The New Lake Forest - Part 3

In the previous 2 articles I outlined five areas of concern that residents voted were their top priorities for 2018, and I indicated that I would introduce these in the coming weeks to get Council consensus for us to proceed. Bear in mind we are already committed to

• Build the Civic/Senior Center ($70,000,000+)
• Upgrade 10 neighborhood parks ($10,000,000+)
• Finish upgrading Veterans Park ($2,000,000+)
• Update the city’s General Plan ($1,000,000+)
• Create a new mobile app for better communication
• Transitioning to district elections

By themselves, these six tasks are more ambitious than any City Council has ever undertaken. To add to these tasks five more operational issues seems daunting. These five issues are

• Create ordinance outlawing donations from contract agencies
• Create code of ethics with independent oversight and real teeth
• Create a local no-kill animal shelter
• Create new Traffic commission
• Pass an ordinance to “put lake forest first” in all spending.

While four of the first six tasks are capital improvement programs, the other tasks before us, if the Council agrees, are mostly regulatory. There is some hard work to do to create the ordinances and rules suggested above, but little else is required. I believe this is manageable, but I am acutely aware that our performance has not been stellar in the past few years and we have dropped the ball on more than one occasion. We can no longer afford to drop the ball. Therefore I am going to recommend some changes to the way we do things.

INVOLVING MORE PEOPLE - COMMITTEES

I want to have more people involved in government. I’ve been committed to this since the very beginning, and quite frankly I think I’ve done a good job, with town hall meetings, monthly reports, office hours, and the FB page Lake Forest Town Square. But all my attempts to expand the Commission and Committee system have been thwarted. I believe we now have the opportunity to expand our Commissions and Committees, and here are some of the ideas I will propose (some of which originated by others)

• Traffic Commission
• Animal Welfare Committee
• Beautification Committee
• Community Foundation (for non-profits)
• Ethics Committee

To do this in the most expeditious manner and to avoid overlap, I will propose that our first step is to create a Committee to provide ample study of what kinds of committees we should introduce and how we should do it. I’m aware that a committee to study committees is a punchline, but I think it’s the best way to proceed.

I think of these committees as ad hoc (rather than standing) and I think they all have a drop-dead date along with monthly reporting requirements. But I’ll leave these details to the Committee.

In this manner I hope to draw in dozens of people. I believe people are our best resource, and getting more people involved in government is the best way to insure the best government.

INVOLVING MORE PEOPLE – MAYOR’S COUNCILS

Just as I want to involve more people in helping us address our problems, I want to involve more people to guide us in a general sense. I will propose

• Business (reps from biggest employers and biggest sales tax generators, also some niche reps e.g., hotels, auto, medical). Economic Development Dept. will host. Chamber of commerce also.
• HOA (reps from the largest 20 HOAs). Public Works will host.
• Nonprofits (focus on nonprofits headquartered in LF, but also those that serve residents in LF). Community Services will host.
• Religious (largest religious groups; maybe combine with nonprofits)
• Leadership (graduates of Leadership Academy who want to get involved in ad hoc activities). Management Services to host.

The purpose of these Councils will be to find out where and how the City can do a better job in servicing these groups. But beyond that, it will also be a two-way street in which we can enlist the help of these groups in city events and activities.

ANTI-GANG ACTIONS

For the first time ever in the history of the City, the Council majority will not owe their campaigns to developers or companies doing business with the City. That means our sole focus can be on making decisions that improve the quality of life for the people in Lake Forest. But I don’t want to let this moment pass without putting in place procedures and processes that will prevent future gangs from using their influence to shape our government.

Appointing Commissioners

Using their gang majority, past Councils have appointed Commissions consisting solely of people loyal to the, past campaign contributors, campaign workers, etc. To combat this I will propose that when Commissioners (or Committee members) are selected, each Council member will select one person. This way, even if there is a 3 person Gang, at least 2 people on the Commission will not necessarily be an acolayde of the gang.

Replacing Council Members

When a Gang controls the Council, and there is a death or resignation, the Gang gets to appoint the replacement. Guess who they choose? Someone who is sympathetic if not downright in agreement with the Gang. IMO that’s not right. The Council is the representative of the people, not the Council itself. If a Council member leaves, he/she should be replaced by the person with the most votes in the previous election. The best example is the resignation of Peter Herzog. I was the next highest vote getter in the election when Peter was voted on the Council, but the Gang in charge didn’t want me on the Council, so they appointed someone else. In the election a year later, I beat that person by a substantial amount, even though he campaigned as an incumbent. We should honor the people’s will.

Appointing the Mayor

Gangs have traded the position of Mayor among themselves, freezing out other people who were elected. Some people served as Mayor nearly a dozen times, while others who served an equivalent time served once or twice. More recently, the opportunity of being Mayor was denied to Adam Nick, and he became the first person elected to be denied a chance to be Mayor.

We can change the gang’s influence by rotating the position so that anyone elected has the chance to serve.

SUMMARY

There’s a lot to be done in 2018.These are just some ideas. Feel free to share your thoughts at Lake Forest Town Square

Tomorrow we'll talk about transforming our Council meetings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. 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 twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. 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 mini town meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Thursday Feb 15 at 7 pm at the Beach and Tennis Club.