Through my eyes

Ron Davis

Boy, are my neighbors going to be bent out of shape once I get my tuba.

That’s right. I’m going to learn to play the tuba and then get a full

band uniform, complete with one of those hats that looks like a flock of

geese flew into it.

In short order, you’ll be able to march down to your local park and

various civic events and experience a free tuba concert, delivered by

yours truly.

Do I own a tuba? Not yet. But that’s the easiest part. I’ll just pop down

to the next Huntington Beach City Council meeting and get the money from

them for the instrument. Right out of the general fund -- your money. Is

this a great city or what?

You probably thought we had sewers to repair, sidewalks to fix, and

substantial, unfunded liabilities. I thought so, too, but either I was

wrong or band instruments have become a more important priority.

A couple of weeks ago, the City Council approved our city budget of about

$240 million. During the process, a speaker came to the podium and asked

for $10,000 for instruments for the Huntington Beach Concert Band, which

is a volunteer organization.

The council has acknowledged that the city has more than $20 million in

unfunded liabilities -- those are bills we owe but don’t have the money

to pay -- and yet they still ponied up the 10 grand for the band.

Their theory in doing so?

They thought the band was a worthwhile volunteer organization that

contributed to the community by playing frequent concerts in various

parks and at various civic events, all for free. I don’t know about you,

but $10,000 doesn’t sound particularly free to me.

I have nothing against the concert band and am not critical of them for

making their pitch -- they’re undoubtedly a worthwhile volunteer

organization and probably add much to our community. But excuuuse meee, I

always thought that our tax dollars ought to be spent first on paying our

debts and repairing sewers and sidewalks.

But silly me, I must have ignored the fact that there is nothing quite

like a pleasant little concert in the park to forget about all those

unfunded liabilities.

What was I thinking? I must have forgotten that when someone is home

mending a broken leg or ankle after a fall on one of our defective

sidewalks he can ease his pain by remembering the “Flight of the

Bumblebee” delivered by the concert band. All for free.

Can’t you just hear the floodgates opening now? Council’s action sets an

ugly precedent. Every organization in the city now has a reason to

stretch out their palms and ask, “What about me?”

And, indeed, what about them? Why that band as opposed to other bands,

and why that organization rather than others? Are the others less worthy?

After the $750 donation debacle to Golden West College, I thought that

our council was going to sit down and drum up a formal policy on giving

away our tax money to “worthwhile” events and organizations.

Apparently they have, and I just didn’t recognize it. The policy seems to

be that if you show up, ask for money, and the council’s in a good mood,

you get the money. Now there’s a fine policy.

While I don’t support giving away our tax money, I thought at the very

least that if the council decided some of our tax money should be

appropriated to worthwhile organizations in general, they would have

designated a gross sum for the giveaway, and allowed all of the

organizations to apply. I imagined that some citizen-based committee

would sort out the requests and make recommendations to the council.

But, I guess I had my head up my tuba.

I suppose I missed the beauty and simplicity of a policy that just

happens to reward those who were at the right place at the right time.

For you philanthropic types, I know it’s just 10 grand, and that’s not a

lot of money compared to our financial problems. It would probably be

just a Band-Aid, but I didn’t expect the council to use it to aid a band.

By the by, I just jotted down a few lines for people to sing when I play

the tuba in the park: “When our broken sewers reek, and when you fall on

defective streets, and if the contamination reaches our sand, forget all

that, and hear the band.”

I’m showing some serious promise, aren’t I?

* Ron Davis is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He can

be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .