New Budget Takes Backseat to Puppies and Cats

The Aliso Viejo City Council met Wednesday evening at City Hall without the presence of Mayor Donald Garcia.

Mayor Pro Tem William Phillips assumed the major’s duties during the 2½ hour public hearing, and generally did well in keeping the meeting going. He and councilmembers Carmen Cave, Greg Ficke and Phillip Tsunoda had to feel good about the way things unfolded throughout the evening and afterwards.

The night began with the council recognizing two hometown heroes. The first was Greg Howit, a retiring physical education teacher at Don Juan Avila Middle School. Howit became a teacher in 1975, and over the last seven years at Don Juan Avila raised $1.3 million for various programs.

“It’s an honor to be able to teacher,” Howit told those inside the chamber. “I want to thank the thousands of children I have been able to influence over the last 37 years.”

The other was Cruz Alday, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigator, who was officially recognized by the city council for his seven years of service in Aliso Viejo. Alday said he wouldn’t forget the people there.

“These kinds of recognitions are humbling,” Alday said. “It was a pleasure to serve the city of Aliso Viejo.”

The city council then received a check from AYSO Region 889 for its agreed upon portion of the newly installed overhead lighting and restrooms at Foxborough Park.

They breezed through items one through 12 on the consent calendar, the only “no” vote, 4-0, coming on No. 12 Adopt Ordinance No. 20-12-141, which would have abolished the planning commission and possibly eliminated references to the planning commission. Then something strange happened.

The agenda showed five items were up for public discussion—a road grant, a gardening contract, the Boys and Girls Club, animal welfare—and the draft of the Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 1012-13. The budget would normally draw its share of detractors, but not this time. It was the animal welfare ordinance that drew most of the crowd.

The ordinance would amend Chapter 6.02 of the municipal code and make it illegal for dogs and cats to be sold by non-licensed providers, or "puppy mills," and even prevent rodeos and circuses from coming to Aliso Viejo because they display or exhibit wild or exotic animals acts at the expense of the animals.

Several animal activists attended the meeting and applauded the city council's decision to consider passing such an ordinance. But members of the rodeo association also were in attendance, and they claimed that no rodeo would ever come to Aliso Viejo because of cost and space, so why bother with an ordinance?

Councilmember Cave concurred, and asked that the city council change the ordinance to focus on the retail sale of dogs and cats in commercial establishments, and not on animal acts and displays. The item was continued to the next meeting.

As for the 2012-13 budget, all appears well, Aliso Viejo.

The budget calls for all services in the city to continue operating at its present levels, which is good news. The city has a healthy reserve and projects that taxes, both property and sales, will rise 2 percent next year for homeowners.

The largest chunk of its budget (46 percent) will continue to go to law enforcement and public safety. Interestingly, the council was told that the contract between the city and the OCSD is coming up for renewal soon.

With a few tweaks and clarifications, the Budget Adoption could be ready for approval by the council at its June 6 meeting.

Finally, the City Council authorized its staff to submit an application for the State-Local Partnership Program Formula Grant under Proposition 1B Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 for the Aliso Creek Road Rehabilitation-Enterprise to Pacific Park Project. That means the city has applied for a grant of $314,000 to fix the roadway on Aliso Creek between Enterprise and Pacific Park. If approved, construction could begin as soon as spring 2013.

The City Council recommended that PV Maintenance receive a one-year contract extension at $710,000 for street and storm drain maintenance, and nominated Mayor Garcia and Mayor Pro Tem Phillips to serve as ad hoc committee members for the Boys and Girls Club as it considers expanding its services in Aliso Viejo.

The next regular Council meeting is May 16.