ALLAN MANSOOR
As many of you know, the state and the city are facing financial
conditions that are forcing us to look at cuts or increasing revenue
through taxes or fees. This issue came up at the March 1 City Council
meeting, and we discussed whether we want to focus more on cuts in
programs or increasing taxes or fees. It is imperative that we make
cuts in programs prior to raising taxes and fees.
If we simply raise taxes now, we won't learn to live within our
means and will continue to spend on things the government has no
business being involved in. This is what the governor's $15-billion
bond measure has done. Sure, the governor has bought us some time,
but the state continues to spend more than it takes in.
What concerns me is the comments made by Planning Commissioner
Katrina Foley. Now, I respect Foley's right to her position, but
clearly, we see things differently. That is good for a healthy
discussion, so I would like to add some diversity of ideas to this
matter.
Foley expressed concern at the last council meeting that many of
the items, which are in the "low priority," are those items that
"really bring community together and are part of our quality of life;
and are really mostly beneficial to the residents of the city."
She urged the council to "strongly consider ways to increase
revenue or make those programs more efficient before just absolutely
eliminating them because they are very important to residents."
This mentality of "let's be quick to raise taxes or fees first" is
of great concern to me. We should approach the issue of tax and fee
increases with great caution. And whether we increase them, our
primary focus should be on funding infrastructure and public safety.
When the coffers were full, the state expanded programs and not only
neglected infrastructure, but took funds that were specifically
earmarked for it and used them for programs. Now, the state needs to
borrow money to pay for schools.
At the local level, some of the programs we offer are birthday
parties, mobile recreation program, day camp with trips to places
like Knott's Berry Farm and a job center. These programs are also
used by people outside of our city at our expense.
Now, to me, the job of bringing the community together belongs to
the family, churches, and private organizations, such as the Boy
Scouts, or sports organizations. This is not the job of government.
It is not the city's business to facilitate birthday parties or take
children to amusement parks.
