San Jose Mayor Applauds Budget Veto, Pushes To Protect Redevelopment
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Gov. Jerry Brown's veto of the spending bills passed by the Democrats does not go far enough to protect local control of redevelopment money that California cities depend on, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said Thursday.
"I do congratulate the governor for figuring this out very quickly and getting the legislature back to work on a real budget bill. This one was flawed from the beginning with gimmicks and borrowing and just creating problems," said Reed.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
Reed said that if they continue to consider eliminating redevelopment agencies, it could kill one of the only job creating programs left.
"The crazy thing about the state's action is that the state is short on money because we're short on taxpayers. And the redevelopment agencies have proven time and time again as the one thing that really works to help create jobs," said Reed. "The way the state gets out of this crisis is by getting more tax revenue in, and redevelopment agencies can do that."
The mayors of California's ten largest cities have issued a joint statement condemning the legislature for what they call their shortsighted actions.
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