Health & Fitness
"State of the City" - Summary and Final Comments
This week we covered the “State of the City” in preparation for the talk tonight by Mayor Dwight Robinson. Here’s a summary of the main points –
Statistics on public safety, our #1 concern, show we are the “Murder Capital of South Orange County”. In the past few years there have been more murders in Lake Forest than the rest of our 9 neighbor cities combined!
When 2013 is compared with previous years, murder, forcible rape, and other serious crimes are increasing and we have the 4th highest crime rate among the 10 cities around us.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Traffic continues to be stalled and the prospects are not good. Nothing effective is on the radar to mitigate the 35,000+ new vehicle trips as a result of the 4,500+ new homes being built.
Our school system will have difficulty absorbing the 6,000 new students who live in the 4,500+ new homes because no new schools are being built in the area where the children are coming.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The local economy is not thriving and is still in recession mode, and the City spends less than 2% of our $35 million annual budget on our own people/businesses. Estimated sales tax revenue for Lake Forest is expected to grow at half the rate of the rest of the County.
On top of this, we just approved a new trash hauling contract that will increase the costs to business on average 25%, and for small businesses upwards of 47%. Did I mention the company that got the contract recently gave Mayor Robinson $1000 for his campaign costs?
We have far fewer amenities than our neighbors do (e.g., civic center, senior center, dog park, community foundation, local animal shelter, etc.) and there are no plans to correct this imbalance in the future.
Our Council has been bogged down in scandals about cronyism and corruption, and they left over a dozen important issues (e.g., Village Pond Park, dog park, community garden, PCN revisions) unresolved in 2013 none of which have even been addressed yet in 2014.
Our Commissions have been reduced to faint shadows of what they used to be. The Planning Commission cancels +20% of their meetings, has high absenteeism, and individual members refuse to take the initiative to pursue important citywide planning issues. The Parks Commission seems unable to solve the problems at the Village Pond Park and can’t find a place to locate a dog park.
The City staff is producing reports that wouldn’t pass muster in a college course, and these badly flawed reports are being used to create bad public policy.
The few bright spots (e.g., new Sports Park, upgrades to existing parks, increased website transparency, more business friendly sign regulations) are clearly overshadowed by the deficiencies. For example,
- It’ll be great to have a new sports park, and all the unemployed people might be able to enjoy it, if they could afford the gas, and if the traffic jams let them get there.
- It’s great to loosen the ordinances on business signs, but the most used sign in the City is “For Lease” because we are spending so little of our tax money in our own City.
- It’s great that we have enough money in our bank account to continue paying the OCSD as they raise our rates every year to support generous pensions for their retirees, but in the meantime murder, rape, and robberies are on the increase.
These facts and figures are all true. No lies and distortions from City staff and Council members can lessen the number of murders, wipe out the forcible rapes, increase the percentage of money spent in the City, fill the vacant store fronts, or give us a community garden, senior center, or local animal shelter.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Here are some suggestions of positive action you can take.
Educate yourself.
Get involved.
Find your voice.
Work with others
There are lots of ways to do this. You can educate yourself by going to Council and Commission meetings, or watching them on the Internet at the City’s website. Read the “City Watch” column on the Patch and follow-up when links refer you to primary sources.
At the local level, talk to people in your HOA or in your neighborhood. A lot of the issues impact you directly.
Use your voice to talk at meetings of the Council or the Commission. Comment on articles in The Patch, The OC Register or on The Voice of OC. Even better, when you feel passionate, write your own article.
At the end of the day we get the government we deserve. What are you doing to make your government better?
