Riley Says Cuts Hurt Big Projects

Kicking off his 1-year term as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Thomas F. Riley said Tuesday that citizen-backed tax-and-spending restrictions have left county government behind schedule on such construction and repair of projects as the airport, roads and bridges.

“We learned . . . as a result of Proposition 13 and the Gann initiative that we would have to do more with less,” Riley said. When combined with cutbacks from the state and federal government, he added, “the unfortunate result is that many critical public works projects were put on hold.”

“The county’s major infrastructure systems have met their breaking point, and Orange County residents have suffered as a result,” said Riley, who was named chairman of the board last week, a position that rotates among the five supervisors at the beginning of every year.

Riley, beginning his 15th year on the board, is the county’s senior supervisor and is serving his fourth term as board chairman.

“We may be a bit bruised by some of the sobering realities of the ‘80s,” Riley said. “However, we have developed significant tools for dealing with the challenges and have cleared sizable hurdles toward gaining the information and expertise needed to move forward--in a positive manner--into the 1990s.”

Riley highlighted the county’s accomplishments in several areas of service, such as the creation of new parks, managed development, traffic reduction, renovation of the airport and planning for new jails.

“I look forward to 1989 as being the year that Orange County turned 100 and the year that we made our forefathers proud by grappling head on with problems and reaching timely and workable solutions,” he said.