I hope everyone has stayed healthy and safe during this recent wave of COVID. Our campaign has gained some serious momentum with great endorsements and a choice of Spring events for you to attend. I am proud to have the endorsement of Peter Hersh, just retired Laguna Niguel Planning Commissioner who also served on the Traffic and Transportation Commission.
MAKE THE MILITARY SUPPORT COMMITTEE ITS OWN NONPROFIT Discussion through the years by various council members has shown that the Military Support committee boosts political careers and gets reset by different councils to serve their own power needs, all at taxpayer expense. Stop spending taxpayer money for something that does not serve the taxpayers. The committee would make more of a positive impact on serving military families as its own nonprofit, similar to how many other area cities organize their military support. It could have more volunteers, not just 18 political appointees, and they wouldn’t have the nuisance of the Brown Act to plan events. Everyone should be able to participate in community and the joy of giving to the military, not just a select committee. I support Council Members Sharma and Rains proposal to do this, unfortunately a third vote was not won over by the council at the last city council meeting.
LACK OF TRUST ON DISPLAY A lack of trust was on display among board members at the January 18 council meeting which has rendered the board less productive. No doubt this is the struggle between two factions who have put up their own candidates for the upcoming November city council race. I’m glad to be the independent, community voice in this election. Whatever the issue may be, the council owes it to taxpayers to fix its trust issues before the election and not let this drag on for a year.
MIDYEAR BUDGET UPDATE The city experienced higher than budgeted property tax revenue and will budget in summer revenue from the trolley, $59,816 (Measure M2 grant funds). They also designated some of the ARPA funding to capital improvement projects, leaving a large amount of ARPA money still available. On February 1, the city council agreed to add 3 more capital projects to this budget year: $600,000 to improve the audio-visual equipment at city hall; $750,000 to widen Crown Valley near I-5 Freeway; $150,000 for the La Paz Road Earth Movement Evaluation.
See you at the next City Council meeting on February 15.
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