A sign of misappropriated funds

The sign of our time is our disregard for establishing proper priority. We are about to spend $315,000 on seven signs to further encourage Huntington Beach as a “destination” while we disregard the need to fix our infrastructure and fund the liabilities we already have.

Proponents say we need it, but they fail to explain why hundreds of thousands of visitors are able to locate our fair city without the benefit of additional signs. Our weekends are so crowded that there is a proposal to close Main Street to reduce the traffic, enabling more pedestrians. City planners want to reduce the parking spaces by 57, but when the Strand requirements for parking demanded more than 450 spaces allocated, they simply changed the algorithm to reduce the minimums by playing with the opened hours.

One councilman campaigned on the need to fund infrastructure, but he has seemingly forgotten his words. Other members simply disregarded his warnings about the $50 million unfunded liability and voted to increase it, which means we owe a larger debt to our employees’ retirement fund for which we have no dedicated income. Meanwhile, utilities are being repaired piecemeal, our roads are always being patched and the alleys have asphalt waves formed by the Rainbow trucks that rival our beaches. When city employees are asked when the alleys will be repaved, the answer has been the same each year for the past six years: “soon.” I see knee-high weeds, debris and large cracks as I walk down the alley. Other cities use concrete to accommodate very heavy trucks and buses, but not us. Forgotten is that our taxes are to fund repairs to the infrastructure, too, not just to spend on new ways to drain the limited resources.

Money from the signs proposal would help fix some alleys, but, more importantly, it would hopefully indicate a real commitment from the council to meet its obligation. Making this city into a fully functioning one with full service to its residents is better than just taking the steps to place makeup on it. Let’s not just make pretty the entrances to our city.

Do you feel as ignored as I do?