A Failure of Leadership
by Dale Tyler

On July 20, 2009, the Mission Viejo City Council passed a budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2009-2010 that will result in the further depletion of the reserves the city maintains to replace aging equipment, resurface roads and maintain parks and other city facilities. The budget resolution passed 4-1, with Council Member Schlicht voting no. This result, while somewhat expected, is further evidence of the lack of leadership by most of the Council. Mission Viejo, in the heart of conservative Orange County, should be setting an example of careful fiscal stewardship instead of engaging in deficit spending like the State of California.

While I have criticized city staff for their part in the orgy of spending this Council has endorsed, the staff provided the Council a plan that would have cut spending and avoided the need to deplete our reserves. On page 10 of the Budget Report, the staff lists cuts in the budget (Exhibit I-B) that would balance the city's budget. This list ranges from cutting $23,000 from the city's gift to the Chamber of Commerce to a $62,000 Lobbyist to a $700,000 cut in Kids Factory after-school and summer programs, Bunny Days and Hometown Halloween. Some of these cuts are painful for residents, like the $700K cut in after-school programs, while others, like the $23K for the Chamber of Commerce are long overdue. The staff should be commended for coming up with a list of cuts and reductions and providing the council with the ability to lead by example.

Unfortunately, the Council under the so-called leadership of Frank Ury was unable to avoid continuing to spend down of our reserves as has been happening over the last few years. Even during the good times, when the real estate bubble provided the city with double-digit increases in property tax revenues, the City Council managed to spend money faster than it came in. Contrast this with Laguna Niguel, which refuses to go into debt to build their city hall.

At one point in the meeting, Ury told the audience that “there will always be those who complain about spending money.” What he doesn't want to admit is that the Council is unable to make projects come in on time and within budget. Spending money wisely and carefully on projects that benefit the entire community is what the City Council should be doing. The Council should keep a careful eye on city staff and control spending to ensure that when we do spend money it is no more than we originally agreed to spend. Yet, under Ury, Kelly and MacLean, (MUK) every city project has cost more than double the original estimates. The Community Center and the Rec Centers are the two most recent examples of this. Couple that with such boondoggles as the Rose Parade Float and it is clear Ury, Kelly and MacLean know nothing about fiscal responsibility.

We should expect more from our so-called leaders. MUK remind me of the circus in Sacramento. Just like the state government, MUK refuse to match spending with income. What's worse, they insist on spending up to $7 million on a facility that is used by only 0.2 percent of the city's residents. They also are putting their heads in the sand when the state confiscates some of the taxes the city is depending on.

Work is progressing on removing one of the three, Lance MacLean. Once that is accomplished, perhaps the reconstituted City Council can bring the city's finances under control.