Mayors Divided on Jail Tax Referendum : Survey: They agree overwhelmingly on the need for a new facility. Some would link support for a May 14 vote to repeal of the booking fee that cities face. A decision is due at a special session Friday.

As they prepared to meet in special session, Orange County mayors overwhelmingly agreed Wednesday that a new county jail needs to be built, but they were divided about asking voters in May to consider a sales tax for construction.

“The county is desperately in need of a jail--and I mean desperately,” said Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith, one of 25 mayors and mayors pro tem surveyed Wednesday.

“Our police and the people in the community are complaining that we release people (because of overcrowding) who ought to be in jail. I think it’s a crisis.”

Although Smith said he would support a jail ballot measure under certain conditions, he also raised questions about plunging ahead with a proposed May 14 referendum on a half-cent sales tax. Several mayors echoed that concern.

Still, a majority said they would back a sales tax referendum provided that money from the tax could also be used to revoke a recently approved jail-booking fee to cities.

That mix of views came from city leaders across Orange County and set the stage for a special meeting of the City Selection Committee on Friday. The county’s 29 mayors or their designates make up that committee, and they will pick two representatives to the Orange County Regional Justice Facilities Commission.

Immediately after they are picked, the members of that commission will hold their first session, and the main order of business will be to decide whether to schedule a countywide sales tax referendum for May.

If the commission gives its blessing, it will mark the first time in the county’s decade-long jail overcrowding debate that voters will have the chance to consider whether they should raise their own sales taxes to pay for construction of a new jail.

While the county’s mayors share a concern for the problem of jail overcrowding and its public safety consequences, they are far from unanimous over whether a May 14 referendum is wise. Thirteen of the mayors indicated at least tentative support for the tax referendum, which Sheriff Brad Gates strongly favors.

At the same time, most of the mayors insisted that county officials offer some promises that money from the increased tax, if it passes, be used to end recently approved jail-booking fees. Those fees, which go into effect in July, will cost cities $154 for each inmate they book into the county jails. Cities currently pay no special fee.

“If we can be relieved of the booking fees it would reduce a burden,” said Irvine Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan. “It’s very expensive for some of the cities.”

But six of those interviewed strongly objected to scheduling the referendum so soon. The county sales tax already is slated for a hike on April 1, when a newly passed half-cent transportation levy takes effect, and some officials worry that another tax increase will lose at the polls.

Another six mayors and mayors pro tem said they are undecided, and will make up their minds after they hear the debate Friday.

Those opposed to the May referendum were Mayors Fred Hunter of Anaheim, George Scott of Fountain Valley, Christopher Norby of Fullerton, John C. Holmberg of La Habra and Alice Jempsa of Los Alamitos, and Mayor Pro Tem Irwin M. Fried of Yorba Linda, though a few were interested in hearing more details about that plan before ruling it out altogether.

The undecideds--including some who said they were leaning in one direction or the other--were Mayors Walter Bowman of Cypress, Bill Bamattre of Dana Point, W.E. (Walt) Donovan of Garden Grove, Gene Beyer of Orange, Scott Diehl of San Clemente and John Frackleton of Villa Park.

In Brea, Mayor Wayne D. Wedin expressed doubts about a May 14 referendum, while Mayor Pro Tem Ron Isles, who is seeking a spot on the commission, indicated support.

Sheriff Gates chided those officials who were not backing a May 14 vote.

“I would hope that all elected officials would support letting the public make a decision on an issue that we’ve been talking about for 12 years,” he said. “They say wait? Wait till when?”

Still, the pace with which the election proposal has leaped through the bureaucracy has startled some city officials.

“This issue has come on suddenly,” said Cypress Mayor Bowman. “I’m going to have to wait and see what this commission meeting comes up with and see whether the tax is warranted or not, and if we should go on the ballot.”

Norby, Fullerton’s mayor, agreed: “It looks like a rushed job,” he said. “Most people haven’t made up their minds yet.”

A fast-approaching deadline has propelled the issue and made Friday’s meetings crucial. The May 14 ballot must be finalized by 5 p.m. that day, so the commission will have to decide before then.

The decision will rest in the hands of five commission members. The two city representatives to be appointed by the mayors will join Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and Harriett M. Wieder, and then all four will select a fifth member from the public.

At least eight mayors and city council members are expected to vie for the two commission posts. Under law, it will take the backing of 15 of the county’s 29 mayors to secure a spot on the commission.

Another seven people have indicated interest in the public member’s slot.

“It sounds like it’ll be a nominating convention,” said Mission Viejo Mayor Robert A. Curtis, one of those who has announced his interest in being seated on the commission. “Should be quite a meeting.”

Curtis, who said he supports a May 14 referendum, informed other mayors of his candidacy in a letter distributed by fax Wednesday. Others were also jumping into the fray, as city officials scrambled to sort out the complicated field.

“I just got in the office, and there are five more candidates that I haven’t seen before,” said John Holmberg of La Habra. “I’ll vote for someone who can pursue the cities’ point of view the best.”

Sheridan, who appears to enjoy strong support, had already announced her intention to run for the post, as had Fullerton Mayor Pro Tem Don Bankhead and Brea’s Isles. Sheridan and Isles have said that they will support a sales tax vote if it is linked to the revocation of the booking fee, while Bankhead believes a referendum is premature.

Wednesday, Huntington Beach Mayor Peter M. Green, who supports a jail sales tax, said he plans to nominate his colleague, Councilman Jack Kelly. La Palma Mayor Keith Nelson also threw his hat in the ring, as did representatives of two cities that are at opposite ends of the jail debate: Anaheim and Santa Ana.

If a sales tax passes, supporters hope it will pay for construction of a new jail in Gypsum Canyon, about 10 miles from downtown Anaheim and on the border of Anaheim Hills. As a result, many Anaheim residents are fiercely opposed to the project.

Santa Ana is home to three of the county’s five jails, and residents there are fearful that if the Gypsum Canyon site falls through, their city could end up having to accept another facility.

Santa Ana Councilman Miguel A. Pulido Jr. is seeking a spot on the commission, as is Anaheim’s Mayor Hunter.

Hunter said he spent Wednesday morning writing letters to every mayor in the county as part of his campaign.

“I think I could be useful on this commission,” he said. “They don’t need some lamer on their commission to be in awe of Brad Gates.”

In his letter, Hunter cites his law enforcement experience--he is a lawyer and former police officer--as well as the unique role Anaheim will play in the jail debate.

“As you know, Anaheim is one of the potential sites for the new jail facility,” Hunter wrote. “Therefore, it seems appropriate that our community should be involved in this important decision.”

If Hunter is included on the panel, Santa Ana officials will no doubt insist that Pulido be included as well so the county’s two largest and most pointedly opposed cities would both be represented.

“I think people are pretty fed up with crime,” Pulido said. “One of the prime reasons for that is that our jails are at their capacity.”

Pulido added that because Santa Ana is affected by crime more than any other Orange County city, “it’s just essential that we be represented at the table where this is discussed.”

With Anaheim and Santa Ana firmly at odds, however, some officials speculated that the committee may steer clear of the fray and nominate representatives from cities less directly affected by the issue.

“It is my personal view that members representing cities should be somewhat neutral and not come from any of those cities,” said Yorba Linda’s Irwin. “This commission should look at the haste with which this jail tax issue has come up, the longevity of the commission and how the money should be spent.”

With campaigning still running hot and heavy Wednesday, the mayors were reluctant to put bets on who would land the coveted posts. More candidates could still emerge as late as Friday morning, they noted.

What all agreed on, however, was that the very formation of the commission represented a breakthrough in a county that has long struggled over how to proceed on the jail issue.

“There’s no doubt that the public safety aspect is paramount,” said Holmberg of La Habra, who expressed concern about the May 14 referendum proposal. “Frankly, there is no one to blame but the supervisors. They don’t have the backbone to do it, or they haven’t for 13 years, and it’s endangered the citizens of every community.”

Times staff writer Anita Cal contributed to this report.