To compromise, or not to compromise? That is the question scheduled to be put before legislators on Wednesday, when Gov. Gray Davis unveils the May revision of his 2003-04 state budget proposal.

Municipal government, education and health care services officials are preparing for the worst, as California's second-term Democratic governor must deliver a plan that closes a deficit estimated on the high side of $30 billion. Consequently, programs and city coffers could fall victim to the budget ax.

"We've stolen from local government. We've taken from children and the needy. It's time we take away from the bureaucrats. Let's cut this fat - and if you cut it all and can prove it to me, perhaps a Republican would entertain a tax increase, but until that day comes, it is off the table," said Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia, whose district includes parts of the Inland Valley and San Bernardino County's high desert.

Fontana City Manager Ken Hunt and four council members will join other city and county officials from across the state on the Capitol steps Wednesday to speak directly to lawmakers like Mountjoy.

"We want to remind our legislators of their promises to not to balance the budget on our backs," Hunt said. In January, Davis proposed closing a shortfall he estimated at $34.6 billion with a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and other measures.

A part of the proposal that would swipe Vehicle License Fee funding from cities and counties has many worried.

Pomona Finance Director Paula Chamberlain said the city stands to lose about $6.2 million in VLF money.

If those funds are lost, "we have to go back and look at the whole budget," she said.

Redevelopment money -- funds taken from property taxes and used by cities for blight removal and economic enhancement -- may also get hit by the budget cuts.

Hunt said the city could lose about $3.7 million in redevelopment funding this year and even more in years to come.

"That would mean very significant problems for us in the long run," he said.

How much of the governor's original 2003-04 budget plan survives intact is anybody's guess.

Rancho Cucamonga City Manager Jack Lam doesn't expect good news.

"When you look at all the proposals on the table, local governments take a hit in every one," he said. "The only question is how much."

Ontario City Manager Greg Devereaux is anxious to see the plan.

"We hope that the governor's proposal might recognize the legislature's reluctance to require local governments to reduce public safety and diminish their ability to create economic growth," he said.

Ontario already lost about $35 million in state funding for the Milliken Avenue Grade Separation project, which would have cut congestion by running railroad tracks over the busy road instead of across it.

Other cities are preparing for the budget crunch.

La Verne officials plan to pull $3 million from the general fund to offset possible state budget cutbacks, City Manager Martin Lomeli said.

The city would lose about $2 million in Vehicle License Fee funding over a two-year period. That equates to about 9 percent of the city's general fund revenue.

Claremont officials have delayed capital projects, reduced spending by 3 percent and travel by 25 percent.

"I hope the governor will recognize that cities have been bearing their share of cuts and reductions every time there is a crises," Assistant City Manager Jim Lewis said. "But I know that city funds are going to be cut."

Upland officials are waiting a year before they make any changes to their budget due out next month.

"I think the big decisions of significant magnitude will be made during the mid-budget review in 2004," Upland City Manager G. Michael Milhiser said.

In recent weeks, Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, and his Assembly counterpart suggested deficit spending to avoid choosing between the tax hikes and spending reductions that contributed to the 2002-03 budget being signed two months past the June 30 deadline.

Democratic Sen. Nell Soto of Ontario indicated on Monday she is willing to embrace that solution, called a deficit rollover. But she does not see how the budget can be balanced without tax increases, undesirable as they may be.

The most important thing, according to Soto, is that "we have to avoid pointing fingers at whose fault this is. We can't go on with that because it causes a stalemate."