Commentary : 2 Views on Sales Tax Hike for Roads : NO: Measure M is a tax increase costing every resident in Orange County an average $63 a year.

Want to buy a duck? It’s pretty much your garden variety duck. You know--looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. Funny thing, though. The folks trying to sell it don’t call it a duck.

This particular duck is labeled the “Orange County Traffic Improvement and Growth Management Ordinance,” or Measure M. Doesn’t sound too bad. But wait! What’s that quacking?

Measure M is a tax measure! A half-cent sales tax increase to be exact, costing every man, woman and child in Orange County an average $63 a year. That’s $126 a year for a married couple, and $252 for a family of four. Over 20 years, that’s more than $5,000.

Measure M is also a bond measure. It allows spending up to $900 million a year, but since the tax raises just a fraction of that, bonds may be sold to raise the rest.

So, what does it buy you? Traffic improvements?

Well, there are super-streets, or mini-highways, like Harbor Boulevard and Laguna Canyon Freeway, er . . . Road. It accelerates Santa Ana Freeway improvements. And it builds car-pool lanes on the Santa Ana, Riverside and Orange Freeways. That’s fine--if you can car-pool. But projects on state or federal highways require state and/or federal approval. What if Caltrans or the feds have other plans?

Anyway, shouldn’t Caltrans or the Federal government pay for state and federal roads? Actually, after shortchanging Orange County for years, Caltrans finally is funding some of the same improvements provided under Measure M. Why tax ourselves again?

Will traffic improve? It could, if growth were managed properly. But Orange County Transportation Commission (OCTC) documents show that, when all is said and done, many locations will still be at level of service F, or system failure. The tax provides money to fix these areas, but new development will leave things just as bad as they are today, or worse. For example, OCTC projects that development in the Anaheim Stadium area will triple, leaving the Santa Ana-Orange-Garden Grove interchange at level of service F. The interchange of the Santa Ana and San Diego Freeways will also be at level F, after massive development at the El Toro “Y.” In both areas, you’ll pay millions to expand capacity. A lot of good it’ll do you.

Doesn’t Measure M require growth management? Well, local growth management plans are required, but that’s nothing new. For years, state law has required that cities and counties adopt general plans specifying the type and amount of growth that may occur and coordinate them with plans for streets and highways. If Orange County governments don’t obey existing law, will they obey a new law any better?

Under Measure M, the citizens’ committee supposedly overseeing things is expressly forbidden from even considering whether growth plans are adequate. The committee can merely check off whether or not a piece of paper called a plan exists. Further, Measure M permits planning for levels of service commonly defined as the lower acceptable limit for most drivers. It is claimed Measure M won’t benefit developers. Sure, that’s why developers have already kicked in nearly a million dollars in “duck feed” to promote it--and will undoubtedly double or triple that by November. Why?

The tax provides commuter rail service straight from Riverside to Irvine Spectrum, where OCTC projects growth at almost 500%. Guess who benefits? By the way, this project is so costly, one OCTC member speculated that it might be cheaper to buy houses in Irvine for commuters.

Tax dollars go for car-pool lanes in San Clemente. What future development and traffic are these new lanes for? Measure M specifically provides tax money to deal with “cumulative effects of development.” Who profits from that development? After Measure M money is spent on Caltrans projects, nothing prevents the reallocation of Caltrans funds to projects that help developers. These guys are no dummies. When they invest big bucks, they expect big returns.

Speaking of later, Measure M sets us up for future taxes. Much of the transit money goes for operating subsidies and rolling stock with a useful life of 12 to 30 years. What about future operating subsidies? How will we replace old equipment? The transit right of way to be acquired can’t complete the system, and there’s no money for construction or operations.

Finally, why are they trying to muzzle the duck? If Measure M is so great, why obscure its true nature as a tax, both in its title and in ballot arguments? Why are the duck pushers so reluctant to debate local citizens opposed to Measure M? Why will they attend “information meetings” where they don’t have to share the podium, but avoid open forums? Perhaps they fear the feathers will fly if they stop ducking the issues!

Vote No on Measure M!