10 STATE-LOCAL REALIGNMENT

The objectives of Realignment are to assign program responsibility to the most appropriate level of government, either state or local, and achieve improved service levels with broad discretion given to the responsible entity. Realignment provides for greater funding stability for selected programs, increased local flexibility in administering these programs, and productive fiscal incentives to encourage cost-effective approaches to providing services.

Total Realignment revenues are comprised of sales tax and vehicle license fee revenues. Revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund, which includes several accounts. Funds deposited in these accounts are continuously appropriated for allocation to local governments according to formula and are used to fund programs specified in realignment legislation. The legislation also includes local maintenance of effort and matching requirements in order to ensure that counties do not use the realigned funds to supplant local expenditure levels prior to realignment. This provision ensures compliance with other state and federal statutes which, in turn, provide hundreds of millions of dollars annually for county health, mental health, and alcohol and drug programs.