Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007 | In Council President Scott Peters letter “Don’t Believe Everything You Read,” he mentions how the City Council has had to make some tough choices by cutting some services in order to maintain core services. When they speak of cutting services, they are referring to the personnel needed to deliver those services. Council President Peters also mentions boosting revenue. I have a suggestion where to look for a cash windfall: stop redevelopment.
It seems that everyone buys in to the notion that redevelopment is a good thing and keeps cash in the community. What people fail to take in to account is that these funds can only be used for building, not personnel. When you add residents to an area you automatically increase the need for the city to provide more police, fire, emergency, waste collection, park maintenance, etc. These services require people, which redevelopment funds can’t be used to finance. The portion the city still gets from a redevelopment area doesn’t begin to pay for the costs of the personnel required to deliver the needed services.
Look at the 13 redevelopment areas and how much they are collecting. What would you have to cut if you had all that money? Canceling the Grantville Redevelopment is a good place to stop bleeding the city dry.