Here at the News Enterprise, the philosophy is to remain objective and neutral when it comes to elections.
This year is no different.
As publisher Vince Bodiford wrote earlier this month, the newspaper will not be endorsing a candidate or a particular ballot initiative.
What the newspaper will do is bring the readers information on upcoming local elections.
Here at the News Enterprise, the philosophy is to remain objective and neutral when it comes to elections.
This year is no different.
As publisher Vince Bodiford wrote earlier this month, the newspaper will not be endorsing a candidate or a particular ballot initiative.
What the newspaper will do is bring the readers information on upcoming local elections.
The three candidates running for Los Al’s City Council responded to a question from the News Enterprise. To the right are their responses. Running in the election are incumbents Dean Grose and Richard Murphy, as well as Josh Wilson, who’s a local businessman.
The question asked was: "What are two significant issues facing Los Alamitos?"
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Dean Grose:
The two major issues facing Los Alamitos currently are:
1. Increasing revenue sources without new taxes and fees;
2. Dealing with potential encroachments from outside sources.
While we have a sound and balanced budget, and have for the past four years, increasing operational costs for basic services (police, parks and recreation and public works) mean we have to find new revenue streams without increasing taxes. We just approved construction of a new 108 room Fairfield Marriott Hotel that will be located on land on Los Alamitos Boulevard that has been vacant for more than two decades. This development alone will generate $275,000 in new money for the city’s general fund (property taxes, sales taxes and room occupancy fees). Another exciting development, which will also provide new funds is the property just west of City Hall, along Katella Avenue. Two former office buildings will be coming down later this year and in its place is a new shopping complex that will provide jobs and services for our residents. Already confirmed are a Whole Foods 365 (new brand to compete with Trader Joes), a PetCo and five additional stores.
We are being challenged by potential influences from outside our city with developments in Cypress and changes to the 405 freeway system that could impact the quality of life for Los Alamitos, It is important that we maintain vigilance as these projects move through the system and assure our residents that we are engaged and there to represent Los Alamitos for future generations. The current City Council is committed to doing just that. The addition of new toll lanes on the 405 freeway can cause a choke point at the 605 freeway, which could have impacts to our already crowded streets.
Working with surrounding cities and the Orange County Transit Authority we have to mitigate any addition traffic along Katella and Los Alamitos Blvd.
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Richard Murphy:
The biggest issues facing Los Alamitos today come down to how do we evaluate our quality of life while maintaining our strong fiscal approach.
We all want a strong, responsive police force and a City government that keeps our streets paved and cleaned and that is doing all the things that makes Los Al a great place to live.
The question is how do we do the extra things that elevate our life style. I believe that we are off to a good beginning with the modernization of the Boulevard. I suggest that we continue the progress by implementing a citywide tree updating program and begin a volunteer program to report all unsafe sidewalks and other public areas that need attention. It may even be possible to upgrade the walls at The Highland and Old Dutch Haven. Together we can make the tough choices that will make Los Alamitos the envy of Southern California.
The good news is that currently we as a City are in good shape. Our annual budget is about $13,000,000 and our reserves are $7,500,000. In addition we are using our various funds to pay as we go and save for future expenses so we can smooth out the surprises.
We were recently raised to a AAA credit rating and have the recommended 80% of pension costs covered.
During my term we have annually balanced the budget without using reserves. However, a word of caution, we do spend most of the money we bring in and are vulnerable to both pension costs increases and a general downturn in the economy.
Pension costs are ever increasing and this year alone our share will go up about $150,000 as part of a State ordered 5 year $1,000,000 “ramp up.” These costs are calculated using a rosy projected rate of return of 7.5%. Failure by the State to meet this projected rate of return will eventually show up as even greater costs.
Balancing the budget is a series of choices and I thank the many of you who have taken time txo discuss these issues with me as I walk your neighborhoods.
When I first ran for a council seat I pledged to:
Pay my own way and not take any contributions.
Be An INDEPENDENT Candidate.
Use my 25 years of CPA experience to help the City financially.
I believe that I have lived up to my pledges and ask for your vote so that we mat continue making Los Al a great place to live.
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Josh Wilson:
There are many significant issues facing our city, but I view our challenges as surmountable as long as we focus on the long term impact and act decisively.
One of these issues includes the future of our City Hall. With the adjacent property being planned for a major retail development, there is a newfound interest in the possibility of selling City Hall to further develop commercial retail along Katella Avenue and create more sales tax revenue. One proposed plan includes relocating City Hall, the community center, and The Youth Center, which serves our children with after-school programs. A proposed location for this new Civic Center is the Joint Forces Training Base (“JFTB”).
I am decidedly against relocating our Civic Center to the JFTB. Having a young family, I cannot help but view any important decision through the lens of its long-term impact and its potential consequences for future generations. More commercial retail would increase traffic along one of the busiest roads in the county, which could create a safety issue for the hundreds of children that cross Katella to attend Oak Middle School.
Moving City Hall would also likely raise taxes as the city would need funds to pay for the construction of a new City Hall. Relocating to the JFTB would be a double whammy — the city would need to both lease the land for fair market value (with a 40+ year lease) and pay for construction on the 10-acre complex. This would be the equivalent of selling the home you own outright so you can pay to build on leased land that could be taken away from you at the end of the lease.
We can look to how the JFTB chose not to renew our 20-year lease for the pool, after the city spent over $2.5 million in renovations, as proof that the above scenario is possible.
My background working in the financial service industry tells me we can make a better investment in our future, one where we do not rely on raising taxes or force ourselves to make cuts to critical services. We need to have the perspective of how our choices will impact the next generation of residents so that we can continue to grow the many second and third generation families that call Los Alamitos home. Along with perspective, we need decisive action.
An opportunity to take decisive action was recently missed when our Council declined to take a position against Measure GG. This Cypress ballot measure would rezone the Los Alamitos Race Course to allow for high-density housing and office complexes. Its passage would represent a tremendous increase in traffic for Los Alamitos and it would likely be a significant issue for our city.
While some would suggest we should not inject ourselves into the decision-making process of another city, I have a different outlook.
As elected advocates we must always represent the interests of our citizens, make that our highest priority, even if that means we take a position on an issue outside of our city boundaries.
While you have heard my position on two significant issues affecting our community, I am more interested in hearing about the issues that matter to you. Red light cameras, improving our parks, public safety – these issues and many more deserve an equal amount of attention.
I encourage you to contact me at Josh@JoshuaSWilson.com to share your thoughts on how we can solve them together.
You have two votes for City Council, I would be honored to receive one of them.
