Solano County Officials Urge Lawmakers to Reject Suspension of Redevelopment Pass-Through Agreements

By Stephen Pierce, Solano County Public Communications Officer

Special to Dixon Patch

The Legislative proposal to void redevelopment property tax sharing pass-through agreements would have the perverse effect of harming the County’s ability to provide the services the plan hopes to protect.

If enacted, County officials estimate a loss of nearly $13.2 million annually and would be forced to cut programs and jobs that are core to why counties exist – public health and public safety. 

Libraries, which voters just passed Measure L to ensure funding, would also be affected with a loss of nearly $500,000 annually in redevelopment pass-through funding.

The Legislative proposal would void County property tax sharing pass-through agreements and generate approximately $250 million in savings annually to the State to restore proposed cuts by the Governor to social service programs.

“This funding swap does not solve the State or local budget problems, it only shifts the burden from the State to the County,” said County Administrator Birgitta Corsello. “The State might save some aspects of social service programs, but we won’t be able to pay and keep the people to deliver services.”

The FY2012/13 Recommended Budget for Solano County includes $16.5 million in property tax redevelopment pass-through revenues from existing legal agreements, which represents 8 percent of the County’s General Fund budget.  This revenue would be reduced to about $3.3 million, or an 80 percent reduction.

The County was already projecting an operational funding deficit for FY2012/13 of $11.4 million due to the lingering effects of the recession.  This proposal would cause the County to have an operational funding deficit of $24.6 million for FY2012/13.

The loss of redevelopment pass-through funding would be an additional financing burden on the County, which has already experienced diminished resources as a result of the collapse of the housing market.

“This will be a tremendous loss to counties at a time when counties are taking on more and more responsibilities that the State is shedding in programs and services in our communities to address its fiscal crisis,” Corsello said.

Solano County has redevelopment project areas affecting all of the cities except Benicia. Before 1994, pass-through agreements were negotiated between the local redevelopment agencies and the County.  This negotiation process ensured a redevelopment project had access to funds for its purposes without creating undue hardship on the County programs serving the residents in those areas.

“These are legally binding agreements that were negotiated in good faith to protect the interests of Solano County residents,” Corsello said.

County officials are encouraging the Legislature and the Governor to reject this proposal.