The State has identified 18 redevelopment agencies across California to open their books for a full audit.

Nearly half of the selected agencies are ones that have not paid their Supplemental Education Revenue Augmentation Funds to the state. This was part of a funds transfer passed under previous budgets.

Among the auditees (offenders) are a handful from the Bay area, including the scandal ridden Hercules.

The audit will investigate how the Agencies handle low- to moderate-income housing, as well as pass-throughs to education, and how they define the ‘blighted’ areas which will benefit from the Redevelopment funds.

From the Contra Costa Times:

Four East Bay redevelopment agencies, including three in Contra Costa County, are targeted in a statewide review of 18 agencies announced Monday by the office of Controller John Chiang.

The review, which will include Hercules, Pittsburg, Richmond and Fremont as well as rural agencies such as Anderson in Shasta County and big-city ones such as Los Angeles and San Jose, aims to gather facts on how redevelopment funds are used and the extent to which those uses comply with laws, according to a news release from Chiang’s office.

Earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown voiced concern that redevelopment agencies siphon money from schools as well as from cities and counties. The governor’s office announced plans to disband about 400 redevelopment agencies statewide to help plug a $28.1 billion hole in the state’s budget.

Read the full article here.