Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made some unpopular proposals Friday during presentation of his May Revise of the state budget, suggesting the elimination of the CalWORKS program and reducing funding for mental health programs by 60 percent.

The plan maintains full funding for K-12 education and increases slightly to avoid further cuts or tuition increases at the University of California, California State University and Community College levels. It also maintains funding for CalGrant financial aid for students.

Local politicians were upset with the state’s chief executive before the ink was even dry on the proposed cuts.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich used the most colorful language, but it likely mirrored what most taxpayers were thinking when he called on Governor Schwarzenegger and the state legislature to “wake up and face fiscal reality. The wheel is turning but the hamster is dead.”

“Sacramento’s addiction to reckless spending and one-night stands with vested interests have created multi-billion dollar budget deficits and an exodus of jobs,” he said. “We must stop the reckless tax-and-spend behavior that led to this crisis. We can’t start down the road to recovery without fiscal discipline and structural reform,” he added. “The lame excuse that the 2/3 vote requirement to pass a budget or raise taxes is to blame — the standard Sacramento line — is nonsense. California has some of the highest income, sales and business taxes in the nation.”

Antonovich said that the claim that Prop. 13 created this problem by reducing revenues is also nonsense, since property tax revenues increased 600% from 1981 to 2007 ($6.4 billion to $43 billion).

The exodus of jobs particular rankles the supervisor, who notes has seen several corporations leave Los Angeles County recently. He cited several companies and corporate offices that have left or are leaving the state, including:

• NORTHROP GRUMMAN – From Los Angeles to Virginia

• HILTON HOTELS – From Beverly Hills to Virginia

• DENNY’S RESTAURANTS – From La Mirada to South Carolina

• DI TECH – From Costa Mesa to Arizona

• FIDELITY NATIONAL – From Santa Barbara to Florida

• JC PENNEY – Moved call center from Sacramento to five other states

• FACEBOOK – From Palo Alto to Oregon

• BUCK KNIVES – From San Diego to Idaho

• PREMIER INC. – From San Diego to North Carolina

• CALIFORNIA CASUALTY GROUP – From San Mateo to Colorado.

Senator George Runner also expressed concerns about both the unemployment problem and the flight of private employers from the state.

“Californians are eager to get back to work, and reducing the unemployment rolls is the path to economic recovery. State Government must get out of private sector’s way if we are to achieve this goal.”

Antonovich has several suggestions for short- and long-term changes that will put California back on the road to economic recovery, including a 2-year budget; consolidating or eliminating governmental agencies to enhance productivity, efficiency and eliminate waste; a part-time legislature; reforming the civil service and bankrupt pension systems; end the legislative practice of introducing legislation that costs more to pass than the recipient receives and/or modify term limits; establishing a ‘rainy day’ fund for emergencies and eliminating non-essential commissions, replacing salaried commissioners with $100 stipend per meeting.

After the revise had been released, Senator George Runner offered his opinion and expertise.

“The governor’s plan does not create or raise taxes. That’s good news for working Californians. The administration figured out that raising taxes is not the answer. For proof look no further at the effect last year’s $13 billion tax increase had on California’s economy: Revenues are down.”

“This is a tough time for all Californians including state government,” Runner continued. “The difference is, California families have made sacrifices in the past few years; state government has continued to spend beyond its means. It’s time for the California Legislature and Governor to pass a budget that’s balanced and realistic.

One of Schwarzenegger’s proposals is to shift prison costs for state inmates – low-level felons – from the state to local authorities, with a stipend for each inmate to cover maintenance and some rehabilitation.

Runner, who has authored some significant reform legislation for law enforcement and is currently working on a measure to require early-release inmates to wear GPS units, understands the governor’s proposal, but asks that local concerns be met as well.

“Moving non-violent inmates from state prison to county jails is not necessarily bad policy. The question is: How will public safety be affected in our local communities? How will local government handle the influx of prisoners? What kinds of alternative custody will local law enforcement provide that ensures safety for families? How will these inmates be selected and how many will be transferred? And what method will the state use to reimburse counties?

“If a thousand state prisoners are moved to a county jail, we want to make sure they serve their full terms and that the move doesn’t bump another thousand local inmates completely out of the system,” he continued. “We want to make certain the lesser offenders are strapped to GPS or other means of custodial oversight. The concept deserves a great deal of scrutiny for the sake of public safety in our neighborhoods.”