Mayor Foster On Gov. Brown's Proposed Redevelopment Phase-Out: Says Governor's Figures Are "Simply Wrong," Says Savings Would Be Closer to $600-700 Mil, Not $1.7 Bil; Calls Proposal Another One-Yr Fix, Says Ending Redev Would Be "Substantial Failure"

(Feb. 8, 2011, 8:40 p.m.) -- Mayor Bob Foster left no doubt tonight (Feb. 8) about his view of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal to phase out local Redevelopment agencies (that the Governor says would let Sac'to continue funding schools at current levels).

Speaking extemporaneously during the Feb. 8 City Council meeting (image right from City Clerk webcast), Mayor Foster said the Governor's figures are "simply wrong," says state savings that would be realized from completely eliminating Redevelopment statewide would be closer to $600-700 million and not $1.7 billion as the Governor's proposal contends...and called the Governor's budget proposal another "one-year solution."

Mayor Foster didn't cite the source of his figures, but indicated he had been talking with the "big ten" Mayors (Mayors of ten biggest CA cities) and with "a couple of members" on this. Members of what? The League of CA Cities? The state legislature? Mayor Foster didn't say.

As previously noted by LBReport.com, Mayor Foster was absent (traveling on personal business) on Jan. 18 when the City Council called a special meeting -- on 24 hours notice given on MLK Day -- and voted (9-0) to encumber/contractually obligate roughly $1 billion in expected Redevelopment property tax revenue to prevent Sacramento from accessing those sums in the coming years.

The Mayor was still traveling on Jan. 26 when nine of CA's ten "big city" Mayors met with Governor Brown to urge him to back away from his budget proposal to phase out local Redevelopment agencies.

Below are Mayor Foster's statements at during the Feb. 8 City Council meeting re the Governor's proposed Redevelopment phase-out:

Mayor Foster: I've been talking with the "big ten" Mayors and talking with a couple of members on this, I'd just say I think first of all, the numbers that were in the Department of Finance analysis and the Governor are simply wrong.

I do believe that this is actually...I think it's more of the same. It's a one-year solution. It is not $1.7 billion. The best that we can come up with in terms of their numbers using current data is more like $600-700 million, and that's if they eliminated it [Redevelopment].

They still have a billion dollar hole to fill at that point, so we've made that point clear. We're going to make it clear again.

This needs to be thought out and thought out well. We're all in favor of trying to provide solutions. It's a real serious issue at the state level.

If we can get a solution that makes sense without losing Redevelopment because, to be candid, it's the one tool we have in the state to force people to think long term. There's nothing else.

And I think this would be a huge, a substantial failure on the part of California if it were to get rid of it, so we're still doing a lot of talking...

[The Mayor in colloquy continued]

...They [Gov's proposal] used 2007 and 2008 property tax data, why I don't know; that data is not only outdated, it's also incorrect. We think it may be as much as 30% lower. But even if when you, if you take the Governor at his word, he wants to honor all legitimate commitments and debt payments, if you add that up it comes to around $4.8 billion. There's $5.5 billion in tax increment revenue. By my numbers that's $700 million, not $1.7 billion, so we've made that clear. I think people are starting to understad there's more here they had first thought, but maybe there's a way here we can help the state but also preserve Redevelopment. That's what we're working on.

Who's "we"? The Mayor didn't say.

Mayor Foster offered his comments during the course of an agenda item in which the Council voted 8-0 (DeLong absent but had been present earlier) to "receive and file" written statements on travel to Sacramento by Councilmembers Robert Garcia, James Johnson and Patrick O'Donnell, plus city management's government affairs director Tom Modica, where they met on Jan. 24 mainly with LB lawmakers (who are already officed in or around Long Beach)

They also met with CA Treasurer Bill Lockyer. As previously reported by LBReport.com, in August-Sept. 2010 Mayor Foster formed a political committee enabling him to transfer leftover funds from his 2010 Mayor's reelection campaign, as well as raise additional funds, for a 2014 run for State Treasurer.

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