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Friday, February 10, 2012
SHRA temporarily closes, moves
by Suzanne Hurt, published on December 17, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Storyline: Redevelopment
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Most Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency departments will be closed and most employees will be off for the rest of the holidays, beginning Friday, while the agency moves to a new downtown location.
The two-week closure is needed partly because cash-strapped California is requiring the agency to pay $25 million to state schools in 2010 and 2011, said La Shelle Dozier, SHRA executive director.
In July, the state passed a budget directing city and county redevelopment agencies to pay $2.05 billion in redevelopment funds to the Supplemental Education Reimbursement Augmentation Fund to help address state budget shortfalls.
The agency's Public Housing operations — the Housing Choice Voucher and Conventional Housing programs — will remain open. The rest of its departments will be closed from Friday until Jan. 5. At that time, about 130 employees currently working at five different locations will begin working in the agency's new headquarters, 801 12th St., said agency spokesperson Angela Jones.
"The movers are in our offices right now," she said Thursday afternoon.
SHRA is a city/county joint powers authority created to develop affordable housing, serve as the local housing authority and oversee commercial and residential redevelopment.
Most of the agency's staff and departments, including executive and administrative offices, have been located on three floors of a mixed-use building at 630 I St. since at least the early 1980s, she said. The building also contains senior housing in Riverview Plaza apartments. Other SHRA departments will be consolidated from locations at 1013 7th St., 320 Commerce Circle and elsewhere in the 600 block of I Street.
Housing authority staff and the Housing Choice Voucher program will remain at 701 12th St., Jones said.
In June 2008, the agency bought a $9 million, six-story building at 12th and H streets that had housed multiple tenants in about 61,000 square feet. The move was timed to take advantage of the traditional holiday slow-down.
"That kind of makes it convenient for us to get all these departments moved," said Jones.
The agency did not provide information about whether employees would be on paid leave or required to take unpaid leave, in addition to paid holidays, during this time.
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Is states... "..The two-week closure is needed partly because cash-strapped California is requiring the agency to pay $25 million to state schools in 2010 and 2011.."
Then it states... "In June 2008, the agency bought a $9 million, six-story building at 12th and H streets .."
How exactly is SHRA going to SAVE money by buying a new building and moving into it? They are NOT going to sell the existing building.
The State wants the cities and counties to pay BACK BILLIONS which Redevelopment agencies have been pilfering from schools... they have been doing this for DECADES. Once a redevelopment zone is set...the tax increases...called Tax Increment Financing, which a portion of WOULD HAVE GONE TO SCHOOLS...instead, it is pilfered & diverted to development projects which make fat cat developers very wealthy.... In simple terms...Redevelopment agencies divert BILLIONS of dollars PER YEAR from local schools... WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS UNIONISTS SCREAMING ABOUT THIS?
Also..SHRA is in NO WAY hurting for money. They have 4-5 BILLION in assets...own THOUSANDS OF PARCELS OF LAND...(They are the largest owner of empty and blighted property in the County) They have a yearly budget of nearly 300 MILLION DOLLARS... They get TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YEARLY from the federal government...
Booo hoo.
What a load of crap...they wanted nice new offices, and do not want to simply say this. They know that in these economic times, it would not look very good that they are moving on up...and spending MILLIONS of our tax dollars on new digs...After all their only reason to exist is to help the poor and redevelop blighted areas... Doesn't look to good if they buy a building and move just because they wanted nicer office space.
Next time you write a story...try digging a little more... If I wanted to read PR puff pieces I would simply read the Sac Bee website.
AND OF COURSE THE EMPLOYEES WILL GET PAID TIME OFF!..gee just at Christmas time.. THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT...Get a clue.