Newport Beach, like many cities, faces serious long-term financial pressures brought on by unsustainable obligations such as excessive pension and retirement benefits and long-term debt. As Chair of the Finance Committee, we have made major strides to pay down these obligations as well as reduce spending levels. Meanwhile, our fiscal strength is a major attraction for the best available employees - particularly at a time when municipal jobs, benefits and pensions have been threatened in other financially weakened California cities. We have used that strength in our negotiations with public employee associations and have secured greater pension contribution levels by employees. Additionally, more rigorous general budget and capital program planning and project management practices have been implemented to avoid major program cost overruns such as occurred in the 2012 Civic Center project.