Politics & Government
Redevelopment Agency Schedules Final Payments
Even though state legislation has effectively terminated local Redevelopment Agency programs, state funds will still cover pre-existing agreements.
The briefly addressed Redevelopment Agency (RDA) business on Wednesday night to approve the payment schedule for the agency's last remaining bills. As reported in a , the RDA, now possibly in its final days, could only be saved if a lawsuit, brought about by The California Redevelopment Association and League of California Cities against the state of California, is successful.
The state legislature recently passed AB1X 26, which dissolves cities’ RDAs, and AB1X 27, which forces cities to pay money to the state in order to keep their RDA. The lawsuit challenges these bills.
As the city council voted on Aug. 10 not to pay the $1.17 million to keep the program running, one if its final acts was to prepare the enforceable obligation payment schedule.
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Even though RDAs cannot engage in new projects, the state is still obligated to honor contracts already in existence. The payment schedule includes debts totaling $3,685,980, payable to a variety of government organizations, banks, employment services and others.
Two recent uses for RDA funding have been for the Adobe Reyes Interchange and improvements to Kanan Rd.
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Currently, there are no future plans in the pipeline; however, Assistant City Manager Nathan Hamburger said there had been talk of using RDA money for Agoura Village improvements, additional public parking and affordable housing developments.
With the legal status of the Redevelopment Agency in limbo, the agency made sure to leave a back door in the adoption of the enforceable obligation payment schedule, said Hamburger.
The resolution stated that adopting the payment schedule didn’t waive the agency’s right to challenge the legal status of the new laws, and that if parts of the laws become overturned by the California Supreme Court, then the agency will no longer be bound by the payment schedule, said Hamburger during the proceedings.
Hamburger said that funding still exists for some final administrative tasks of the redevelopment agency, even though no new projects will be started.