The City Manager of Grand Terrace and The City Council should be looking for ways to fassion a City Government that can operate within the finances available without dependency of the RDA and or Debt Financing. This is a necessity now so that when the 3.5 or 5 years pass there will not be the cries of we are going to be falling into a big abyss of non existence and so forth.
This is a small town. The City is not nor is it likely will it ever be able to assure that all people doing business in GT are in fact licensed to do business in GT, Pay Taxes, and obey the same codes and regulations required of homeowners.
This town has not added to it's Buying Power only the increase of competition. Stater's Deli will be taking customers away from our pre-existing restaurants. That isn't a net increase in sales just a relocation of sales. Some how, Jacobsen's CVS isn't facing the promised competition from a Stater's in house pharmacy. Yet, other businesses in GT are having their customer base pinched. Was there some Non Competition Agreement between Jacobsen and Brown, included in the sale of the land to Staters?
When will Stater's release the property at their old leased site so that some one else can pinch their customers, or create new jobs in GT, not just relocated jobs and services?
Either way, the economy is slowly recovering, and if GT were allowed to develope in a natural sustainable way slowly with out merly displacing a coustomer base for a favored business over other businesses our overall economy would be more stable, sustainable, and a contribution to the city, region, county, state and country. There is a bigger world... out there GT... you deserve no are obligated to produce more than pumps, mustard and ravioli, if your existence is to be assured.
GRAND TERRACE: Council approves restart of redevelopment
By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
Staff Writer dsantchi@pe.com
The Grand Terrace City Council is making it official and will pay the state in order to restart the city's redevelopment agency.
The council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to give final approval to an ordinance restarting the agency in 30 days, but will have to make what Mayor Walt Stanckiewitz called "extortion payments" to the state.
Two new state laws require local redevelopment agencies to either shut down redevelopment, used to fund public improvements, or voluntarily turn over a large chunk of redevelopment revenue to help balance the state budget.
Grand Terrace has joined in a lawsuit filed on behalf of redevelopment agencies throughout California challenging the constitutionality of the two state laws.
Even if that challenge is unsuccessful, city Community and Economic Development Director Joyce Powers said Grand Terrace will file an appeal this month of the amount the city would have to pay.
At present, the price tag would be $2.8 million this year and $670,000 in the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The city's appeal is being made on two fronts, although details have not yet been made public.
One would reduce the city's contribution by as much as $750,000. The other would save $400,000.
If the appeal is not successful, Powers said, the redevelopment agency would be able to function for only about 3½ years before its revenue, gleaned from property taxes, would not raise enough money to make its annual payment to the state. If the city wins its appeal, she said, the agency could survive five years.
