The bankrupt California city of San Bernardino improperly transferred nearly $110 million in cash and other assets from its redevelopment agency to an entity run in part by the city’s mayor and some council members, the state controller said, Reuters reported yesterday. The city, located about 65 miles east of Los Angeles, has also improperly held onto another $420.5 million in former Redevelopment Agency (RDA) assets, according to a review by controller John Chiang. San Bernardino’s RDA was one of about 400 agencies eliminated last year across California as a result of legislation spearheaded by Gov. Jerry Brown. The goal was to free up property tax revenues controlled by the RDAs for use in funding schools and other services. Chiang said that San Bernardino, which declared bankruptcy on Aug. 1, should not have transferred $108.4 million in assets from its RDA to the nonprofit San Bernardino Economic Development Corporation (EDC) when the city's RDA was dissolved, adding that the transfer was illegal because the city controls the EDC. According to the EDC's website, its seven-member board of directors includes San Bernardino’s mayor, as well as a current and former council member. San Bernardino, in a response in November to Chiang's initial assertions, said its transfer of assets was legal.
