Look forward, not back, for safety net

Hindsight, as they often say, is 20-20.

There is a lot of grousing about the fact that $9 million -- two

more million than needed for immediate Bluebird Canyon landslide

repairs -- were spent in 2002 by the city to pay for the Treasure

Island Park near the Montage Resort & Spa.

The park is truly lovely and a marvelous place to show off the

beauties of Laguna’s coastline, but spending that much on it now

seems like a terrible waste of precious dollars.

In the wake of the June 1 landslide, folks are looking back and

pointing fingers at such boondoggles, such as the lovely -- but no

doubt over-priced -- park that was supposed to cost $2 million and

ended up costing nearly five times that, despite an audit and funding

cut-offs.

How did the park end up costing that much? Because folks wanted

all the bells and whistles, and with the building of a grand new

hotel, a beautiful public park nearby seemed fitting.

Now, of course, everything looks different.

With the refusal by FEMA to recognize the landslide as eligible

for financial relief, and with recent efforts to sell public land for

landslide costs stymied by intense opposition, the City Council will

now be asking citizens to go into their own pockets.

The Council is proposing to raise the city sales tax to pay for

the cost of making the Bluebird Canyon area safe in perpetuity, and

to raise a “super-fund” for future emergencies.

We question whether a sales tax on city consumers is the right way

to raise such funds.

The tax will be paid not just by residents and property owners but

by tourists and visitors, making the city a little less

visitor-friendly, less affordable, and making it a bit harder for

local businesses to stay afloat.

Some criticize the city’s overall spending habits, and it may be

possible to trim the city budget to come up with some capital to

create a trust fund for future emergencies.

Other ideas bandied about include an assessment district for

property owners, who will be the real beneficiaries of such a fund.

One thing is certain -- the city desperately needs to raise funds

for disasters, which seem to happen in Laguna with regularity, if not

frequency.

Citizens and city officials need to put their differences aside

and look ahead, not back at the past, to move forward in these

difficult times.