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Laguna Beach mayor urges shifting budget priorities to fund wildfire prevention
Summary
Mayor Alex Renaghi told a local radio program the city finished an updated wildfire mitigation plan and he proposes dedicating roughly 10% of the general fund (about $10 million) annually to wildfire prevention; implementation and funding were framed as the next steps.
Mayor Alex Renaghi said on the Fair Game Laguna Beach radio program that the city completed an updated wildfire mitigation plan and is moving to implementation, while urging a major budget shift to pay for prevention.
Renaghi, speaking with host Tom Johnson, said the plan — updated by staffers Bob Whalen and Sue Kim within the 90-day window — covers utility undergrounding, fuel modification and early detection technology and involved both the Laguna Beach County Water District and the South Coast Water District. "We discussed our updated wildfire mitigation plan," Renaghi said. "The question is not if, but when the next wildfire happens."
The mayor described several barriers to faster fuel-modification work, including California Environmental Quality…
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