Seven Orange County cities have sales tax increases on their ballots this year. Without question, these are all pension taxes. Pensions are crowding out basic services across the County. But not here in Newport Beach.
In 2014, a wave of new candidates ran on a platform of attacking the pension tsunami. Those four are now up for reelection: Mayor Duffield, Diane Dixon, Kevin Muldoon and Scott Peotter.
Despite CalPERS’ abysmal investment returns of 2.4 percent and 0.6 percent in 2015 and 2016, the City’s unfunded pension liability actually shows decreases for 2017 and 2018.
This Council has implemented a discretionary paydown that previous Councils did not. This Council has passed balanced budgets each year with continual surpluses thanks to solid fiscal management.
This Council is again running on a fiscally conservative platform that attacks the pension liability issue without increasing taxes. Contrast that with challenger Roy Engelbreght, who has run on a platform of increasing the Newport Beach sales tax, implementing a hiring freeze, and slashing 10 percent for all city department budgets. Contrast that further with the other challengers in this race who have endorsed him.
I’m voting for fiscal conservatives. I’m voting for Duffy, Muldoon, Peotter, and Dixon.
Bob McCaffrey
Newport Beach
