Garofalo shoots down committee
Eron Ben-Yehuda
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Mayor Dave Garofalo offended a room full of
volunteers last week when he barged into a meeting and told them they
were wrong about how to pay for the city’s infrastructure needs,
estimated at a whopping $1.3 billion.
Residents, who had spent more than two years on the infrastructure
committee, slaving over the minutiae of complex financing methods, had
come to the conclusion last Thursday that a bond paid for by taxes
probably would be required to cover the enormous cost of fixing
everything from streets and sewers to sidewalks and storm drains.
“I think that was an affront to the committee,” member Al Bell said
afterward.
Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff, who is a liaison to the committee, said
the mayor should have shown more “courtesy.”
“You never prejudge a citizens’ committee,” she said.
The estimated cost for repairs is about $1.3 billion over the next 20
years. The committee is expected to make its final recommendations to the
City Council within the next few months.
But Garofalo, who walked in by surprise three hours into the meeting,
interrupted the committee’s discussion about the bond and strongly hinted
that the council would not accept such a suggestion.
“I’m not sure there’s a great hue and cry to put this on the ballot,” he
said, visibly agitated.
He also gruffly dismissed the committee’s plan to educate the public
about the need for repairs as a pointless attempt to “manipulate their
thought.”
“They either trust us or they don’t,” he said.
About a dozen committee members sat stunned as their hard work seemed to
be flushed down the sewer drain.
“Does that mean we can go home?” Vice Chairman Jerry Chapman asked
facetiously.
Within 15 minutes of his arrival, Garofalo was gone, and the committee
slowly regained its composure. But everyone worried that the council --
as the mayor led them to believe -- had already made up its mind before
the recommendations were completed.
Despite Garofalo’s statements to the contrary, Dettloff promised the
debate on financing is far from over.
“It’s wide open,” she said.
QUESTION
SHOW OF RESPECT?Do you think Mayor Dave Garofalo should have shown more
“courtesy” with the volunteers serving on the city’s infrastructure
committee? Leave your thoughts on our Readers Hotline at 965-7175, fax
them to 965-7174 or send e-mail to hbindy@latimes.com. Please spell your
name and include your hometown and telephone number for verification
only.
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