Lakewood City Council examined legislative issues from several perspectives at their Tuesday evening meeting, with the continuing chaos in state government finances as the backdrop.

Council members voted unanimously to support a ballot measure sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties that would further limit the transfer of local government revenues to backfill state budget deficits. Signature gathering to place the “Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and Transportation Act of 2010” on the November ballot is currently underway.

Proponents of the measure point out that the state has already borrowed more than $1 million in property taxes from Lakewood and taken $702,000 in other property tax revenue and $3.2 million in redevelopment agency funds. The proposed initiative measure, its proponents say, would prevent the state from diverting more city funds.

Council members also reacted to proposed state legislation that would complicate operation of the West and Central groundwater basins and potentially increase costs to water consumers. Worse, opponents of the proposed legislation say, the measure would stall efforts underway to expand the storage of groundwater in the Central Groundwater Basin. The stored water would be a hedge against the region’s continuing drought. Council members voted unanimously to oppose the legislation.

The city council also completed its annual review of its state and federal legislative goals. Uppermost are preservation of local government funding, economic development and jobs creation, funding for street maintenance, and protection of local control over land use.

In other actions, the city council:

▪ Approved an agreement for design services for street pavement projects that may be funded by additional federal stimulus grants.