New council faces will encounter old problems
The two new faces Yorba Linda voters selected to serve on the City Council late last year will encounter the same old problems that have challenged the city’s five governing body members for the past several years.
Here’s what residents can expect--and not expect--in 2013:
--Don’t expect predictable line-ups on any of the council’s potential 3-2 split votes this year, especially since the police contract issue is moot until at least 2016, when council could give a required two-year warning the five-year pact might not be renewed in 2018.
While some observers assume the former council’s three-vote majority (John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing) has been replaced by a new three-vote majority (Gene Hernandez, Tom Lindsey and Craig Young), initial evidence indicates that’s not the case.
Obviously, Hernandez’ vote with Anderson and Schwing to not reopen police contract talks with Brea is a significant sign that voting alignments won’t be as predictable as in the past, with future 3-2 votes seeing a changing cast of characters on both sides.
One little-noticed vote to award a contract with up to $163,000 more than the estimated $400,850 for kitchen renovations at the Community Center to make the facility suitable for KemperSports to operate non-exclusive catering services is another indicator.
Hernandez, Lindsey and Schwing cast the majority “yes” vote to Anderson and Young’s minority “no” vote, and, in the coming year, residents can expect the council’s two most conservative members--Anderson and Young--to team up on a wide array of fiscal issues.
--With the demise of the city’s Redevelopment Agency nearly a year ago, economic planning for Town Center revitalization will be based on state decisions regarding how to use cash collected through the increased property taxes generated in redevelopment areas.
Every six months the city submits to the state a schedule of proposed expenditures, with the state deciding whether or not the expenses meet state-developed requirements. In the past, the state questioned outlays related to Town Center, Savi Ranch and administration.
A true conservative, private enterprise solution to Town Center would be for the city to auction its extensive holdings and allow developers to make market-based decisions on what will and will not succeed in the area, under city-approved zoning regulations.
But too many winning council candidates have promised to make completion of Town Center a priority to embark on a new strategy, so expect the council to continue to vote on business decisions for the area, based on input from numerous city-paid consultants.
--Issues related to the Landscape Maintenance Assessment District have been diverted to a citizen advisory committee, so expect council, finally, to make decisions to cut services later this year, under cover of a “citizens’ report.”
All property owners pay to maintain landscaping on 14 major streets in assessments on property tax bills, and more than half pay extra to maintain 21 local landscape zones. A subsidy from the city’s operating budget has been used in recent years to cover all costs.
Here’s what residents can expect--and not expect--in 2013:
--Don’t expect predictable line-ups on any of the council’s potential 3-2 split votes this year, especially since the police contract issue is moot until at least 2016, when council could give a required two-year warning the five-year pact might not be renewed in 2018.
While some observers assume the former council’s three-vote majority (John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing) has been replaced by a new three-vote majority (Gene Hernandez, Tom Lindsey and Craig Young), initial evidence indicates that’s not the case.
Obviously, Hernandez’ vote with Anderson and Schwing to not reopen police contract talks with Brea is a significant sign that voting alignments won’t be as predictable as in the past, with future 3-2 votes seeing a changing cast of characters on both sides.
One little-noticed vote to award a contract with up to $163,000 more than the estimated $400,850 for kitchen renovations at the Community Center to make the facility suitable for KemperSports to operate non-exclusive catering services is another indicator.
Hernandez, Lindsey and Schwing cast the majority “yes” vote to Anderson and Young’s minority “no” vote, and, in the coming year, residents can expect the council’s two most conservative members--Anderson and Young--to team up on a wide array of fiscal issues.
--With the demise of the city’s Redevelopment Agency nearly a year ago, economic planning for Town Center revitalization will be based on state decisions regarding how to use cash collected through the increased property taxes generated in redevelopment areas.
Every six months the city submits to the state a schedule of proposed expenditures, with the state deciding whether or not the expenses meet state-developed requirements. In the past, the state questioned outlays related to Town Center, Savi Ranch and administration.
A true conservative, private enterprise solution to Town Center would be for the city to auction its extensive holdings and allow developers to make market-based decisions on what will and will not succeed in the area, under city-approved zoning regulations.
But too many winning council candidates have promised to make completion of Town Center a priority to embark on a new strategy, so expect the council to continue to vote on business decisions for the area, based on input from numerous city-paid consultants.
--Issues related to the Landscape Maintenance Assessment District have been diverted to a citizen advisory committee, so expect council, finally, to make decisions to cut services later this year, under cover of a “citizens’ report.”
All property owners pay to maintain landscaping on 14 major streets in assessments on property tax bills, and more than half pay extra to maintain 21 local landscape zones. A subsidy from the city’s operating budget has been used in recent years to cover all costs.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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