Regional Means Regional

Regional means regional; not local or we will pay our share of what WE determine is the actual price. Confused? Let me try to clarify. There is an organization named WRCOG (Western Riverside Council of Governments.)

It is made up of 17 government entities. Fees are paid by the developers to the city who is supposed to pass the transportation related fees on to WRCOG. Formed in 2003, these fees are known as TUMF (Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees).

Orange County Superior Court Judge David Chaffee recently told the City of Beaumont that they were wrong and had not been playing by the rules or, the money that was supposed to be turned over to WRCOG for use in regional use got stuck in Beaumont and there it stayed.

Beaumont contends that it spent its money on regional transportation projects. It may have spent the money to build infrastructure IN Beaumont. This does not mean all of the projects they built were TUMF qualified regional programs . Beaumont may have spent $62 million on projects for their own use but they were not TUMF agreed upon projects.

Where Beaumont went wrong was thinking they had the whole pile of money to spend on its needs. They didn’t. Regional projects are intended to cover regional issues, interconnecting cities in the region. Individual cities may complain about the high cost of the TUMF fees, but there is no other way to accumulate the necessary funds to build inter-connectivity in the region.

One day, the concept of California “freeways” may finally bite the dust, as the roads are far from free. Maybe we should be talking about mass transportation or fees for use. Sounds like a good discussion for another time.

Projects must conform to TUMF project standards… as in a use must be beneficial to all members. It is only by aggregating dollars regionally that these huge bridge and road projects can be constructed throughout the county. Cities must find other sources of revenue to finish their city’s specific needs. This is why heavy construction projects can take so long.

The problem with Beaumont is, it wanted to keep all of the money (that was supposed to go to WRCOG) and spent it on projects that did not qualify as a TUMF related project. Sure Beaumont build infrastructure and roads within their city, they should have been paying more of their rightful share of the TUMF funded projects.

Now the judge says it is time for Beaumont to pay money that was never theirs to begin with. Today’s tab is about $43 million plus interest, which keeps mounting daily.

I read a comment made by Beaumont mayor Brenda Knight that went something like; Beaumont had lost the first round and would appeal. No, you don’t want to litigate this in “rounds” as the Riverside Grand Jury is now looking into the city’s actions and I’m not sure how many “rounds” the city can afford to lose.

The development community has paid their development fees and it isn’t their fault that the proper amount did not get passed along to WRGOG from Beaumont. If Beaumont is as guilty as they appear to be, where is the money going to come from to reimburse WRCOG?

“So many good things can happen when jurisdictions work together to address issues, like transportation, that transcend city and county boundaries,” said Rick Bishop, Executive Director of WRCOG. “That is entirely what the TUMF Program is about. That Beaumont disregarded this premise and treated the regional TUMF as if was their own local program, ‘was unfortunate.”

It sure helps explain why Beaumont seems to be having so much more than adjacent cities had. Sadly, anybody could have had the same amenities if they too did not abide by the rules. Beaumont City Manager Alan Kapanicas, et al., may give the impression that they are playing a winning hand and further litigation would prove that they are in the right. You still have to know when to hold and know when to fold.

I sure wouldn’t want to bet my grandchildren’s inheritance on the city of Beaumont prevailing in a court of law. There are too many avenues of evidence that lead to the same conclusion… you simply can’t play greedy and expect the piper to not want to get paid.

If their losing issues plus lawyers and court costs ding the city of about a hundred million dollars, where is the Beaumont treasury going to get the money? The Morongo Band of Cahuilla Indians seems to be doing a good job of managing their reservations and business interests. Who knows, Maybe the tribe will want to annex Beaumont. Now what to do about Banning?