PEI is California’s leading provider of redevelopment services to the education community. PEI consultants have been involved in a majority of all redevelopment plans or amendments approved in the State of California since 1989, on behalf of over 225 local school districts, community college districts, and county offices of education. AB 1290—the Community Redevelopment Law Reform Act of 1993—went into effect on January 1, 1994. While AB 1290 protects existing alleviation agreements for redevelopment plans approved in prior years, AB 1290 changes the form, amount, and process for school district participation in future redevelopment projects.
For new redevelopment plans and amendments, AB 1290 replaces alleviation agreements with statutory payments from redevelopment agencies (based on a complex set of formulas), in combination with facilities agreements. Each school and college district is responsible for enforcing RDA compliance with these payments, which may be reduced or eliminated through faulty implementation or subordination. While AB 1290 establishes school district entitlement to statutory payments, the amount of such payments a district actually receives will depend on statutory interpretation, computer modeling of complex payment formulas, and the nature of subordination provisions agreed to by the district. These and other important issues involving implementation of AB 1290, along with facilities agreements, must still be negotiated.
In addition to AB 1290, two new redevelopment entitlements were created in 2001, pursuant to the Santa Ana decision (involving so-called “2 percent” payments) and to SB 211 (involving new AB 1290 payments). PEI played a major role in obtaining both of these entitlements for K-14 districts. PEI consultants have an unparalleled record of success in maximizing the benefits of redevelopment for our school clients. Our experience and expertise allow PEI consultants to pursue all possible avenues for generating and effectively utilizing redevelopment revenues for needed school facilities.
PEI offers specialized audit services to ensure RDA compliance with statutory payment formulas as well as existing alleviation agreements. These services require specialized expertise in property tax collection and redevelopment not otherwise available to school district administrators. PEI consultants have consistently identified and collected past RDA underpayments, providing school districts with millions of dollars in additional revenues over the life of the redevelopment plan. PEI also provides future payment projections and bonding capacity estimates for existing agreements and statutory payments. In addition, PEI provides special financial advisory services for certificates of participation secured by RDA revenues.
PEI is California’s leading provider of redevelopment services to the education community. Our consultants have been involved in over 75% of all redevelopment plans or amendments approved in the State of California since 1989, on behalf of over 225 local school districts, community college districts, and county offices of education.
PEI consultants have an unparalleled record of success in maximizing the benefits of redevelopment for our school clients. Our experience and expertise allow PEI consultants to pursue all possible avenues for generating and effectively utilizing redevelopment revenues for needed school facilities.
Unlike some other firms, PEI does not provide redevelopment consulting services to redevelopment agencies. Rather, PEI uses its vast technical expertise, extensive knowledge of redevelopment law and practices, powerful computer models, and multi-faceted hands-on experience with redevelopment and property taxation, to benefit K-14 districts. As a result, we focus solely on what is beneficial for K-14 districts, consistent with both the letter and intent of Community Redevelopment Law, the Education Code, State regulations, contractual requirements, and the highest ethical principles.
PEI’s professional consultants have nearly 80 years of combined experience in education, economics, law, redevelopment, municipal finance, real estate development, engineering, planning, and budget analysis. All PEI consultants hold postgraduate degrees and have extensive experience in computer modeling and analysis, a key component of the firm’s services.
PEI has used its acknowledged leadership and expertise to successfully obtain and secure entitlements to billions of dollars in past and future redevelopment payments for educational facilities, as well as facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars in COP and lease-revenue bond financings repaid by future redevelopment payments.
PEI has been instrumental in obtaining favorable treatment of redevelopment pass-throughs to K-14 districts by County Auditor-Controllers (“A-Cs”) and RDAs in numerous counties throughout the State. PEI also played instrumental roles in the passage of AB 1290, AB 3718, SB 211, and other legislation preserving and expanding redevelopment entitlements for K-14 districts.
This is what helps distinguish PEI from the competition. The PEI Perspective has four major aspects:
Rigorous, quantitative analysis is necessary for innovative school funding solutions. It results in a "by the numbers" approach which permeates PEI's work, and explains PEI's commitment to advancing the state of the art in its computer modeling approaches and techniques..
Comprehensive, integrated analysis involves integrating both facilities and program requirements in the master planning process. This also involves combining the full range of available funding and financing sources, in order to ensure that facility and operating cash flow requirements can be fully met.
Implementation-oriented analysis results in a focus on "the bottom line" for both the school district and the community — educating students. By emphasizing realistic and feasible solutions, PEI's work products are more than reports on a shelf; they are dynamic planning and financing tools which can be effectively used throughout all stages of facility and program planning and implementation.
The central role of public-public and public-private partnerships in today's school funding environment, especially in light of passage of Proposition 1A. This involves pursuing all opportunities for cooperation with cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, and other education entities, as well as developers and private business, to create "win-win" situations desired by both public and private sectors. This also involves combining multiple funding sources to minimize funding burdens on local taxpayers and ensure that facilities are available when needed.