10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, July 28, 2011

By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise

The Loma Linda City Council is serving notice that it wants to revive the city’s redevelopment agency.

That could cost the city $2.8 million this year and another $668,000 a year in the future.

Loma Linda is joining cities throughout California in abiding by two new state laws: one abolishing local redevelopment agencies and the other allowing cities to re-establish them on a voluntary basis if they are willing to surrender a large portion of the tax money to the state.

Redevelopment agencies use millions of dollars in property tax money to pay for public improvements, but they were a target of Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers as they tried to plug holes in California’s spending plan.

The Loma Linda council voted Tuesday night to approve a nonbinding resolution of its intent to adopt a city ordinance re-establishing the city’s redevelopment agency. The ordinance is expected to be presented to the council for first-reading approval on Aug. 23. It would become final after a second reading in September.

City Manager T. Jarb Thaipejr said in a telephone interview this week that a preliminary estimate of how much Loma Linda would have to pay the state this year was provided by the California Redevelopment Association. That was $2,839,000.

The exact price tag is expected to come by Monday from the state Director of Finance.

Thaipejr said Loma Linda, as with other cities, will likely appeal the calculation. The Director of Finance would have until Sept. 15 to rule on an appeal but has the authority to extend that deadline to Oct. 15.

The new state law does not allow cities to pay the first-year fee directly from redevelopment funds.

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