Reduce City Beach Parking Fees after 5pm for HB Residents

One of our greatest features here in Surf City USA is our beaches. Although many people think of beach-going as a daytime activity, Huntington Beach residents know that there are equally great opportunities to enjoy in the evening such as taking a walk, run, or bike ride, having a bonfire, or experiencing the breathtaking view as the sun sets behind our iconic pier. Unfortunately, as is evident by the empty lots, exorbitant parking fees decentivize and prevent more HB residents from visiting the beach in the evening. Reducing the beach parking fees after 5 pm for city residents would:

• Incentivise and enable more residents to spend time at the beach.

• Reduce stress for local downtown residents who often suffer from limited parking due to beachgoers who don’t want to pay high parking fees. 

• Minimize an equity gap that currently prevents residents from using the beach because they cannot afford the regular parking rate, or the upfront cost of a yearly pass.

• Generate more revenue for our general fund since more parking spots will be occupied in the evening.  

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Eliminate Evergreen Contracts 

An evergreen contract is a contract that is automatically renewed on a continuous basis, and the City of Huntington Beach has one with a multi-billion dollar private company. Although efforts were made to renegatioate this contract in 2019, we should ensure that we avoid these types of agreements moving forward. Oftentimes, evergreen contracts prevent cities from reevaluating and renegotiating service agreements on a regular basis, which can stifle competition from other providers and lead to higher fees for residents. I believe that going through the request for proposal (RFP) process, and avoiding contracts more than five years in length, would allow competitive bidding amongst different service providers.
 

Unfunded Liabilities

The city of Huntington Beach currently has an unfunded liability of over $400 million, which is larger than the size of our general fund. A top priority of mine is to ensure that we have enough capital to meet our day-to-day obligations as a municipality. I support the efforts of our city manager to refinance our current unfunded liability obligation and take advantage of low interest rates, in addition to ensuring we are strategic with our negotiations so that taxpayers and our employees benefit as well. Additionally, we can promote the development of new businesses in Huntington Beach, especially mom-and-pop shops, that will generate city revenue from sales taxes. 

 

I support:

• The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), signed by Governor Brown in 2012

• Developing a microloan program that will enable local entrepreneurs to create businesses, which will then generate more tax revenue. 

• Saving the city money by renegotiating current contracts and cutting costs from unnecessary litigation.