Sacramento redevelopment repackaged?

Katy Grimes: John Shirey, Sacramento’s latest city manager and former director of California’s  defunct Redevelopment Agency, sent out an email this evening promoting local business “opportunities” connecting with “resources.”

Only those “resources” are being repackaged as opportunities for small businesses as “financial preparation.”

Here is the memo:

Sacramento Hosts Free Workshop Connecting Small Businesses to Resources

Half-day workshop will feature info on social media, marketing and financial preparation.

Story: 

The City of Sacramento, in partnership with local property and business improvement districts, the County of Sacramento, and the area chambers of commerce, has planned a free workshop that will connect small businesses to resources and information to help them thrive and prosper. More than 350 small business owners are slated to attend. 

• When/Where: 
• Friday, June 8 from 7:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Woodlake Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane.
• Who: 
• Opening remarks will be made by Sacramento City Manager John Shirey. The workshop will feature an update on the state of the local economy by economic developer Ryan Sharp and two information sessions focusing on marketing and social media strategies and financing preparation. 
• Background: 
• As part of the City of Sacramento Economic Development Department’s Business Visit Program, staff has conducted outreach efforts over the years to engage businesses in key commercial corridors. After reaching out to more than 3000 businesses, the feedback received was used to develop the Sacramento Business First Workshop.

But a little digging shows other meeting information…

“Learn from the pros on how to effectively and efficiently get prepared to seek financing and capital for your business,” a meeting notice claims. 

What’s most interesting is that the notice links to a registration for the meeting, but the meeting “registration is closed.”

Oh my. Sacramento business owners should show up in droves and sign up for financial assistance, just out of curiosity.

Redevelopment agencies were abolished by Gov. Jerry Brown, not out of any sense of eradicating waste of improper spending of taxpayer funds–Brown saw the huge chunk of redevelopment money as a way to help plug holes in the state budget without cutting much else.

The California Redevelopment Agency still maintains its website and actively advocates for redevelopment spending.

In a recent Senate Sub Committee #4 hearing, League of California Cities Legislative Director Dan Carrigg “pointed out that over the past few months a number of bills have been introduced in the Legislature designed to address some of the problems with AB 1 x 26, while still providing the state with budget relief,” the California Redevelopment Agency said.

“AB 1585 (Pérez), SB 986 (Dutton) and SB 1335 (Pavley), SB 1151 (Steinberg) and SB 1156 (Steinberg), all offer a policy-centered approach to these issues. These legislative proposals recognize that redevelopment agencies offered value to California, and not just in the dollars the state reaped for its budget deficit,” the CRA website states.

“Carrigg concluded his remarks by asking the committee members to consider what is in the best interest of California’s economy,” the CRA reported. “We urge the Legislature not to take the aggressive approach proposed by the department of Finance but work through the issues in a more balanced way that allows retention of assets and projects that make policy sense while achieving budget savings for the state.”

Really?

Under the CRA’s “Current Year Legislative Tools and News,” the CRA states “this page is currently being developed.”

It doesn’t appear that the redevelopment agency has really ended.