Commentary: New council should learn from past mistakes

The election is over and the dust has settled. The players stand at the ready.

In Newport Beach a new cast of characters was elected to represent the great city. It remains to be seen what direction the city will take as it moves further into the 21st century with new leaders at the helm.

The place where many of us were born and grew up has changed dramatically over the last half century. No longer a sleepy beach town where people only summered, Newport has grown and prospered. In recent years, with adept planning and keen analysis, leaders chose to invest in the city’s future while protecting its financial well being and the safety of residents. These leaders invested in the infrastructure of the city while real property values continued to rise.

Take a trip around the county. I dare anyone to find a city with a better quality of life.

Yet some would suggest that on Nov. 4, the residents sought to steer a different course, rejecting the recent council leadership as if they had somehow failed, as if they didn’t know the first thing about fiscal policy.

A few years ago, a number of people ran for the council and won on a platform similar to that of the fiscal conservatives who will take office. They too knew how to run a city; they too knew how fiscal policy and municipal finance operated. They were the same group who, over strong objections of city staff and the financial director at the time, invested in the Orange County investment pool.

The very same one that ultimately went bankrupt in 1994.

Slogans to get elected don’t easily translate into knowledgeable and considered decisions. People learn that problems are complex, and solutions even more difficult. The bankruptcy fiasco led to the reprioritizing of finances in the city and maintaining appropriate financial reserves. It is why the city is financially sound.

Much was also made about the so-called dock fees, which asked owners to pay for the burden that they place on the public’s waterways. Fees should have been raised years ago.

The outraged believe that there is a simple solution — repeal the fees, yet at the same time protect the bay. But that answer may be anything but simple.

But for the work of the city over the past years, those fees could have been even higher — if the state were to step in.

So players, take the field but learn from the lessons of the past. Be cautious and judicious in your decision-making. Don’t mistake movement for achievement. The residents will be watching.

T. BRUNO lives in Newport Beach.