Local News in Brief : Countywide : Jail, Courthouse Issues to Confront Supervisors

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to ask voters in November for $700 million to pay for a new county courthouse in Santa Ana and a new jail in Gypsum Canyon near Anaheim.

If the measure is approved, county officials said, it will add about $70 for every $100,000 in assessed property value on tax bills.

Privately, county officials say they are concerned that the electorate will vote down the funding measure, which must have a two-thirds majority to pass. If it fails, officials say, they are uncertain how the badly needed facilities will be paid for. According to a report by the County Administrative Office, the jail will cost $450 million and the courthouse $250 million.

The board could place the measure on the November ballot or defer the matter for further study, according to the report, or it could decide to seek courthouse and jail funds in separate ballot questions.

Passing up the November ballot could delay another vote on the jail funding issue until the next countywide election in June, 1990. A special election would cost at least $700,000, according to the report.

There is a signature drive under way to place an initiative on the ballot that would prohibit the construction of the jail in Gypsum Canyon and require future jails to be built in Santa Ana.

The CAO report also suggests that a half-cent sales tax could pay for the construction. Such a special tax would require approval by a majority of voters and state legislators.