Irvine top-ranked in nation for well-managed finances

Irvine top-ranked in nation for well-managed finances

More news from Irvine:

Great Park meeting: The city will host a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to give residents an update on the Orange County Great Park and ask them for input about still-to-be-built segments of the park. No RSVP needed. The meeting is at the Irvine civic center, 1 Civic Center Plaza.

Strategic planning: The city is seeking community input to update its Senior Strategic Plan, which will help shape the direction of senior programs and services over the next five years. Meetings will be held 9:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday at Rancho Senior Center and 6-8 p.m. Feb. 8 at Trabuco Center. Information: 949-724-6685.

Groundbreaking: The public is invited to a community ice facility groundbreaking at 10 a.m. Feb. 16 at the Orange County Great Park. An Anaheim Ducks affiliate and city official will co-host the free ceremony to begin construction of one of the largest public ice facilities in the country. The grand opening will be in 2018.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/irvine-742137-city-million.html

I was shocked to read that Santa Ana was included on the list. I would have never thought they were well managed.  Although it might not be in the near future if they get federal funding cut off for being a sanctuary city.

Interesting that they define "well-managed" simply with how much cash reserves is on hand. I mean really how hard is it when you're making so much damn money from taxes.

If Irvine was so well-managed the Great Park would be done by now instead of having to charge an arm and a leg in MR. Just the audit to figure out where all the mismanaged Great Park money went cost over 1 million dollars!
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/audit-645453-city-firm.html

How much does it cost to build a road and add lights in Irvine vs other areas of the same state? Say in Menifee which is a way cheaper area, but they still need new schools and roads but the mello is based on houses that sell for a million less than Irvine, around 2% property taxes including mello. How can roads cost so much more here?

I know Menifee is way out there and no one on this board wants to move there but the point is the OC gets away with charging these absolutely ridiculous property taxes because people pay them and how they managed to get mello to rise 2% per year on top of their high start price and then have the nerve to come to the voters for more money is beyond me.
http://www.calatlantichomes.com/fin...nd-empire/7776-lakeview-at-heritage-lake.html

The mello here and the sales taxes should be PLENTY to fund the city FOREVER.

samleeiii said:

Interesting that they define "well-managed" simply with how much cash reserves is on hand.

Click to expand...

1. the ratio of a city?s general fund balance to its expenditures (40 percent weighting)

2. the ratio of its long term obligations (including OPEB but excluding pensions) to total government-wide revenues (30 percent weighting)

3. the ratio of actuarially determined pension contributions to total government-wide revenues (10 percent weighting)

4. change in local unemployment rate (10 percent weighting)

5. change in property values (10 percent weighting).

It's less expensive to build roads and schools in Menifee and all of Western Riverside County, compared to Irvine, since land is cheaper.

The rangelands and rock strewn sage steppe are very inexpensive compared to highly productive farmland around Irvine and Orange County (which is in short supply), along with coastal steppe lands and chaparral, which is mostly preserved in parks, therefore, what vacant, buildable land that is available in Orange county, is very expensive.

Furthermore, Riverside county voters voted themselves a tax to build roads, several years ago.