Today’s OC Register contains a story regarding Huntington Beach’s upcoming centennial celebration that, if approved by their city council, will include a 55 foot float in the Jan 1, 2009 Rose Parade. According to the story they are budgeting $200,000 of which $110,000 has already been raised.
To celebrate 100 years of cityhood, and being a destination/beach city, one can easily justify that project expenditure to promote their city. I was also glad to see that they are already collecting private sector donations.
Let’s look a little further south on Interstate 5 to the bedroom community of Mission Viejo where I reside. Mind you we are not a destination, have no Angel Stadium, Convention Center or Disneyland theme park to promote. I have previously blogged about our Rose Parade plans and feel it appropriate to make a comparison.
At 98,000 Mission Viejo’s population is half of Huntington Beach’s 194,000. Mission Viejo is only celebrating our 20th year of cityhood. What significance does that “milestone” have in the scheme of things truly baffles me. Another difference is that we have budged $300,000 for our 20th anniversary float with no mention of any effort to offset some of the cost via donations which brings me to another Mission Viejo tale that was also blogged previously.
The city council provided around $440,000 of taxpayer seed money to the nonprofit Mission Viejo Foundation whose initial fundraising effort, according to COX Cable VP Jim Leach, Chairman of the Foundation Board, their goal was to raise $one to $1.5 million in one year’s time to offset some of the cost of the expansion of the Murray Center. As you may recall last month I reported that we only received a check from the Foundation in the amount of $177,500. As such we are still around $250,000 in the hole. Knowing the city made plans to have a float in the parade one would have expected a representative of the Foundation to come forward and offer their support to mitigate the float cost. The silence is deafening.
In fact, at the June 30th Mission Viejo City Council Mid-Cycle Budget Review meeting Council Member Gail Reavis asked for a status report on their activities yet the council chamber was as quiet as a church mouse. The City Manger did not respond nor did any other member of the council support her information request with any follow up.
Yes, this is a tale of two cities. Completion of a Fiscal Management course should be a mandatory prerequisite before being sworn in as a member of our council.
Isn’t the MV city council all Republican? The city is conservative and highly Republican and yet HB has a Democratic Mayor? Or does none of this matter?
It’s baffling the way the counsel becomes dumb founded when confronted with simple questions. Keep up the work in exposing their idiotic ways of wasting our hard earned money.
Just wondering.
What a bad year for Republicans. From our local city council and governor to the White House we have been disappointed at every rung on the political ladder.
Julia.
Sadly our city leaders, who live within minutes of Saddleback Church, and know of Senior Pastor Rick Warren, have never considered four simple words found in his best seller “The Purpose Driven Life. “It’s not about you!”
Larry:
I am returning from the grave to haunt each and every Mission Viejo big spender. My vibes tell me that the big spender behind this caper is your city manager–a one Dennis (Mr Rose Parade Committee Member ) who is the head fleecer on this caper. Never mind that city employees are destined to be laid off in the downturn. Full float speed ahead !!!
Maybe they could have some Easelgate mementos placed on the float along with a picture of fire station 24.
Grover
Watching the Shenanigans
Grover.
My sense is that the city council voted to have the mayor riding on the float. They have a problem in that the traditional rotation of the center seat occurs at the Dec 1st meeting. Will the new mayor ride or will it be the current Mayor. Will Trish Kelley stay as the mayor after the Nov election if one or more members of the council gets knocked off? They might even delay the rotation until after the parade. After all, this is vital city business being discussed here. And as we only enter the parade every 20 years this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be on the big stage. With all of the in-fighting at almost every council meeting there is not adequate space to keep all five on simultaneously.
The float is yet another week-long city staff party at the expense of taxpayers. Council members approved this joke because each one envisions himself/herself sitting on a throne at the top of the float. Staff members will be partying like it’s Spring Break 2008.
Email from MV senior:
Larry:
In comparison with Hunting Beach, MV ia a babe in the woods. 20years vs. 100 years…..MV has guts and Chutpah…why not tax every affluent resident $2.00????….Larry please define affluent…
Norm
Norm.
Tricky question.
Tax every resident? I will give you a pass as a high ranking member of the Democratic Club but you want to tax us?
According to Vice Mayor Frank Ury, in his off-line email to me on project overrruns, he writes: “we still have record reserves in the bank, approaching 60% of our operating budget.”
So he follows another former councilmember, Sherri Butterfield, with the attitude that “the purpose of (the city) having money” in the bank “is to spend it.” Sherri at a MV council meeting.
Norm. As to affluent. Are we speaking about 10 years ago when your dollar was worth something and gas was $1.03 per gallon. What do you define as a millionaire today?
Huntington Beach is not only an internationally reknowned city, it is a vacation destination, with tourism being its primary source of income.
They have a downtown, a pier, world famous surfing competitions and nationally televised volleyball matches. Huntington Beach is even featured on a reality TV show called Ocean Force. Huntington Beach has its own police and fire departments.
The city projects its General Fund Revenue to be over $185 million dollars.
According to its website, Huntington Beach, the third largest city in Orange County, has the highest personal income among the 100 largest cities in the US.
Looks like Huntington Beach respects the value of the dollar.
From City Guide I found the following text that supports my argument opposing the use of taxpayer funds for a Mission Viejo float on Jan 1, 2009:
“Currently, over 96,000 people call Mission Viejo home. Through it all there has been the powerful guiding hand of the Mission Viejo Co. The company not only laid the groundwork for a planned city, but also helped to develop community activities and created a Mission Viejo identity.
The company was a major sponsor of floats in the Rose Parade, Fourth of July displays at Lake Mission Viejo, St. Patrick’s Day parades and the internationally recognized Nadadores swim team.
But since Mission Viejo became a city on March 31, 1988, the company has begun withdrawing its heavy financial support of community activities. And with Mission Viejo development nearly completed, the company has begun looking across the San Diejo (I-5) Freeway to nurture its new planned community of Aliso Viejo.”
As I Google the history of MV participation in the Rose Parade it confirms that the developer of this master planned community, the Mission Viejo Company, first participated in 1977 with a float named “a dream come true.” WE had a brand new community trying to compete with Irvine and other communities to sell our master planned city concept and thousands of available homes known as “the California Promise.”
In 1978 our entry was labeled “day of the fiesta,” 1979 “the water babies,” 1980 “Baubles, bangles and beads” that won top prize, 1981 “summertime,” 1982 “Versailles,” 1983 “sweet days of love,” 1984 “springtime magic” and 1985 “sunday at the lake.” That’s all folks. Every one of these floats were privately funded.
Zippo participation over the past 20 years where we have had numerous residents serving on our city council.
In 1988 we became a city and have never invested taxpayer funds in this event. Never, until the ego driven “free wheeling” city council of 2007/08 who never invited the public or our subisidzed MV Foundation to participate in the funding.
Last Monday evening the city of Mission Viejo held it’s “mid cycle” budget review (as we approve a two year budget). You can view this meeting at the following link:
http://missionviejo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=193
To hear the city manager discussing the budget Jump To Agenda Item #5 and advance to the 16 minute mark. Between 16 and 19 minutes he reports that our revenues are essentially flat. We did not realize the 4.3 budgeted increase resulting in a shortfall of $2.3 million per year.
With that fact being publicly stated during a budget review, to move forward with a Rose Parade float is simply mindboggling. How can we justify spending $300,000 at this time. To repeat myself we are “sold out.” So not only are we not a destination, we have no homes for sale except a few dozen foreclosures. Great leadership by fiscal conservatives, or so they tell us.
Just a strange thing indeed. Who cares about riding on a float? Really? They really should be ashamed of themselves and the whole project should be scrapped.
I am not a MV resident, but if I was, I would be livid. This money should be invested in local community activities, not something that takes place in Los Angeles County!
According to foreclosure.com, Mission Viejo currently has 5,059 foreclosures and 12,305 preforeclosures and 8,165 homes with tax liens.
In our current circumstances, this council shows zero concern about the future. Or could we be misjudging the intentions of the council?
Maybe they want to bring buyers into town to buy up all the distressed properties on the market.
Afterall, the council was smart enough to cover the cost of the float by increasing membership dues for the rec centers.
I wonder how many change orders this project need.
Mission viejo will gain from having the float, so back off
Will the float have little foreclosure signs all over it?
Hey, is this all just a ploy to sell houses?
Oh, I know, everything is about selling houses. Getting all those houses sold is a good thing. You don’t want vacant properties all over town. So MV will gain if we get all of Cathy’s foreclosures sold. Maybe this is just marketing genius unfolding before our eyes.
Anonymous.
Yes, a marketing genius.
I guess the cities of San Francisco and San Diego
didn’t see it that way. Oh, I forgot that the Orange County city of Irvine, with a few THOUSAND homes to sell at the Great Park, decided to pass on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Nice to see that you have some inaccurate inside baseball info based on your comment about Cathy.