Oakland Ordered To Repay $170M In Redevelopment Assets
OAKLAND (KCBS) - A state audit has determined Oakland must return money and property inappropriately transferred from the city's Redevelopment Agency before it was dissolved.
When Governor Jerry Brown announced he was eliminating the redevelopment program in 2011 to balance the state budget, Oakland shifted the assets of its local redevelopment agency to city control to prevent the state from seizing them.
"The majority of that is in real estate, but some of it's also in cash," said John Roper, a spokesman for the State Controller's Office.
Oakland Ordered To Repay $170 Million of Redevelopment Assets
The Controller's Office review concluded Wednesday that city officials had no authority to authorize the transfers, including the sale of the Kaiser Convention Center.
Roper said the agency charged with paying off the Redevelopment Agency's debts would take control of the assets.
City Administrator Deanna Santana said in a written statement that Oakland officials had held the money in reserve because of the audit, and had already repaid most of the money.
Santana said the so-called claw backs would have no impact on Oakland's budget or on city services.
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