Commentary: Newport civic center requires a thorough outside audit now

Newport Beach’s City Hall is a building that produces no revenue and costs the taxpayers of the city well over a half-million dollars each month simply to pay down the construction debt.

While the Irvine Co. gave us the land for free, we managed to turn the project from a $46-million cash transaction into a quarter-billion-dollar debacle. The city of Irvine also had its debacle with the Orange County Great Park project, and it is now looking very bad for the political powers who spent all that money. I have long expected that an audit here would show the same.

Some laughed, saying that while our officials may be irresponsible, certainly they were above reproach.

Now it has been released that the Orange County district attorney’s office is reviewing a complaint regarding Newport’s assistant city manager.

I wish I could say that I am wrong, and there was nothing incorrect about the construction project, but the the predictions have been all too right.

The project was criticized from the beginning, but the city did a good job of dodging complaints and pointed questions. I have been advocating for an audit since the last election cycle.

When the new City Council took office, each newly elected member supported auditing the City Hall project. Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon, however, was the one to take the reins. Her version of auditing was to ask the city to audit itself — a disappointing move, to say the least. The city investigated itself and proclaimed itself to be free of all wrongdoing. Not surprising.

I continued to call for an outside audit.

We need an audit, and we need it now, using a firm that does not have ties to the city to ensure an unbiased process. I might suggest the same one that conducted the Great Park audit, or one of the Big Five auditing firms.

It’s time to bite the bullet. We have a tendency in Newport to sweep bad news under the rug, but the public has a right to an outside audit. No more excuses.

MICHAEL GLENN lives in Newport Beach.