Council delays action on squirreling away redevelopment money

It looks like war between L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency and Jerry Brown. During a hastily called meeting on Friday (just 24 hours notice), the CRA's board of commissioners approved a plan that essentially transfers $930 million in projected tax increment revenue to the city - thus blocking any effort by Brown to re-purpose the money for such minor needs as schools and cops. The governor wants to eliminate redevelopment agencies, but funds that were already committed would be safe. If the City Council approves the transfer, it could create a nonprofit entity to manage the saved projects. From the Downtown News:

Brown has targeted redevelopment agencies statewide as means to help shore up the state's looming $25 billion deficit. Redevelopment agencies rely on tax increment funding, which repurposes a portion of property taxes for reinvestment in blighted areas. Brown would take those dollars away from redevelopment agencies and free them up for spending on core public services like schools and public safety. The CRA has been a key driver of development in Downtown, and local stakeholders have largely balked at the idea of eliminating the agency. But some private developers have also lamented that the CRA essentially provides another layer of bureaucracy that slows down the entitlement process and jeopardizes projects that don't take public money.

All the maneuvering makes me wonder even more about the legitimacy of the CRA and its supposed priorities. Let's see, firefighters or the Broad museum....