SACRAMENTO – A judge's ruling Friday afternoon will require redevelopment agencies both locally and across the state to send payments to the state on Monday.

On Friday the Third District Court of Appeal denied the request from the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) for a temporary stay on a Sacramento Superior Court decision reached last Tuesday that upholds a state law requiring the redevelopment agency payments.

The CRA is notifying its members and recommending redevelopment agencies statewide make the required payment on Monday, May 10, even though the association said Friday that it will appeal the Superior Court ruling and is confident the appeal will be successful.

CRA said the payment due Monday is the first $1.7 billion installment the state is raiding from local communities “which would otherwise be used for projects to create jobs, economic growth and urban revitalization projects.” CRA sought the stay to protect this funding while the appeal process wound through the Court of Appeal.

The payments will be made in accordance with a ruling by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly last Tuesday which instructed local redevelopment agencies to abide by the provisions of AB X4 26.

Passed last year as part of the state budget, AB X4 26 allows the state to take $2.05 billion in redevelopment funding over two years to use for state obligations.

“Taking this funding will stall job creation efforts in California at the worst possible time,” said John Shirey, CRA executive director. “The money being turned over to fund State obligations would have been used for local revitalization projects that would have improved our communities, created jobs and stimulated our local economy. CRA plans to file its appeal in the next week or so. We expect to prevail.”

Last, officials with the redevelopment agencies for the county and the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake indicated they were prepared to make the payments if the stay wasn't granted.

Payments are due this year and next. Lakeport will pay $313,005 this year and $64,380 next year; Clearlake is due payments of $1,014,736 and $208,716; and the county will pay $764,000 and $155,000.

On Friday, Kelly Cox – the county's administrative officer and county redevelopment agency executive director – said the county would be processing its payment from the county's redevelopment agency budget on Monday for the entire amount.

“It's budgeted and we've been planning to make the payment,” Cox said. “The court decision that was issued today doesn't come as a surprise to us.”

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