Why I am voting NO on Measure T in Newport Beach.
There is no other city in the nation which has adopted this kind of restriction, although lease obligation debt has been validated in court decisions as far back as 1942.
Do we really need to hold an election when we will rebuild the Police Station, repair the sea walls, or other large maintenance projects that are capital improvements? The council realized they had to make exceptions for local emergency “force majeure” events, like earthquakes and landslides or fires, but that doesn’t work for major maintenance projects.
The City’s Finance Committee refused to endorse this. The City’s outside financial advisors did not endorse it. The Government Finance Officers Association does not support it. The City’s financial projections do not show need for debt for decades. Newport Beach would be the only city in the nation to adopt this.
Measure T, if passed, would require an election if the City wanted to issue lease obligation debt over $50 million. This is not the same as bond dept. Lease obligations (COPs), by definition, do NOT increase taxes, so there is no need for the expense in time and money of holding an election.
Lengthy and costly legal validation would also be required. Bond debt already requires an election by State law.
I am voting NO on Measure T.
Nicole Reynolds
Irvine Terrace, Newport Beach
