Can California Solve Its Budget Deficit and Save Redevelopment?

The article features exclusive Q&A with the Mayor of Long Beach, Bob Foster:

"When we looked at the Governor’s proposal, we said: what do we really need here? A lot of local governments need the extension of redevelopment areas; we also need reform; we also need to expand some of the definitions so we can go outside some of the projects areas to do things that would benefit those project areas."

"We then put a proposal together that has those elements—it would be attractive to local government to come into the process voluntarily. Then we took the housing set-aside, which is 20 percent, and used that money as a revenue stream for a 30-year bond. Then we took ten percent of the tax increment and use that revenue stream for a 30-year bond. The combination would enable us to defease—allowing for existing commitments—$12.6 billion in state general obligation debt."