City needs its ‘chump change’

Just days after the City Council voted to spend an unnecessary

quarter-million dollars on fancy street lights in South Laguna, City

Manager Ken Frank announced a hiring freeze.

Many residents are not happy with the prospect of higher taxes to

pay for disaster relief, so Frank used his executive powers to make

the point that the city cannot operate in the red.

Apparently the council majority hadn’t been paying attention when

city officials announced they were $1.2 million short on funding

needed to assure safety and access to Bluebird Canyon before the

winter rainy season begins. Those “emergency repairs” are estimated

to cost $7 million.

Down the road, restoration of the damaged public infrastructure is

expected to require an additional $5 million to $8 million.

When Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman, a South Lagunan herself, asked

that a previous decision to “go for broke” in sprucing up her

neighborhood be reconsidered in light of the financial strain on the

city, some on the council sputtered and fumed that it would open up a

Pandora’s box of redo’s on pet projects.

Kinsman wisely felt that, since the check for the extra-special

lights had not yet been cut, it made sense for her area to live with

the same no-frills street lights the rest of the town has.

The special lights will be owned and maintained by the city

instead of by the utility company.

That means the city -- instead of the utility company -- will be

liable for damages if anybody smacks into them.

“Chump change!” uttered Councilwoman Jane Egly about the $260,000

that Kinsman wanted to keep in city coffers instead of spending it

over the 30-year lifespan of the lights.

In normal times, Egly is probably correct in her assertion. But

these are not normal times.

There is no such thing as “chump change” when city officials are

looking around every corner to cobble together enough money to do

what needs to be done for public safety.

The hiring freeze is just the latest, most drastic step to save

money. Hiring freezes don’t cut the fat, they cut into the muscle and

bone of city services. The freeze might even mean there won’t be

staff to maintain those fancy lights in South Laguna.

There is no question that $260,000 -- “chump change” though it may

be -- could have gone a long way toward avoiding such a hiring

freeze.

It’s not going to be easy to rein in spending in a city that wants

the very best.

But in the wake of the June 1 landslide -- and the dearth of

assistance from government agencies -- that’s exactly what the

council must do.