Sacramento observers are interested in knowing what kind of economic tools the state can provide to replace the loss of CRA's.
The ruling Thursday by the California Supreme Court on the legality of abolishing redevelopment agencies was an important step in fixing the state's budget problems and refocusing on the agencies' original purpose. ... The $1.7 billion in tax revenue that is diverted to cities to use in redevelopment zones can and should be freed up to fund other public assets in desperate need, such as schools. Eliminating redevelopment zones and seizing the money was one of the key points of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget-balancing plan earlier this year. Community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) sued the state to try to block the governor's seizure of their funds. ... The state's approximately 400 CRAs are expected to be quickly phased out (although existing projects will be allowed to continue). Then state and city officials can get to work on replacing the CRAs with new economic tools. These should aim to lift blighted areas and fund infrastructure projects that benefit everybody, as the redevelopment agencies were meant to do in the first place.
Source: Editorial. "Away with the CRAs," Los Angeles Daily News. 12/29/11.
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