The county and city of Sacramento have contributed about $22 million to keep their redevelopment agency running another year.
To help balance the budget, state lawmakers passed bills in June that dissolved redevelopment agencies across California, but allowed local governments to create voluntary redevelopment agencies.
The county Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to provide $3.5 million for the current fiscal year to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
"I think it's a bit of a misnomer to call this a voluntary program," Supervisor Phil Serna said. "Redevelopment is very important to many of our areas."
The Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday night to provide $18.3 million to the agency for this fiscal year.
The funding will allow the agency to continue with planned redevelopment projects, officials said. In Sacramento, that includes improvements on the 800 block of K Street, and the Grand Theater renovation.
In the county, the agency is working on projects in Mather and McClellan. The county is contributing less money to the agency than the city because it has fewer redevelopment projects.
The California Redevelopment Association, the League of California Cities and two Bay Area cities have petitioned the state Supreme Court to block implementation of the state laws and to overturn them.
La Shelle Dozier, head of Sacramento's redevelopment agency, told supervisors that proponents expect to win the case, but need continued funding to keep their options open.
State lawmakers, including Gov. Jerry Brown, have argued that redevelopment money often went to wasteful projects, and continued funding didn't make sense when core services are being cut.
REDEVELOPMENT
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