The City had no legal right to use Mello Roos funds to give private loans.
By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
RDA Bonds vs Mello Roos Bonds
Redevelopment Bonds and Mello Roos Bonds are two very different types of funding.
Redevelopment Bonds are paid by taking property taxes that would normally be allocated to the School Districts to pay for the bonds. Redevelopment money is used for city-wide projects.
Mello Roos Bonds are paid by attaching additional taxes to specific property owners. Because the additional taxes are attached only to specific properties; the money must be used to directly benefit those property owners.
Beaumont claimed $21.5 Million in RDA Loans from the City to the Redevelopment Agency on their 2012, 2013, and 2014 Financial Statements that the State Controller’s Office has confirmed is a fraudulent number.
The reason the $21.5 Million was invalid is very simple: Beaumont has no RDA Bonds, they are all Mello Roos Bonds. The City had no legal right to use Mello Roos funds to give private loans.
Mello Roos Bond Funds were passed around to private sector businesses under the guise of Redevelopment Loans. We know that former Councilman Castaldo acquired the AC Propane property; Beaumont Electric built the Den of Thieves, and Josef Serr acquired $52,500 for Hemet Valley Monuments.
It is unknown how many other people in Beaumont received money from the City under the guise of Redevelopment.
June 16, 2015 Beaumont City Council Approved Agenda Item 4.d funding $19,560 for an $84,600 monument.
Hemet Valley Monuments $84,595.98 Monument: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/25660