MONDAY’S CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council approved the annual rate changes for city-offered

services.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The council agreed to adopt changes in the fees for services, which

include dog licenses, plumbing permits and basketball court rentals.

WHAT THEY SAID:

“I’m always looking out for the little guy,” said Mayor Gary Monahan.

“But I met with the finance department and everything seemed fair. The

city is not in the profit-making business.”

* Vote: Approved, 5-0

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council voted to delay granting a charity group permission to

solicit money door to door.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The United Children’s Fund -- a Washington, D.C.-based charity that

provides money to organizations involved in child safety, missing

children and child abuse -- requested permission to solicit funds

door-to-door. The council delayed granting the permit because the United

Children’s Fund representative, Jerry Kaufman, was absent from the

meeting.

* Vote: Postponed

WHAT HAPPENED:

The council voted to write a letter to the organization in charge of

assigning area codes, asking it to allow the entire city to adopt the 949

prefix.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The California Public Utilities Commission Telecommunications Division

predicts phone numbers in the 949 and 714 area codes will run out soon.

Costa Mesa has both 949 and 714 area codes. Increases in cellular phone

use, pagers and multiple phone lines have depleted the commission’s stock

of phone numbers sooner than in the past. The commission has recommended

creating a new area code for the region. However, many of the city’s home

and business owners say a change in area codes would be costly and

inconvenient. They would need to change letterheads, business cards,

advertisements and phone book listings.

Mayor Gary Monahan will send a letter to the commission recommending it

keep the 949 area code in Costa Mesa and eliminate the 714 area codes in the city, reassigning those phone numbers to the 949 prefix.

* Vote: Approved, 5-0