Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly upheld a state budget bill today that requires redevelopment agencies statewide to transfer $2.05 billion in local redevelopment (RDA) funds for state purposes over the next two years. The City of San Marcos’ portion of this state take will total more than $25 million over the two-year period.
“This grab of redevelopment funds is a potentially devastating blow to San Marcos,” said City Manager Paul Malone. “While only providing a band-aid solution to the state’s ongoing budget woes, the take will deliver a crippling blow to long-term redevelopment efforts in San Marcos and elsewhere throughout the state.”
Malone explained that the loss of redevelopment funds will seriously impede or halt important projects in San Marcos like the popular San Marcos Creek District and University District projects; development of South Lake and other parks; and important infrastructure improvements like street widening and other traffic improvements – all of which are being funded through RDA dollars.
“The City plans for and depends on its rightly earned RDA funds to improve the community,” continued Malone.
The ruling came in response to the California Redevelopment Association’s (CRA) lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, seeking to invalidate provisions of Assembly Bill X4-26, passed in July 2009 as part of the 2009-2010 state budget.
California Redevelopment Association Executive Director John Shirley responded to the ruling by saying, “We strongly disagree with Judge Connelly’s ruling which effectively says the legislature has unlimited discretion to redirect local redevelopment funds to any purpose it wishes. The legislature needs to deal with its budget problems by making hard decisions using its own limited resources — not by taking away local government funds.”
