Governor Brown addressed a group of 400 California city officials, and didn’t shy away from their differences.

Many of the people in the room oppose his plan to cut Redevelopment Agencies and Enterprise Zones.

At the local level, these programs provide incentives to retain or attract business growth and economic development. But from the state point of view, they simple attract jobs and businesses from one part of the state to another, resulting in no positive growth at the state level.

From the League of Cities’ City Advocate Weekly:

Gov. Jerry Brown met a packed ballroom of city officials today in Sacramento during a luncheon at the League’s New Mayors and Council Members Academy addressing his Administration’s highly controversial plan to end redevelopment agencies and enterprise zones.

Opening with a joke he said, “Has everybody eaten already? Because you look a little hungry to me.”

The Governor quickly acknowledged the scope of the state budget problem and reiterated how important local governments will be in solving the $25.4 billion gap. In addressing the plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies, he noted the various cuts he has made across the board and asked city officials to reconsider their objections. “If we don’t do redevelopment, what else do we cut?” he said. “It’s a zero sum game right now and we have to make tough decisions.”

Read the full article here.