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Resident says ballot "typo" changed bed-tax language, calls it breach of public trust
Summary
Kathy Schlick told the council a sentence in the city attorney's impartial analysis converted a proposed bed tax from a special-purpose to a general tax; she said the line was later removed and called the error a breach of public trust.
Kathy Schlick of Mission Viejo addressed the council during public comment about an error she found in the city attorney's impartial analysis for a proposed bed tax. Schlick said a single sentence in the draft would have changed the measure from a special-purpose tax to a general tax and that the sentence was later removed from the official document. "That 2nd single sentence took away this council's vote and judgment," Schlick said, calling the error a "breach of the public trust."
Schlick said she discovered the sentence because she was preparing a ballot statement and had access to a draft that was not widely advertised to the public. She questioned oversight and why two city administrators — named in her remarks — did not catch the error while the election official was on vacation. The council received the comment; there was no formal agenda action tied to this public comment.
