Emeryville in the Post Redevelopment Agency Era
The city’s Finance Advisory Committee met on Monday, Feb. 27. Some of its business was routine, some not.First, some good news: Revenue for the second quarter was up $1,512,843 over the same period last year, a gain of about 15%, and expenditures for the quarter were down $356,958. That’s encouraging, and we hope these figures represent continuing positive trends, not just circumstantial or temporary budgetary adjustments.
That’s about it for the good news. On the grimmer side, consider the pending fate of.....(click here for rest of story)
Thank you Mr. Reuter for bringing this topic forward for more discussion. I listened to the Council session that discussed Emeryville post redevelopment and I was, for the most part, happy with the conversation. Yes, things will be slower going forward and it may take longer to build the pedestrian bridges we so desperately need, but now maybe we can focus on the basic services that the residents want, not the developers. We want public safety. We want community services. We want parks, smooth roads, beautiful walking paths. We want arts and other things that inspire and spark discussion.
ReplyDeleteAs to the grimmer side, so long as those cuts do not impact our wants and needs as a community, yes, it is sad that employees will be laid off but it may be necessary to save money from unnecessary salaries that can be put toward funding our bridge or our parks. Now is the time to ask, is there a better way to deliver the services the residents want? or do we allow the City to continue to operate in the same manner, the same structure it did in the era of massive development. Now is the time for the leadership of our elected officials to seize the opportunity for change, change that benefits the residents, not the developers.
A scant amount of redevelopment agency largesse trickled down to Emeryville residents even during the boom years; in these recession/depression years, I doubt any resident-serving project will move forward at all, unless the City/Agency are faced with a "use it or lose it" scenario with respect to redevelopment funds already set aside for resident-friendly public works.
ReplyDeleteDon't cut on careful staff cuts either.
But keep your eyes open for the inevitable proposals to push through a tax measure to increase our property taxes ....