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Mailbag: Hill, Brown, Toerge are sensible choices in Newport Beach

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As an accountant, I am fairly cognizant of the numbers and financial issues being brought up in the City Council election in Newport Beach.

And quite frankly, I am very concerned about some of the statements being made and how they reflect on the candidates making them. The numbers just don’t add up.

For example, saying that the new City Hall cost more than $142 million is simply untrue [Editor’s note: The costs are tied to the entire Civic Center project and library expansion]. Apparently candidate Scott Peotter would have us build the lowest-cost City Hall and that is all — no library expansion, no parking structure, no park (which the voters expressly asked for), no civic green.

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As for paying off the debt incurred by the city to build the civic center project, apparently proposed by candidate Kevin Muldoon, a $44 million redemption premium would be incurred in doing so, making it a highly non-cost-effective move, a bad decision.

And the “dock tax,” which is not a tax but essentially rent for private piers extending over public land, is actually the fairest kind of “tax” or assessment. This is paid by dock owners and users and makes more sense than increasing taxes on residents whether or not they would derive any benefit from the docks.

Apparently candidate Marshall “Duffy” Duffield would have the city reduce that assessment but put the cost of dredging private docks and waterways onto the taxpayers at large.

The people of Newport Beach cannot afford council members who do not have the strong financial literacy, leadership and fiscal responsibility needed for that job. That just doesn’t add up.

That is why I am voting for Rush Hill, Tim Brown and Michael Toerge. Just look at the numbers.

Dorothy Larson

Newport Beach

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Team Newport offers a welcome change

The Daily Pilot has run letters from writers trying to rationalize the status quo.

Newport Beach Mayor Rush Hill has attacked the Republican Party because it rejected his endorsement request. Marian Bergeson, former Republican state senator, attacked the Republican Party chairman for the party rejecting Hill. Dennis O’Neill, City Hall lobbyist and our former mayor, listed all the reasons we should vote for the status quo.

In Newport Beach, we have a chance Tuesday to change City Hall’s big-spending ways. Over the past decade, the city has accumulated $571 million in long-term debt. At $6,700, we have the highest per-capita debt of any city in Orange County. Just because we’re a rich city doesn’t mean our government should overspend.

I am sorry if people have made Rush, Bergeson and O’Neill uncomfortable by challenging the status quo. It’s time for a change.

I’m voting for Team Newport: Scott Peotter, Kevin Muldoon, Duffy Duffield and Diane Dixon.

Bob McCaffrey

Balboa Island

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Meeting behavior is but one problem

A few years back, after watching Costa Mesa City Council meetings on television, I finally attended my first meeting. It was a real eye-opener in terms of the dynamics of the council and the members’ interaction with the public.

Since that time I’ve been to many meetings. I won’t say I’ve seen it all, because some of the council members, including Mayor Jim Righeimer, often surprise me with their behavior. At one point, I spoke to the council about the importance of civility in public discourse, but my words apparently fell on deaf ears.

That said, here are a few of the many reasons I won’t be voting for the mayor:

The shrinking Police Department: Hiring has not kept up with attrition, and the political environment has been blamed for recruiting problems. The resulting staffing shortages make our city less safe. Our police force was once the pride of Orange County, with enough officers to take a proactive stance against crime. Now they are the shrinking blue line, working overtime to answer calls. To top it off, the mayor, his wife and another councilman are suing our police association.

Excessive legal fees: In 2009-10, the city’s annual legal bills were around $989,000. By 2013 they had nearly tripled, and it looks like this year will be one of the highest in recent years.

Obsession with turning Costa Mesa into a charter city: Two years ago the voters overwhelmingly rejected a charter, yet we now see a harsher version on the November ballot. This charter hands the City Council virtually unfettered power, so long as its actions don’t break state or federal law. In order to change the proposed charter, any amendments would have to go on a ballot at a regular election. This is an expensive way to govern.

I urge votes for Jay Humphrey and Katrina Foley and “no” on Measure O.

Cynthia McDonald

Costa Mesa

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