Another Special Study Session This Afterrnoon

SPECIAL STUDY SESSION AGAIN
The Costa Mesa City Council will meet at 4:30 p.m. today in council chambers for the latest Special Study Session.  These special meetings have become a habit this month - this is the third one - due to the need for more time to discuss the extraordinary budget demands of this council.

Today the agenda includes:

1 - Review of Fairview Park Master Plan Improvements

2 - Summary of Capital Improvement Program and  Discussion of Funding Opportunities and Priorities
 

WHERE'S THE MONEY COMING FROM?
That first item shouldn't take too long, but I'm not so sure about the second one.  You will recall that Jim Righeimer added several million dollars worth of capital improvement items from his 5-year wish list to the original budget - the one that was within a couple hundred thousand dollars of being balanced.  The second version of the Preliminary Budget, HERE, shows that we will be several millions in the hole if Righeimer and the rest of the male majority on the council persist in placing potholes before people.  The only place money can be found for the kinds of capital projects they say have been "ignored" by previous councils - which, of course, included some members of the current council - is in salaries and benefits.  This should be a very interesting meeting, since they plan to "prioritize" the budget this afternoon.