Council Members Call Mayor's Comments 'Irresponsible'

Two Menifee City Council members have expressed their anger and frustration over what they believe to be inappropriate public comments by Mayor Scott Mann outside Council chambers regarding a proposed sales tax increase.

Council members Greg August and Matt Liesemeyer criticized Mann's decision to go to the Riverside Press-Enterprise with his opinions regarding the 1 percent sales tax ballot measure the council is scheduled to discuss at its Aug. 3 meeting. Both called the public comments prior to a council vote to be inappropriate, with August suggesting they might be a violation of the Brown Act.

"The mayor's statement in the Press-Enterprise that he will not vote for the ballot measure without a sunset clause is irresponsible, unrealistic, insensitive, self-serving, and ill serves the City Council," August wrote in a statement given to Menifee 24/7. "It seems he has already voted without hearing from his colleagues on the council in public forum for discussion and a possible vote."

Council members are scheduled to discuss a measure for the November ballot proposing a 1 percent sales tax increase to help fund public safety. Discussion of the issue in public circles has been heated at times of late, and August (left) and Liesemeyer said Mann should not be trying this case in public before all council members have discussed it in a formal meeting.

Contacting Menifee 24/7 separately on Friday, both said they were reluctant to discuss the situation publicly but felt compelled to in response to Mann's actions. Both said they realize a tax increase probably is necessary, but they disagree with Mann's actions and comments, particularly his insistence on a sunset clause they believe would unfairly impact future councils.

"Scott's written three or four emails and gone to newspapers about things recently," Liesemeyer said in a phone interview. "It's like he's speaking for the whole council. I don't support that kind of action, and we're going to have words about it before the meeting.

"It's irresponsible for the mayor to have made a decision on this issue without having all the facts. I believe he's saying this without understanding the effects of a sunset clause on the city long-term."

In a July 26 Press-Enterprise editorial published after Mann presented his case to the newspaper's Editorial Board members, the newspaper supported the 1 percent sales tax increase, saying the action should include a sunset clause. The editorial states that "Mann -- who as chairman of the Republican Party of Riverside County does not run around looking for ways to hike taxes – pitched a strong case to the Press-Enterprise Editorial Board that Menifee needs a 1 percent sales tax bump, which would raise $7 million annually."

The editorial also states that "Mann wants the tax increase, but said he won’t support it without a sunset mechanism. He suggested 10 years; we’d prefer five."

In July 27 email correspondence with Menifee 24/7 that was published by this website the same day, Mann (right) wrote, "Simply put, approval of a 1 percent sales tax increase would replace that lost revenue and provide necessary funding to prevent further degradation of city services," referring to the loss of millions in vehicle license revenue denied by Governor Jerry Brown. That article also referred to Mann's earlier statement that the increase should include a sunset clause.

In addition to his anger about Mann's decision to discuss the issue in the press, August said it is irresponsible for Mann to pitch the merits of a sunset clause outside of any official council discussion of the issue. Although suggesting a sunset clause on the tax increase might seem fiscally responsible to some, August and Liesemeyer argue that placing a specific timeline on the increase would actually dictate financial decisions to future councils that could face huge losses when the tax ends.

"There is no way a Menifee City Council in the future will take away that kind of money from the city budget," said August. "The mayor knows that, and would never allow that to happen if it was put on his plate. It's politics, and disingenuous.

"The problem is that it takes four council votes to approve a ballot measure, and his statement and commitment, as stated, can be the difference in passage or no passage by the council. It seems foolish to hang the measure on a sunset clause that will never be honored by future councils."

Liesemeyer echoed August's sentiments.

"(Mann) knows damn well I don't support a sunset clause without having heard staff's report on how that will impact our city at that time, because it most certainly will," said Liesemeyer (left). "The very idea is just as reckless as what the governor did (in taking away the city's VLF funds). "We're looking at $7 million in extra revenue just based on the businesses we have now. Twenty years from now, we could be looking at $15 million. To say in 10 years the council will be able to take that kind of cut in the budget ...

"I don't profess to say that giving the increase back should be the council's decision. The voters should have the chance to put the increase in and they should have the choice whether to take it back."

The Aug. 3 council meeting starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 29714 Haun Road in Menifee.