Officials in Burbank and Glendale are scrambling to assess the recent California Supreme Court decision upholding the elimination of their redevelopment agencies and the nearly 80 city jobs they fund.
Since the court ruled last week that the state Legislature was within its rights to eliminate nearly 400 community redevelopment agencies statewide to help close a multi-billion dollar budget gap — and that a compromise allowing cities to pay hefty fees in exchange for retaining the agencies was unlawful — local officials have been taking hurried stock.
In Glendale, nearly 40 jobs are fully or partly paid for by the redevelopment agency, which is funded by the higher property tax revenues generated by removing blight within designated redevelopment zones — a revenue source known as tax increment.