Final chance for the city council to step back and put their entitlement commitments in perspective and remove them from the budget. Everything points to declining revenue because of an economy that is going to degrade our city if we spend it on the wrong stuff. Unless the economy turns around soon, Mission Viejo could remain in decline or hamstring due to its past lack of spending discipline.

The city council does not see the trees because of the forest. And if they did they are ignoring it. They do not have the guts to stop needless spending.

Surely the following cannot be acceptable by those with good common sense in today’s environment:

• Dog park
• One Additional Tennis Court (Marguerite Tennis Center)
• Theater
• New Swimming Pool
• Shade Covers (completed)
• Olympic Bicycle Finish Line Adjustment(nearly completed after 27 years)

Growing Economy

Revenue increased in good times while Mission Viejo was growing to its planned peak. That provided discretionary funds for projects like the Rose Parade float and the overly expensive senior citizen center features.

Today’s Economy

The last few years the revenue has shrunk. The city staff has been reduced. Maintenance has been rescheduled. The remaining staff is being overworked and this situation will result in inefficient planning for future tasks.

Entitlements not cancelled or delayed, and new ones are being proposed.

Future Economy

The combined revenue and staff were optimized to provide all our good things while we were growing, even when they were not necessarily required to make our city as great as it is.

Those times are gone! Let’s adapt to the present and re-plan for the future. It will be some time before we can get more revenue to add to our amenities. We can not keep saying that we can overcome economic downturns like we experienced years ago with poor spending habits and rely on our bond ratings. This present economic downturn is severe and is not expected to get better anytime soon.