LAGUNA BEACH : Taxpayers Assn. Membership Grows

The leader of the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. said membership has more than tripled in the past year, a fact he attributes to a growing dissatisfaction with city leadership.

Association President Robert R. Mosier, who often speaks at City Council meetings opposing the views of the majority, said membership in the organization has ballooned from 300 to 1,080.

“I think it’s a general dissatisfaction with the present council,” Mosier said. “I’m very encouraged. I really feel like we can make a difference now.”

Founded 47 years ago to promote “efficient local government,” the group favors adding more police and opposes council action that could prompt expensive lawsuits. Members put more emphasis on saving money and less on preserving the environment or the character of neighborhoods.

Members are gearing up for budget discussions scheduled for Thursday.

“They’re much more visible than they have been in the past,” Councilwoman Kathleen Blackburn said. “I think their sole purpose is to monitor government so it doesn’t tax the heck out of people. . . . I think the taxpayers’ message is falling on sensitive issues these days.”

Association members pay $10 to join the group, which meets once a month at the Wells Fargo Bank building. About 40 to 60 people usually attend the meetings, Mosier said.

During the last election, the organization supported the candidacy of Councilman Wayne L. Peterson.

“We’re looking forward to a change in the council,” Mosier said, referring to the fact that three members--Robert F. Gentry, Lida Lenney and Mayor Ann Christoph--will be up for reelection in November. “We want a council that will look at the issues differently.”

But Christoph said she does not sense a “wave of dissatisfaction.”

“I guess you always have to consider what other views are out there, but I don’t hear the opposition,” she said. “I don’t get phone calls, I don’t get letters from people saying they’re dissatisfied with what I’m doing. . . . It seems like it would be easier to tell me than to pay the Taxpayers (Assn.) $10.”