County using a sledgehammer to dismantle RDA

Two members of an oversight board for the dismantling of the city’s Redevelopment Agency controlled by the County of Santa Clara were just summarily dismissed without cause.
Pete Kutras, a Morgan Hill resident and, ironically, the former county executive, and Wes Smith, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s superintendent, were replaced for no good reason.
Essentially, it’s a no-holds-barred money grab by the county which has, apparently, decided to play hardball. That Supervisor Mike Wasserman who represents Morgan Hill as the District 1 member, has justified the hostile takeover by the county gives us uncomfortable pause. “This is not the county versus the city,” he said. But for all intents and purposes, that’s exactly what the replacement move, done without explanation or warning, makes it.
Statesmanship has been shoved to the background.
Kutras and Smith were viewed as cityside RDA protectors so they had to go. But that’s a price the city should not have to pay. The state set up redevelopment agencies years ago, and cities took advantage. The system blessed the siphoning of incremental tax increases to improve “blighted” areas. Granted, the funds were questionably used in many cases. Be that as it may, the city should not be paying penalties for a system it did not create. The RDA dissolution law has everything to do with the state needing more tax revenues.
The point is that the city has investment interests legitimately made under the RDA rules, and those are a part of the city’s planning process and deserve protection.
Supervisor Mike Wasserman should be on the RDA oversight board. He’s directly accountable to the voters, and that’s what’s sorely needed as this panel dismantles what the city built.
With Kutras and Smith dismissed in stealth fashion, the people minding the store don’t have Morgan Hill’s back. Dismantling the RDA should not have retroactive penalties and the Board of Supervisors should understand that.