Opposed to Redevelopment

Governor Brown is right to stop Redevelopment Agencies (RDA) from diverting local property taxes.  The huge bite RDAs take out of local property taxes ($5.7 billion statewide in 2009) is wrong. 

RDAs get their money from taking our LOCAL property taxes and diverting them from critical city and county services---- fire departments, schools, community colleges, community hospitals, BART, EPRPD parks, etc.

The total diversion for Contra Costa County alone in 2009 was $176 million (State Redevelopment Agency 2009 Report).  These huge tax diversions are responsible for many of the service cuts we are facing today, including the possible closing of Martinez Fire Station 12 on Shell Ave.

Adding insult to injury, many RDAs don’t even spend the money wisely.  RDAs were originally formed in the 1950s to help truly poor neighborhoods.  But low and moderate income housing gets only 20% or less of RDA moneys.

The bulk is spent on development projects the private sector should handle, shopping centers, football stadiums, office complexes, auto rows, etc.  Hercules RDA is trying to fund a huge office/shopping complex right now.  Concord RDA just voted to pay for free advertising for Concord auto dealers.   

Many of these projects are fraught with mismanagement and fraud.  Over $800 million of issues were recently reported in the Los Angeles Times expose of last November.  Hercules is our current local RDA poster child for mismanagement and possible fraud.

City councilmembers comprise the boards that that run most RDAs.  Politicians make poor developers.  That’s one reason for the problems. 

Another reason for the poor track record is the secrecy that surrounds RDA.  RDAs can legally make secret deals with developers and land owners.

A third reason is poor oversight.  The Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes recent report concluded no state agency oversees RDAs.  

Our choice is between closing down fire stations and other critical local services, or taking back the local property taxes RDAs are diverting. 

I choose to stop the RDA diversions of our local tax dollars.

Our City Council has told the Governor that we have made a different choice.  They have passed a resolution to be forwarded to the Governor saying the City of Martinez is opposed to stopping the RDAs.  The Council is saying they represent all of us in that opinion.

The Council does not represent most of us.  Over 52% of the Martinez residents who voted in the November election voted for Council candidates who explicitly opposed an RDA for our town.  The two incumbent Councilmembers were out-voted by the three challengers.  We cast 11,773 for the challengers.   The incumbents received a total of only 10,770. 

We need to make sure the Governor understands the Council’s letter is not supported by a majority of us citizens.

Send me your e-mail permission to add your name to those sending the letter above to the Governor and our county and state representatives.  My e-mail is tim_mart2001@yahoo.com.

If you prefer to contact them yourself, go to www.martinezca.org, the website for Open Martinez, and find the contact information for the Governor and other of our elected officials.  Tell them that the Council does not represent you, and that you want to see RDA tax diversions stopped.

We need to stop the City Council from misrepresenting our town on this critical issue.

Tim Platt