About Patrick
Patrick Harper is a partner with the Fountain Valley accounting firm of Harper & Harper, specializing in income taxes for individuals and small business. He has been a Certified Public Accountant in California since 1988.
Patrick has proudly served on the Fountain Valley City Council since 2018 and he is currently serving as the Mayor of Fountain Valley.
The First Four Years…
Expanding Our Reach
In addition to being a Council member, Patrick currently sits on the following boards:
- Board of Directors, OCTA, district 2 representative (2021 – present)
- Board of Directors, OC San District, city representative (2018 – present)
- Board of Directors, Association of California Cities – Orange County (2021 – present)
- City representative, Santa Ana Flood Protection Agency (2018 – present)
Serving on these other organizations takes additional time and effort, but it has provided an opportunity to give Fountain Valley a wider voice on regional matters, as well as an opportunity to learn best practices from other elected officials and organizations.
Supporting Our Police and Fire
Patrick has been a champion for police and fire to promote public safety in our community. Some of the accomplishments since 2018 were:
- Police officers fully staffed to budget for first time in many years
- Body worn cameras implemented for all police – great tool to protect officers and citizens whenever there is an incident
- Fire department new ambulance program – through the creativity of our fire leadership, we were able to change the ambulance operations and billing procedures to save $600,000 per year and greatly reduce or eliminate the ambulance bill for our residents
Watching Our Budget
As a CPA, Patrick is keenly focused to make sure that our city budget is on track. The city has a 20-year plan which includes to pay off all debt by 2037 and have enough revenue to cover our expenses when our one percent sales tax expires in 2037.
Leadership Through COVID
COVID was an experience like no other, and it required exceptional leadership. Patrick worked tirelessly with other council members and city staff to make sure the city functioned during this crisis. For example:
- Senior meals distributed at the senior center – drive through service
- Financial grants for businesses impacted by COVID
- Remote working procedures set up for city staff
- City hall and city council meetings remained open to the public but also provided other options for public to participate (zoom)
- Outdoor dining options for restaurants