Christi White
July 3, 2026
Received After Agenda Printed
July 7, 2026 - City Council Meeting
Item No. 19
@
Murrieta, California Q
Subject: Agenda Item No. 19 - LOCAL CONTROL without LOCAL DETAILS / Significant Concerns and a Request for Additional Transparency Regarding Proposed Statewide Constitutional Amendment Subcommittee
Mayor, Council Members, City Manager Clinton and City Clerk, Ironically, while Staff's Agenda Report repeatedly emphasizes "local control," it provides very few local details about the constitutional amendment the proposed subcommittee is being asked to pursue.
Please do not approve the proposed Agenda Item to establish a new "City Council Subcommittee Regarding a Statewide Ballot Initiative for November 2028." As Murrieta continues to approach build-out, the City's land-use challenges increasingly .. shift from managing rapid growth to maintaining and enhancing an established community.
This reality raises a legitimate question: does it represent sound fiscal stewardship to devote finite taxpayer-funded resources to developing a statewide land-use constitutional amendment when the City's own immediate municipal priorities remain unfinished? The City of Murrieta should not expend taxpayer funds, employee work time, or taxpayer/public resources to create the "substantive" foundational framework and strategic architecture for an effort that the City of Murrieta declares would "eventually be transferred to an independent campaign committee operating with private funds."
However, let's not focus too much on issues of California governance and campaign-finance law.
Rather, let us focus on fiduciary responsibility, living up to the declared promises of fiscally conservative representatives, the best and highest use of taxpayer/public resources, opportunity cost, public trust, accountability, and transparency in all aspects.
Considering that the City Council recently discussed options such as reducing reserve levels, issuing long-term debt instruments in the form of bonds, or seeking voter approval for financing major capital projects, fiscal discipline should remain one of our City's highest priorities.
Before creating another City Council subcommittee that will consume Staff time and public resources, the Council might be wise to first ensure that our limited financial and personnel resources are focused on core municipal responsibilities and critical infrastructure needs. 1 IPage