This week the Mayor's Minute focuses on being debt-free. In October we will notify bond holders of the Alton Parkway Bond that we will be paying off the bond in advance of the maturity date. This act will save us $1,000,000 in future interest payments. The idea came up from discussions I had a few months ago with the Finance Director, Keith Neves. The Council unanimously agreed with us.
This moves comes after earlier moves by the Council to pay off our unfunded pension liabilities. We're one of the few cities in California to do this. Many cities are heavily burdened by their unfunded pension liabilities, and the County has long suffered. But Lake Forest has paid it off. The idea first came from Councilman Adam Nick years ago, was endorsed by Councilmen Bass and Hamilton, and eventually passed by the Council I was on.
With no unfunded pension obligations and no bonds outstanding, we are debt-free. No City our size or larger can make that statement.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
To view this week's Mayor's Minute, Click Here
ABOUT THE MAYOR'S MINUTE
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Mayor's Minute is just one of the innovations we've introduced this year to keep you informed and involved. Here are some others -
- You can now watch the City Council (and other important meetings) live on Facebook and you can comment and ask questions.
- We have a Pop-Up City Hall that shows up at community events and lets you stay in touch with city staff and elected officials. Invite us to your next event.
- Our mobile app "Shop and Dine Lake Forest" continues to be updated and soon we'll have an "iCity" mobile app that will allow you to communicate your concerns directly from your phone.
- We started a series of Mayor's Councils that gather together stakeholders (e.g., HOAs, business owners) with city staff and elected officials so that we can problem solve together.
No City does more to inform and involve our residents, and we will continue to improve.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Oct 18 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).
