given the ability to work together, local communities can do a better job than the state in many areas. I look forward to the opportunities to work as a team to develop new ways to address the challenges of the 21st century. Through Community Strategic Action Plans, local leaders would be given the tools to work in a collaborative manner which will produce greater results.”
– San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos
“I proudly support the GPAA because California Forward developed these reforms after an intensive year of consulting with thousands of Californians in a “bottoms-up” approach that honors collective input on ideas and implementation. If passed, the GPAA will increase transparency and accountability across California while improving governments’ performance at all levels. The GPAA will encourage the kind of collaboration and integrated services that work so effectively both in my community in Fremont and across the Bay Area.”
– Anu Natarajan, Vice Mayor, City of Fremont
Program Director, ALF Silicon Vally’s “Reviving California““Local governments need a stable budget process that helps them meet community goals. The Government Performance and Accountability Act would establish goals and performance measures for all programs and provide incentives for local government agencies to work together to meet the needs of the community.”
– Dan Wolk, City of Davis Councilmember
“Many government services are best provided at the local level, where public officials know their communities and residents have access to elected officials. California Forward’s Government Performance and Accountability Act provides local governments the flexibility to tailor programs to the needs of their communities.”
– Don Saylor, Yolo County Supervisor, former mayor of Davis and former member of the Davis School Board
“State and local governments today spend hundreds of millions of dollars on budget processes that do not tell the public what is being accomplished. Those same funds can be better used to develop budgets that link dollars to goals and communicate progress toward those goals, which is a primary purpose of public budgets. California Forward’s Government Performance and Accountability Act tackles this very problem to improve services and restore public confidence in government.”
– Helen Thomson, former Assemblymember (District 8), Yolo County Supervisor and Davis School Board member
“Given the current economic reality, the City of Culver City has been forced to reduce our budget dramatically. I appreciate the opportunity to lend my support to California Forward, which is establishing the framework to rethink the way we do business, collectively and collaboratively.”
– Mayor Micheál O’ Leary, City of Culver City
“The purpose of state and local governments is to promote a prosperous economy, to protect and steward the natural environment, and to provide community equity and public safety. California Forward’s Government Performance and Accountability Act advances these goals by focusing all levels of government on increasing employment, improving education, decreasing poverty, reducing crime and improving health.”
– Gary Sandy, former mayor, City of Woodland
“To become more efficient, public agencies are aggressively exploring shared service solutions to reduce duplication. California Forward has supported Yolo County and other counties around the state in laying the foundation for integrating services and adopting strategies proven to work and make a difference in the lives of Californians.”
– Patrick Blacklock, Chief Administrative Officer, Yolo County
“As an elected county supervisor serving my fourth term, I fully agree with the concept that ‘local governance’ is best able to provide services and respond to local needs over state and federal governments. However, while financial constraints have resulted in some realignment of services to local government, the reality is a continuing push to consolidate power at higher levels of government.
Land use issues, transportation and housing, environmental regulations are moving in an opposite direction from your stated purpose of bringing government closer to the people. Local governance, more and more, is nothing more than an enforcement or regulatory tool of centralized governance at the state level.
What is needed is for more policy authority at local government levels to go along with implementation of those policies. If this can be accomplished then the costs of governance can be reduced as the current system of state and federal bureaucracy consumes tremendous sums of tax and fees while often providing little actual benefit to the governed. Thanks for allowing me to weigh in.”
– Steven Worthley, Tulare County Supervisor
Learn more about the GPAA via the California Forward Action Fund. You can also view a full list of supportive statements for the GPAA.
