49ers' Stadium Subsidy, Schools Money in One Pot - Who Knew?

Dear Santa Clarans,


In the wake of the dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies in California, every city has its own story, no doubt about it.  In a nutshell, this is ours:

Our former RDA couldn't subsidize the San Francisco 49ers to the tune of that original $42,000,000 without extending its own authority to hand your property taxes over to the team.   But our Council did just that in February of  2011 when they first proposed abolishing the debt-incurrence time limit for our RDA.  This was the so-called "SB 211" amendment.

The claim at the time was that this would enable the RDA to issue low-interest bonds to pay back cash advances from the 49ers.  Click on Agenda Item 6B here to see the video and get the reports.  The same claim was made when the SB 211 amendment was finally passed on March 15th, 2011.

Now, fast-forward to the City Council meeting of June 7, a mere eighty-four days later.  In that meeting, surprise!:  We learned that there was no way that the RDA could possibly issue any bonds at all.  The RDA would be stuck paying the 49ers for their "Agency Advance" at an interest rate of up to 8.50% - using our property taxes to do it.

See page 5 of the "Committee of the Whole" report here :

By the time of the dissolution of the RDAs with AB 1x 26, the San Francisco 49ers had managed to suck over $10,000,000 out of our RDA.   But now, both the remaining subsidy for Jed York and property taxes to support Santa Clara Unified Schools have ended up in the same, identical "Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund," or RPTTF.   The Oversight Board of the Successor Agency is responsible for payments from that fund.

A majority on that Oversight Board - and the California State Department of Finance as well - have rightly refused to recognize the stadium subsidy to the 49ers as equal to needed funding for SCUSD schools.

Well!  Furious that they cannot bleed that last $30,000,000 out of our property taxes, the 49ers are suing the Oversight Board - and they've gotten the courts to stop payments to any other Agencies until they get payments to themselves.  One original estimate (5/3/2012) actually called for the Oversight Board to pay the 49ers more than $52,000,000 over time!:

 


How on earth did a plum payment to a millionaire NFL team owner end up in the same pot as the money we need to educate our children?  By what arrogant stretch of entitlement do the 49ers justify holding the entire RPTTF hostage and in making the Oversight Board responsible for acts of Sacramento?

Ask a 49ers Stadium Booster - if they voted for Measure Jed on June 8, 2010, then they voted for exactly the outrage above.**

We'll know more on March 22nd, when 49ers v. Oversight Board is heard in the Sacramento Superior Court.  Please stay in touch, and ask questions.  What we don't know, we'll do our best to find out.


Thanks for all of your support,
William F. "Bill" Bailey, Treasurer

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49ers v. Oversight Board:   Case 34-2012-80001192 may be searched here . Pull down for "Civil," check "CCMS," then enter the case number.  Smile.

**If you do ask a 49ers Stadium Booster, please don't settle for any weasel words.  That "Agency Advance" was amply covered in the June 8th, 2010, language for Measure Jed, §7.4(c).  I'm reading my old Sample Ballot now as I write this.  It was one of a myriad of reasons I voted a flat "NO" on Measure Jed then.