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Fresno City Council Member Larry Westerlund missed Thursday's council meeting because he was testifying in Sacramento at a state Senate hearing on the future of redevelopment agencies.

Westerlund, who also serves as chairman of the Fresno Redevelopment Agency board, spoke at a subcommittee hearing chaired by Michael Rubio, D-Bakersfield. Rubio's subcommittee is digging into Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies as part of his solution to the state's $25 billion budget gap.

Westerlund's message to subcommittee members: Fresno's RDA is vital to improving the city's economy.

"I tried to give them a little taste of our experience and how incredibly important [the RDA] is to development in Fresno and the revitalization of downtown," Westerlund said.

Westerlund said he also met with Rubio and officials from the League of California Cities.

Rubio said his subcommittee "spent the better part of four hours" on redevelopment agencies. Rubio said he supports the work of redevelopment agencies in areas plagued with blight, low employment and bad housing.

However, Rubio added, redevelopment law needs reform. He said there some well-heeled cities have redevelopment areas, but don't really need the tax incentives.

Rubio said Westerlund "did a very good job of being a voice for the city of Fresno."

http://fresnobeehive.com/news/2011/02/westerlund_testifies_in_sacram.html