After Gov. Brown announced his proposal to save the state $1.7 billion by shutting down all redevelopment agencies (RDAs), cities were quick to react and oppose his action. Furthermore, agencies large and small continue to act quickly to tie-up agreements with their cities to ensure that should Brown's proposal go through, cities will not lose out on current projects being considered as well as other financial transactions involved in redevelopment. The state budget deficit is projected to be $25 billion.
"The agencies to be reviewed include those in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Jose and the counties of Sacramento and Riverside." [See controller's list of 18 RDAs]
Controller John Chiang defended the audit.
"The heated debate over whether RDAs are the engines of local economic and job growth or are simply scams providing windfalls to political cronies at the expense of public services has largely been based on anecdotal evidence," Chiang said.
"As lawmakers deliberate the Governor's proposal to close RDAs and divert those funds to local schools and public safety agencies, I believe it is important to provide factual, empirical information about how these agencies perform and what they bring to the communities they serve."
Thanks to Gladwyn d'Souza
Comments
"No reliable evidence that RDAs improve overall economic dev."
So says the state's Legislative Analyst's Office in a budget analysis according to columnist Dan Walters in his SacBee column on Jan 26: "As the (redevelopment) battle picks up momentum and the factions exchange barrages of self-serving propaganda, the only safe haven is a report by the Legislature's budget analyst, Mac Taylor.
Taylor concludes that there's "no reliable evidence that redevelopment agencies improve overall economic development in California" and that redevelopment tends to "shift development from one location to another but does not significantly increase economic activity statewide."