MISSION VIEJO : Council to Examine Spending Policies

Although voters did not completely agree with the anti-spending theme that dominated the just-concluded election campaign, City Council members say they will think hard about spending.

Potentially affected are several projects worth millions of dollars. Big-ticket items being discussed by the council include the maintenance of new city parks and recreation centers, along with construction of a commuter rail station, an animal shelter and a city library.

“We’ve really got to sit down, slow down and re-examine our spending policies for the next year,” Mayor Sharon Cody said. “We’re taking on some mighty big expenditures.”

Cody plans to call two special meetings in coming weeks for the council to examine city spending and consider putting some projects on hold until the recession eases.

Fiscal conservatism was the major issue in a turbulent campaign that saw several candidates hit by a series of last-minute negative mailers.

However, the top vote-getter was a candidate who backed a moderate approach to handling the budget.

“I think people were looking for someone who was neutral,” said Joseph D. Lowe, a former planning commissioner. “I think we’ll be able to get things done on a professional basis now” despite bad feelings that may linger from the hard-fought election campaign.

An advocate of slow spending, incumbent Councilman William S. Craycraft, won another term despite opposition from fellow council members. They censured him one week before the election for allegedly disclosing sensitive closed-session information.

Trust between Craycraft and the rest of the council may be shaky after the unusual move to censure him.

Craycraft strongly denies giving important information to officials from Laguna Hills, the city that Mission Viejo is suing. Laguna Hills allegedly attempted to block a prime, 49-acre commercial development at Oso Parkway and Interstate 5.

But council members still harbor serious doubts about their ability to work with Craycraft. “The trust issue is an enormous problem,” Cody said. “I think he’ll simple have to show trustworthiness. That’s up to Bill.”

Craycraft says he does not “believe I’ve done anything to create a lack of trust.” He said he hopes that the council “can put the past and the election behind us and move forward.”

One area where Craycraft and Cody do agree is the need to look for ways to finance a city library. Although voters did not give a $5-million library bond measure the two-thirds vote it needed to pass, 56% said they would tax themselves to build the facility.

Cody wants to avoid having to reach into a $16-million city reserve fund to pay for construction. With 56% voting for approval of a new library during a deep recession, she feels that a bond measure might have a better chance in another six months to a year.

Craycraft wants to investigate several options for financing the building. They include using funds from city reserves and holding a campaign to raise the money privately.

“Thousands of people voted for the library” bond measure, he said. “If they didn’t mind entering bonded indebtedness for 20 years, they might be willing to kick in $100 or so apiece to help pay for the library.”