Settlement Stymies County

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will hold a closed session today to plan its next move after a wealthy family won a $55-million judgment that administrators say the county cannot afford to pay.

“I don’t see any way we could pay it. I don’t know where the money would come from,” said Supervisor Susan Golding.

On Tuesday, county special projects director Rich Robinson said that the judgment on the price of the land won by Roque De La Fuente II and his family last Friday is costing county taxpayers $15,000 in interest per day. The interest has been accruing since September, 1987, when the county acquired the family’s 525 acres in Otay Mesa through eminent domain for a county jail facility.

The final cost could total more than $71 million, Robinson added.

When asked where the county would get the money to pay the De La Fuentes if the board decides not to appeal the jury’s award, Robinson replied:

“Beats me. The papers have been replete with stories about the county’s financial plight. There is fairly substantial documentation that the money isn’t there. Some people say it’s hidden in the basement, but I haven’t seen it.”

In recent weeks, the county was confronted with a $23-million reduction in state funding while balancing a $1.6-billion budget. Robinson noted that the county’s contingency reserve for unforeseen emergencies totals $5 million.

One possibility is that the county might pay for the lawsuit through Proposition A funds. The controversial measure--a half-cent sales tax--was passed by county voters in 1988 but is mired in the courts, where opponents are trying to declare it unconstitutional.

As of the beginning of September, more than $160 million had been collected from the tax but placed in an interest-bearing account pending the outcome of the court battle.

“Money from Prop. A could be used for that purpose, but there’s still some speculation about how that (court action) will work out,” said Robinson. “It’s a little bit risky to make decisions based on Prop. A money.”

Both Golding and Robinson said they were aghast over the jury’s ruling.

“This land, out in the middle of nowhere, is now valued at what downtown commercial property is valued, or higher,” Golding said.

The jury’s award to the De La Fuentes raised the property’s value by 7,000% in less than five years, from $3,300 an acre to about $375,000 an acre, Robinson said. The property is about eight miles east of Interstate 805 and three miles north of the border.

Vincent Bartolotta, the family’s attorney, called it “the most unique site” for a jail in the nation, and added that the property could be worth more than the $55 million price the jury put on it. He said that the De La Fuentes had previously recognized the property’s suitability for a jail and planned to build a private detention facility on it.

“It will handle up to 6,000 prisoners. The topography makes it ideal for that. There are mountain barriers on the back side and a steep, almost impenetrable canyon on the front side,” Bartolotta said. “It’s also adjacent to a state prison and 20 minutes from the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the country. It has sewage, lights and water. It’s unique.”

Both sides agreed that the county has few options. It will have to pay, appeal or hope that a judge reduces the award by finding the judgment excessive.

As for the family, Bartolotta said that Roque De La Fuente II is willing to negotiate a “win-win situation for everyone.” Bartolotta complained that county officials never appeared willing to negotiate with the family before the case went to trial and have yet to “make any overtures.”