Costa Mesa plans attack on budget

Deirdre Newman

With the city spending $4 million more than its taking in this fiscal

year, city leaders are taking a two-pronged approach to preventing

budget problems in the future.

On Monday, the City Council will consider adding new revenue

sources and discontinuing or modifying existing programs.

The new revenue sources the council will consider are: increasing

the business license tax; increasing the transient occupancy tax,

which is paid by hotel guests; imposing a local sales tax; imposing a

sanitation franchise fee; and offering a voluntary fire medical

subscription fee, a program in which revenues would be used for

improving the quality of emergency medical services. The first three

options would require approval by residents at the polls.

The council will consider altering or cutting a total of 35

programs and services including the Drug Abuse Resistance Education

program, the shopping cart retrieval program, summer concerts at

Fairview Park, the Job Center and the highly-anticipated skate park.

“I think given a choice between finally having a skate park and

looking for new revenue sources like [an increase in] the transient

occupancy tax, I think we should go with the transient occupancy

tax,” said resident Geoff West. “It hurts no residents in the city.”

But some feel the current programs need to be addressed first.

“I feel it’s imperative that we address cuts in programs and

services prior to raising taxes or increasing fees,” Councilman Allan

Mansoor said. “I just think that’s the most fiscally responsible

thing to do at this point.”

While the new revenue sources would be more of a long-term

approach, examining the financial worthiness of programs can help in

the short-term, Mayor Gary Monahan said.

“Even though [discontinuing or modifying programs] has long-term

ramifications, it starts saving money up front if we do anything up

front,” Monahan said.

For this fiscal year, managers throughout the city have taken

actions to reduce spending. But more extreme measures, like

discontinuing or modifying programs may also be necessary, Finance

Director Marc Puckett wrote in his staff report.

The skate park shouldn’t even be on list of in-danger programs as

its not a general program, Monahan said.

“To use the skate park as an example, that’s one little capital

project that doesn’t save us money in the long-run,” Monahan said.

“[Looking at programs] is another step in a long-term process of

providing a blueprint for the future of the city government of Costa

Mesa.”

The list programs and projects that are up for consideration are a

compilation of suggestions by council members. So there might not be

a majority of city council members that feel they need to be

discontinued or modified, Monahan said.

Monahan will try to keep the discussion focused on general program

guidelines, he said.

“So in a general sense, are we spending too much time on

recreation programs, on staff development, on committees, research

and whatever,” Monahan said. “That’s what the staff has generated

this for -- to set priorities. To say, ‘what’s more important to us?

What programs do you feel are fluff or are not needed or are not that

important that if we need to cut the budget?’ That’s where we cut it

first.”