Is Elk Grove's Starbuck Expendable?

With last week's California Supreme Court's decision affirming the death of redevelopment agencies, California municipalities, not to mention developers, are undoubtedly in a frenzy over how to handle the loss of all those dollars.

While Elk Grove has not yet grown dependent as other communities on redevelopment funds, the decision does have implications for the city.


One of the most immediate questions is Elk Grove's Economic Development Director, Randy Starbuck, expendable?

As you may recall, during his formal introduction last October, city manager Laura Gill touted that Starbuck brought in more than $400 million in redevelopment funds while with the city of Pittsburg, Calif. (See video below.)



So now that state funded redevelopment is dead, will Starbuck be able to shift gears and really secure new  employers to the city? Considering the fact that Elk Grove's biggest score in securing jobs was accomplished without his six-figure salary, Starbuck will really need to prove his worth in non-redevelopment funded  economic development.

If he doesn't score a big victory between now and his first anniversary in October, Starbuck and Gill for that matter, could both become a political liabilities come next November and become quite expendable.