NORTH TUSTIN : Advisory Council’s Future Up in Air

Battle lines over the fate of the North Tustin Municipal Advisory Council were clearly drawn at a council meeting this week.

On one side are six of the seven council members and a vocal group of residents who have circulated flyers opposing a county recommendation to disband the council. They say that the council has stood in the way of commercial development and claim county officials want to abolish the council for political reasons rather than the fiscal reasons cited.

On the other side are Councilwoman Phyllis Spivey and another group of residents who support the recommendation by the County Environmental Management Agency and Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and Roger R. Stanton. They say that County Service Area No. 5, the park maintenance district that serves North Tustin’s 30,000 residents, is facing a budget deficit and can no longer afford to fund the council.

Spivey has prepared a six-page document on the history of the council, citing what she sees as past transgressions and funding problems. She said the council has “fostered division in the community, created discord with North Tustin’s city neighbors and brought consternation to county staff and elected officials.”

Spivey has criticized the council in the past for not following its agendas or providing accurate minutes.

The council meeting, held twice a month at Guin Foss School, usually only draws a handful of residents but about 70 people attended on Wednesday.

Ken Scattergood, county special districts administrator, told the audience that abolishing the council is necessary because the service area is facing a budget deficit. He noted that county funding for the service area is intended for park maintenance, not to support advisory bodies.

Scattergood said that residents could still have an advisory council formally recognized by the supervisors, but it would not be funded through taxes. North Tustin is the only unincorporated area in Orange County with a municipal advisory council.

“If you people want to have a representative body, you’re going to have to do something about it,” said council Chairwoman Dessa Schroeder. “It’s up to the people to let your representatives know what you want.”

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the recommendation at its June 5 meeting. Scattergood said that if the county decides to abolish the council, it would be dissolved by September when the 1990-91 county budget is finalized.