Commentary: Consultant is obfuscating Newport financial data

While Newport Beach’s issuance of debt for the Civic Center and park occurred in November 2010, before I was even on the council, political consultant Dave Ellis’ slate of City Council candidates (who never said a peep for four years) now question whether we have prudently managed our finances.

Ellis and his cohorts are wrong. Our ratings are AAA. We have received third-party accolades in both the control and transparency of our annual budget.

The Orange County Taxpayers Assn. honored Newport Beach specifically with its 2013 Rose Award for reducing employee pension liability. The League of California Cities awarded the city top honors for the plan that builds or replaces dozens of vital community facilities over 50 years, using cash and low levels of debt.

And Fitch, the national bond rating agency, gave Newport Beach an AAA rating, commenting, “Management has successfully implemented expenditure savings, including major labor concessions and the use of contracted services.”

The two other national bond rating agencies also have continued to provide the city with AAA ratings, noting that its debt burden is low.

In addition, the Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) looks to our prepayment policy for the unfunded pension liability as a best practice for other California cities.

And lastly, the Orange County Grand Jury found that Newport Beach has the highest capability of any Orange County city to actually fund the remaining pension obligation.

Team Ellis is simply using inflammatory rhetoric to win votes, suggesting that their vague “plans” and untested ideas will work. They won’t. Pure and simple, Ellis’ plan is to bring Costa Mesa politics to Newport. Voters should tell Ellis to keep his toxic politics to himself.

RUSH HILL is the mayor of Newport Beach. He is seeking reeletion in November.