HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE_25EStephen M. Wontrobski 2MI NOV 18 PM 90
27132 Sombras ,1 - ,
Mission Viejo, CA 92692 a :r
J,�
November 14, 2013
Santa Ana City Council Members
20 Civic Center Plaza
P.O. Box 1988, M31
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Ref: OCFA Equitable Relief Proposal
Villa Park and Aliso Viejo Rejection of OCFA Equitable Relief Proposal
Dear City Council Members:
This letter and the attached November 7, 2013 letter are my written public comments on the City
Council's agenda item addressing the approval of the OCFA's equitable relief proposal. The City
of Villa Park and the City of Aliso Viejo have rejected the proposal you are being requested to
approve.
I am against your City Council's approval of the OCFA equitable relief proposal for the same
reasons listed in my attached letter to the City of Mission Viejo City Council.
I believe that the only true way to determine whether the proposal should be approved by your
City Council is to do an actual cost study. This would be a relatively easy task. Without doing
such a study, I believe your City Council is shooting in the dark and hoping what the OCFA is
proposing is in the best interest of your residents.
I thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
LJA
Stephen Wontrobski santaanacitycounci111 -14 -13
Stephen M. Wontrobski
27132 Sombras
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
November 7, 2013
Mission Viejo City Council Members
200 Civic Center
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Ref: OCFA Equitable Relief
Villa Park Rejection of OCFA Equitable Relief Proposal
Dear City Council Members.
In my prior November 4, 2013 letter, I identified four OCFA structural member high property value
cities:
1.
Irvine
2.
Villa Park
3,
Mission Viejo
4,
Laguna Niguel
Irvine petitioned for and was granted equitable relief from the OCFA on the basis that it paid more
to the OCFA as compared to the actual costs the OCFA incurred in providing services to it. At
the OCFA Budget & Finance Committee meeting on November 6, 2013, the OCFA announced
that the City of Villa Park had voted to not accept the OCFA's equitable adjustment proposal,
which would have denied it equitable relief under the OCFA's simplistic formula model. That
leaves us with two high property vaiue cities, Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel, with a decision
whether to accept a no equitable relief determination for them.
The only way to conclusively determine if millions of dollars in equitable relief are owed to Mission
Viejo is to do an actual cost study. We can then compare that actual cost amount to the known
payment amount we are currently assessed for services by the OCFA. This is the method any
reputable accountant or economist would use.
It is just baffling to me why we do not proceed in that direction, rather than employing a
theoretical simplistic formula method. The simplistic formula method is inherently flawed.
1. It is not based on an actual known cost amount, which is easily derived
2. Equitable relief is not only based on the tax rate percentage. It is also based on the other
part of the formula — property value
The OCFA simplistic formula completely avoids the use of high property values in the
determination of whether to grant equitable relief. It denies relief based solely on the fact that
Mission Viejo's tax rate is lower than the average for all of the OCFA members. This reasoning
for denying equitable relief appears to me to be both illogical and fallacious. However, this
reasoning is what the OCFA wants us to approve in order to deny Mission Viejo potential
equitable relief and the return of potential millions of dollars to our city coffers over the future
years.
The Mission Viejo City Council has a duty of responsibility first and foremost to its residents, not
to the OCFA. It would be considered a dereliction of duty to blindly accept the OCFA denial of
equitable relief based on a theoretical formula methodology. Why can't we do an actual cost
study? Why can't the actual cost facts speak for themselves?
It is puzzling to me why a simple actual cost study cannot be done to see exactly how much we
may be owed in equitable relief. If an actual cost study is done, the residents of Mission Viejo will
know exactly how much we may be overpaying the OCFA. It will also immediately stop continued
OCFA future overcharges in the upcoming years to come. Never forget, if we are being
overcharged presently, we will continue to be overcharged in the future. This is not a one time,
one year overpayment rebate. The rebate will extend to 2030 using the OCFA model.
it must also be remembered that we are entrusting our City's equitable relief determination to the
integrity of the OCFA's theoretical model, whose own Agency's integrity is now being questioned
in the press.
This is a scandal ridden agency, beset with financial and procurement problems. The OCFA Fire
Chief is currently preparing a reorganization study to present to the OCFA Board of Directors this
month to address a cure for the scandals and financial and procurement problems. Why in
sImp% good sense would Mission Viejo wantto rely on this Agency to determine whether or not
we are not being overcharged for OCFA's services? Isn't there an inherent bias for the OCFA to
say, we are not overcharging you? A simple cost study can determine with absolute certainty
whether the OCFA is right or wrong.
If you do not undertake such a study, you risk losing the faith and confidence that our residents
have entrusted in you with regard to proper financial stewardship. Rest assured someone,
whether it be an independent organization, the Orange County Grand Jury, a taxpayer group, an
individual, or the Register, is going to do such a study. Let's not put ourselves in the position to
be criticized in the future for not having first done the study on our own.
I recommend that the City Council proceed as follows:
First, have staff contact Laguna Niguel and Villa Park to determine if they have undertaken an
actual cost study to determine if an equitable relief adjustment may be owed them.
Second, have our City Manager meet with the City Managers of Villa Park, Laguna Niguel and
Irvine to discuss this issue with them.
Third, have staff contact the City of Irvine City Manager, Sean Joyce, on this matter, since he
entered into a consulting agreement around September of this year to determine among other
things the OCFA's actual cost for providing services to the City of Irvine. Have staff obtain a copy
of the consultant's report.
Fourth, consider doing a joint actual cost study with Laguna Niguel and Villa Park using the study
methodology employed by the City of Irvine consulting company,
Fifth, have staff conduct their own equitable relief cost study for Mission Viejo. The cost study
simply has to compare what Mission Viejo pays for services to the OCFA versus OCFA's cost for
providing those services. We can use Irvine's consultant study as a guide. We have absolutely
nothing to lose and potentially millions of dollars to gain.
I thank you for your consideration of this matter,
Sincerely,
Stephen Wontrobski mveyuitablereliefUlapark17.07-13
Cc: OCFA Board of Directors Members