By Peter Hecht
[email protected]

Emerging from a tense meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a group of California mayors warned Tuesday that they may have to lay off police officers and make deeper cuts in vital services if the state siphons off gas taxes and property taxes to help resolve the state's fiscal crisis.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido argue that cities already making painful cuts will suffer dearly if the governor and the Legislature approve a plan to borrow $2 billion in local property taxes and shift $744 million in gas taxes targeted for local transportation projects.

"We got a chance to spend some time with the governor," Johnson said. "I wish I had walked out more optimistic than when I walked in. It is very clear that our budgets at the city level are going to be decimated." Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Tuesday that he opposes the governor's plan to transfer money out of local government coffers. But Johnson said Schwarzenegger let the mayors know that "he is saying these proposals are being looked at and there's nowhere else to go."

Proposition 1A, which voters approved in 2004, allows the state to borrow local property taxes so long as they are repaid. But the mayors said they don't trust the state's ability to pay the money back. "Any plan that would withhold tax revenues from cities must be accompanied by a plan to get that money back into the coffers of local government ... as soon as possible," Villaraigosa said.

Villaraigosa warned that Los Angeles, which already stands to lay off or furlough 3,000 city employees, could lose as many as 1,400 police officers if the state raids additional revenue. Johnson said Sacramento could lose up to $10 million in transportation funds from gas taxes. When calculated in the overall city budget, he said: "If you're talking about $10 million to our city, you're talking about 100 police officers."

But Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the mayors were misstating what gas tax revenues are used for. "This money by law goes to transportation projects," he said. "It would be illegal for this money to go to public safety." Sanders, who said San Diego has already slashed $180 million from the city's $1 billion budget, said the city may have to cut another $75 million if the state takes money from cities to fill its budget hole. "We're here to call on the Legislature and call on the governor to balance the budget without balancing it on the back of cities and counties," he said.