Escondido Propositions N & P

By Michael K "Mike" Morasco

Escondido Charter City and General Plan Proposals

The proposed General Plan has many important functions including allocating more land and revitalizing current employment lands for commercial growth and development. This means more and higher paying jobs. It also provides for new opportunities for parks, trails and other "quality of life" issues such as resource conservation. This, and much more, is done with less than 5% of existing neighborhoods being affected, without any new taxes being assessed and all the while maintaining current Proposition S requirements (voter approval for land use changes). Revitalization of existing residential areas as well as core commercial areas of our city is an essential component of the new General Plan.

The proposed Charter City initiative puts the control of planning, development, operations, finances and city management right where it should be: under local control. It stems the tide of unfunded state mandates that have crippled our city financially as well as economically. The Constitution of the State of California allows for this Charter and we need to take advantage of this right provided to us. It will save our city millions of dollars by keeping our dollars local, by making Prevailing Wage optional instead of mandatory and by the promotion of fair and open competition with public works contracts and projects.

This Charter has and "anti-City of Bell" clause that where all Mayoral and City Counsel compensations / salaries are still pursuant to California Government Codes.