SUISUN CITY — When the California Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies and struck down a voluntary program to keep them alive, it delivered the worst-case scenario for the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency.

The elimination of the Redevelopment Agency will require cutting the current City budget by $1.4 million, which the City Council has discussed in theory for several months. Because the option to pay annually to retain the Redevelopment Agency was eliminated, Suisun City stands to lose approximately $13 million in additional cash and assets.

“We’re still digesting the court’s decision,” said City Manager Suzanne Bragdon. “But from reading the basic background provided by the court, it’s clear that those not at the local level – people not on the ground – miss the whole concept that redevelopment provides tools to make new development and new projects happen that wouldn’t happen by private investment alone.

"Instead, they describe redevelopment as a big shell game that allows cities to grab property taxes from other entities, rather than a tool to grow the overall property tax pool – not to mention the creation of other tax revenues and jobs – which benefits everyone, including schools and the State," Bragdon said. "This decision has severely limited future business development in a community like Suisun City.”

The state Legislature adopted the two-bill redevelopment package in June by a simple majority with one vote to spare. That maneuver came after lawmakers failed to secure a two-thirds majority to eliminate Redevelopment Agencies outright, which was proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown in January.

“Those who voted for the final measures were told by Democratic Party leadership that their vote would not eliminate redevelopment,” Bragdon said. “Clearly, that’s not true; with the Court’s action, it by-passes the original two-thirds vote requirement for eliminating redevelopment. Unfortunately, such a maneuver fuels the public’s overall disillusionment with our State elected leaders.”

In its ruling, the Supreme Court delayed the schedule adopted by the Legislature to dissolve Redevelopment by four months. Barring additional state legislation – like a repeal, the dissolution process will start in the Spring.

As contained in the original legislation (ABX26), State-ordered dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency requires all assets to be liquidated for redistribution to the school district, the County and other local public agencies. Property taxes will continue to flow to the agency’s successor to repay existing bond debt.

>> Link to the Supreme Court's opinion