On The Money: SHRA Salaries
By Mike Luery
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Millions of your property tax dollars are paying for some very high salaries – for an agency that so far has been unable to document that it has created any jobs.
Using public records, CBS 13 obtained a salary list for all 257 employees at Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
Thirty-two names on the list are making $100,000 and up. Seven are paid for by the Housing Agency, but the other 25 are paid in full or in part from redevelopment funds – according to SHRA – representing millions of dollars in salaries paid for by taxpayer dollars.
The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency is on Governor Jerry Brown's short list for elimination, along with some 400 other redevelopment agencies across the state.
The money for redevelopment comes from your property taxes, and local taxpayer advocates are not pleased by the high salaries.
"It's absolutely outrageous," said Craig Powell of the Sacramento County Taxpayers League.
"We're talking quite a bit of money here that really totally is under the radar," noted the League's Executive Director Bob Blymyer.
SHRA declined our on-camera interview request, but told us their salaries are in line with other local government agencies, which was confirmed by State Controller John Chiang.
But in an interview with CBS 13, the state controller said he found some warning bells, following his recent audit of Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment.
"They don't have a definition for jobs," Chiang told CBS 13.
Chiang said SHRA could not document how many jobs they've created through their redevelopment projects, because they don't track that information.
"It's a red flag," Chiang told CBS 13. "We need evidence and we need proof as I pointed out, taxpayers want to make sure that their hard earned taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely."
The controller noted in his audit that under current state laws, redevelopment agencies are not required to track the number of jobs created. "However, such information is requested by the SCO (State Controller's Office) for inclusion in the Redevelopment Agencies Annual Report. Moreover, given the magnitude of public funds spent on redevelopment activities, such data should be one of critical performance measures," Chiang stated.
The non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office was also critical of redevelopment agencies in a February 2011 report.
SHRA does have several high profile redevelopment projects.
The list includes Pizza Rock, Dive Bar and District 30 on Sacramento's K Street Mall. Other redevelopment projects include the Sheraton Grand Hotel and even the building where Governor Brown rents a loft just six blocks from the Capitol.
Yet despite that, Governor Brown's budget plan calls for eliminating all of California's redevelopment agencies – and redirecting that $5 billion into schools and core government services.
In a statement to CBS 13, SHRA Executive Director La Shelle Dozier stated," Our Redevelopment staff are highly skilled professionals with a wide range of technical expertise."
Many California cities are threatening to file suit to keep redevelopment agencies in business. So the battle over redevelopment dollars is getting even hotter – with literally billions of dollars at stake.
Right now those redevelopment agencies are on the chopping block – and their fate will likely depend upon a budget vote at the Capitol.
