Mark McCurdy

Name: Mark McCurdy

Age: 50

Birth place: Lynwood

How long have you lived in Fountain Valley? Since 1991.

Occupation: Insurance Broker

Education: associate’s degree from Orange Coast College; Cal State Long Beach

Previously elected or appointed positions: Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce president, Fountain Valley Housing and Community Development Advisory Board chairman, Fountain Valley/Holy Spirit Church/Knights of Columbus community chairman, Fountain Valley traffic commissioner, California Small Business Assn. board member, Orange County Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee, member, OCTA/Stakeholders Working Group committee member

Community organizations you belong to: Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce, Fountain Valley Historical Society, Fountain Valley Friends of the Library, Fountain Valley/Knights of Columbus

What do you think are the biggest issues facing Fountain Valley right now?

1.) Revenue
2.) Attracting business to Fountain Valley.
3.) Repairing aging infrastructure.
4.) Transparency

What is one decision in the last year that the City Council got right and why would you have supported it?

Every year we make the decision to keep our time honored budget process. Originally adopted in the 1970s, every year we review our city finances based upon 10-year financial forecasting and a two-year operating budget. This is especially important, for instance, if we suddenly have a major unexpected expense. We responsibly budget our monies and plan ahead to be ready for a rainy day and possibly a major expense. I plan to continue this practice into the future.

What is one decision in the last year the City Council got wrong, or partially wrong, and why would you have voted differently?

This last year our city adopted additional water conversation regulations as proposed by the Metropolitan Water District. While this might appear to be timely given the federal court ruling that ordered a massive reduction in water supplies from the State Water Project and Central Valley Project to protect the Delta smelt, however, recent data shows that Fountain Valley was exceeding water conservations standards as a whole and acting responsibly with water usage.

It does not seem appropriate to reward responsible behavior by wheeling out new burdensome regulations (one councilmember referred to the new regulations as Draconian).

These new regulations place further restrictions on our freedoms by implementing new restrictions on our behavior including limits on the watering hours for sprinkler use -- now 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., limits on the duration of watering per station, and limits on the washing of vehicles. If you are caught not complying with these new laws fines could ultimately be $500.

Others cities such as Tustin saw this for what it was, and opted out of adopting the proposed ordinance and further restricting individual freedoms.

Many are already saying we do not have the mechanism in place (water police?) to enforce the rules as the City Council decided to adopt.

Then, why did the City Council decide to adopt this ordnance? To be eligible for a $230,000 grant.
After you consider the costs for city staff, city attorney and many hours spent preparing and implementing this ordinance, it might be considerably less of an economic benefit.

My approach would be simple. Many are now considering a new “tiered” billing approach similar to your monthly Southern California Edison bill. When an individual does not act responsibly and gets into wasteful categories that one person is penalized with a higher rate in the higher “tier” on the water bill. This way we can all live with more freedom, less worry and greater quality of life.