Commentary: City is better-positioned today than eight years ago

Eight years ago, I was blessed to be appointed to the Costa Mesa Planning Commission.

When I first got on the commission, times were bleak. The Great Recession had decimated municipal budgets, including Costa Mesa’s. Harbor Boulevard was dotted with vacant properties covered by green chain-link fences. Our family home was worth 30% less than what we paid for it. The city struggled to balance its budget, draining reserves to pay its bills.

What a difference eight years makes. Just this week, the city reported a record $11-million budget surplus. Other cities have not been as fortunate.

In neighboring Fountain Valley, the City Council voted to place a sales tax increase measure on the November ballot because expenditures are outpacing revenues. Similar struggles are also being felt in Westminster and La Palma, which are likewise seeking to balance their budget shortfalls through sales-tax increases. These tax increases are not being driven by wants; they are being driven by fiscal needs.

Why has Costa Mesa been so fortunate? What makes us different?

Most important, Costa Mesa has been blessed with strong leadership, which held the line on municipal spending. The mantra “don’t live beyond your means” is being practiced at City Hall, not just at home.

Mayor Steve Mensinger and the City Council prioritized long-overdue infrastructure improvements that have brought new business and homeowners to our city. There is a new energy and vitality in Costa Mesa.

While other Orange County cities struggle to attract tax-generating enterprises, Costa Mesa has achieved phenomenal success. Costa Mesa has become a destination hub for eclectic dining, small business ventures and new home construction.

We have not only increased our tax base, we have diversified it. We are not simply relying on South Coast Plaza to fill the city’s coffers anymore. Our family home is now worth 30% more than what we paid for it. We are all benefiting from the difficult decisions our elected leaders have made.

Sadly, some in the city are opposed to this success. They misconstrue balanced budgets with out-of-control growth and seek to turn back the clock on the progress we have made. Their short-sighted initiatives, such as the limited-growth “Measure Y,” are threatening to drive business from this city and return Costa Mesa to the days of balancing budgets by spending our reserves. Taxing the residents rather than attracting tax generators.

As Fountain Valley, Westminster and La Palma are learning the hard way, police officers and firefighters are expensive. Managing the ever-increasing costs of running a city takes smart leadership and a vision toward increasing your tax base.

Residents and voters need to be wary of initiatives that claim to return control to the people, but are simply efforts to stop progress. It is eight years of progress that has moved Costa Mesa forward and created an $11-million budget surplus.

As we enter election season and council candidates and ballot-measure proponents knock on your door for support, please ask them where they stand on Costa Mesa’s future. Do they want to move our city forward, or do they want to turn back the clock on all of the improvement that has been made over the past decade?

Do they want to a city budget balanced through a diverse tax base, or a budget balanced off the backs of residents through increased taxes? The choice seems clear.

COLIN MCCARTHY is a Costa Mesa planning commissioner.