Decision more than ideology

ALLAN MANSOOR

Regarding the story, “Most revenue sources don’t pass,” in the July 7

edition of the Daily Pilot, an article about new revenue sources such

as taxes and fees, the Pilot said “Byron de Arakal, a parks and

recreation commissioner who spoke as a resident, said he was

disappointed that ideological differences prevented [Alan] Mansoor

and Chris Steel from supporting the further exploration of tax

increases.” There was also a partial quote from de Arakal stating,

“when we blindly refuse to accept any increases in taxes ... “

What some people like to call ideology, I prefer to call

principle. And while I cannot speak for Steel, I can say that I did

not do anything blindly. I put a lot of time, thought and study into

my decision. I believe most reasonable people would expect some cuts

to be part of a fiscally responsible policy. I believe they are

expecting this at all levels of government.

In light of this, I believe my support of the user fee-based and

voluntary fire/medical subscription fee was more than reasonable,

considering we have yet to actually make any cuts. Yes, increasing

things like the transient-occupancy tax may not directly hit the

pocketbooks of the residents of Costa Mesa, but that is not the

point. The point is that we should not be so quick to take one

person’s money to give to another. There is a reasonable time and

place for taxes for infrastructure and public safety.

But when we are funding birthday parties and a mobile basketball

hoop, just to name a couple of programs, that is where I think we

need to evaluate our spending habits. Additionally, facilitating

birthday parties is a function that can be purchased in the private

sector or done by individual families. If you pay a private business,

we generate employment and tax revenue.

The current budget also includes paying for things the state

requires the school district to fund by law. Where is the oversight

and accountability? Yes, it is true that a lot of our current

problems are being caused by the state taking more of our funds.

But it is also true that over the last few years, our city has

spent considerably more than it has taken in, just like the state and

federal government. This practice must stop, as we can no longer

cover the gap with fund balance. This problem is not going away any

time soon, and I am sure it will be a major part of the upcoming

election debates.

* ALLAN MANSOOR is a Cosa Mesa city councilman