First of two parts
While deciphering teams between here and Sacramento attempt to decode the dense state budget Gov. Brown signed last week, City Hall wants to know if its Redevelopment Agency will survive the governor’s assassination attempt, and the answer is murky.
Since taking office in January, Mr. Brown has been threatening to banish the state’s 400 redevelopment agencies and re-channel funding to Sacramento, which always is starved for revenue.
“I can’t read the meanings of the budget yet,” said City Councilman Andy Weissman, “because I don’t know what the implications are. I believe we are going to have a redevelopment process. I can’t get technical. It is outside my area of expertise.”
Anticipating the end of agency life, the Redevelopment Agency members who are the five Councilmen, have been redirecting Agency funds into city coffers to protect funds already accounted for and the integrity of projects under consideration.
“I don’t believe the mere act of the state Legislature passing those bills and Brown signing them, that agencies are extinguished,” Mr. Weissman ventured. “What they did was to establish the rules, pursuant to which agencies will be allowed to operate on a go-forward basis. If redevelopment agencies wanted to continue and have access to tax increments, they could do so if they pay the extortion fee to the state. If they pay the pound of flesh the state wants, the state will allow you to continue the tax increments so you cities can fulfill future redevelopment needs.
“Our Agency has not had any legal analysis presented to us that tells us where we are and what we ought to be doing.”
(To be continued)
