Lightly attended Costa Mesa budget meeting includes discussion of homelessness
The first-floor conference room at Costa Mesa City Hall can sometimes be a tight squeeze, with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time.
That wasn’t a problem Thursday evening, when only two members of the public showed up to a community meeting in the conference room to discuss Costa Mesa’s preliminary $144.6-million budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
City Chief Executive Tom Hatch seemed surprised by the low turnout, saying last year’s community discussion lasted three hours and attracted at least 25 people who “had a lot of questions.”
Regardless of the number of people present, Hatch said, “We look forward to these meetings as staff, and it provides a good opportunity for the city to have a dialogue with the community and be able to answer some direct questions.”
Staff members provided an overview of the proposed spending plan, which the City Council is scheduled to adopt June 21.
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The preliminary budget is about $9.6 million less than the current fiscal year and includes a capital improvement budget covering almost 40 projects and totaling just under $16 million.
Linda Witt-King, one of the people attending Thursday’s meeting, said the city should do more to help the local homeless population.
It’s a topic close to her heart. She was homeless for more than a year, she said.
She submitted a list of recommendations on how the city could tackle the issue. Among them is repurposing Lions Park into an all-adult park and renovating it so “people who don’t have a place to go to the bathroom or a place to sleep can at least do it there.”
“It’s the decent thing to do,” she said.
Hatch said the city has already taken steps to address homelessness but added that he would welcome Witt-King’s input.
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In February, Rick Francis, an assistant city chief executive, told the City Council that through efforts of City Hall, local churches and nonprofits, 122 people had received housing assistance since 2013 and about half of them received their aid last year. Also, he said, city staff spent 3,550 hours working on homeless issues last year, and volunteers averaged 380 hours a month.
“There are a lot of good things happening,” Hatch said Thursday, “but we’re still learning and getting better at what we’re doing.”
Those who couldn’t make it to the meeting can view the preliminary budget at costamesaca.gov/index.aspx?page=170. Residents also can contact City Hall to give their thoughts about it, Hatch said.
“It’s enjoyable to listen to all the ideas and hopes and dreams in the community and try to make those happen by funding those in some way,” he said.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
