News: Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

councilwoman v newport beach, california

newsletter: june 2009

NBPD
As you undoubtedly know by now, John Klein, Newport Beach Chief of Police, has resigned. This is not a polite way of saying he was pushed out or that he was encouraged to step down. The impetus was all from him. I certainly didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t know John when he was appointed Chief, but I experienced his community-based approach almost immediately. There had been concern expressed by some Ocean Boulevard residents about untoward activity in their neighborhood related to the beach, particularly at night. They were unhappy not just about the incidents of vandalism, noise, etc., but about the police department’s position that there wasn’t a problem. Within weeks of John taking over he had a new program that included surveillance cameras and more patrols which dramatically reduced complaints. I continued to see this kind of responsiveness in his tenure. When it was revealed that a requirement had been overlooked in his appointment, it was distressing, but in my mind that was nothing against John. However, there were some within the department who were unhappy, and there was a steady leakage of negative stories in the press as well as personnel complaints. An internal survey within the department had a number of people saying, in essence, everyone shut up and let’s get on with the business of policing, but there were others who seemed to be dissatisfied with just about everything from their managers and salaries to the way vacation days were allotted. John felt that all these issues could be overcome, but it could take a year or longer which would be a year of continuing negative press and internal dissension. He decided that it was in the best interests of the department to remove himself as a focus of complaints. I admire the character that prompted his decision while regretting the decision itself.

BUDGET
While we are doing some belt-tightening, we are in much better fiscal shape than a lot of cities which means that while it would hurt, we could withstand the suggested plundering of local property tax revenue by the state. However, for many cities and counties, that could be the tipping point. Through the League of Cities, council members up and down the state, including all of us in Newport Beach, have done thirty-second videos explaining to the legislature why the grab is a bad idea. At least the property tax would be repaid within three years. That’s not the case with another proposal–to take cities’ gas tax money. In that case we’d just get stiffed. Both ideas have to be voted on, so if you have an opinion, you might want to share it with our state representatives.

ELECTION RULES
Councilman Curry has proposed raising the individual contribution limit from $500 to $1000 for city elections. I have asked the City Attorney to see if there’s a way to limit individual contributions to Independent Election Committees to the same amount. Ron Hendrickson suggested that the Council not fill vacated seats by appointment but by election and also that when someone does fill a vacated seat it be counted as a full term so the individual could serve one more full term and not, as is now the practice, the remainder of the vacated term and two full terms after that. Comments welcome.

WATER
The City will be looking at new water fees (the cost of water has gone up considerably, and we’re not covering our costs) and a new water conservation ordinance. In view of the impact on residents, it’s fair to ask what the City itself is doing. Quite a lot. Landscaping, particularly on medians and parkways, is gradually being changed from turf to plants that require less water. Water-efficient smart irrigation systems continue to be installed. Probably one of the biggest impacts has been the Green Acres Project. The City currently saves 98.6 million gallons of potable water by providing recycled water for use on Newport Beach and Big Canyon Country Clubs, Eastbluff School soccer field and most of the center medians along Jamboree. In addition, Eastbluff Park and Bonita Creek Park will be using recycled water in the future to save another 18 million gallons.

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FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions.

Councilwoman Nancy Gardner

QUALITY OF LIFE Advocate FOR NEWPORT BEACH

City of Newport Beach - 3300 Newport Blvd - Newport Beach, CA 92663

Phone: 949.644.3004 - EMAIL: gardnerncy@aol.com