Suisun City Redevelopment Agency In Limbo

The Suisun City Council voted unanimously to enact an ordinance that requires the city to pay the state more than $1 million to keep its redevelopment agency going while a lawsuit settles its fate.

In effect, that city’s redevelopment agency is in limbo, unable to do new business except legally enforceable obligations.

But faced with the possibility of keeping its redevelopment agency going, or having it shut down for good, the city council chose the former. It also saved more than $60,000 by doing so, but will use housing money to help pay the state.

Still, the city may not have to pay a dime.

The state Supreme Court recently answered a lawsuit filed against the state by putting on hold two recently-passed state laws: one that would eliminate all redevelopment agencies in the state, and one that would keep them in place, if the cities pay the state a set amount of money that differs from city to city.

However, city staff told the council it’s uncertain how broad the decision to put on hold the two state laws is, and the city should act as if the state law allowing for the agency to exist another year is still in effect.

Tuesday’s vote gives the city options going forward to keep the agency, if the lawsuit wins, or change its mind before the January payment due date and vote to dissolve the agency.

If the lawsuit fails, the city will be forced to cut roughly $1.4 million from its budget, money that will likely come out of city staff’s pay and possibly cut city services as well.

What do you think? Has redevelopment done a good job so far in Suisun City? Did the council make the appropriate decision given its options?

You can also read the council's staff report by clicking on the PDF attached to this article.