Look forward, not back, for safety net
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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.
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