Supervisors OK Utility Tax Relief for County Farmers

Los Angeles County farmers won a partial exemption Tuesday from a utility tax meant to help salvage the county’s mental health system.

The exemption, approved 3-2 by Los Angeles County supervisors, will protect farmers from a potentially disastrous burden, supporters said. But opponents said the decision is a self-serving and short-sighted action that threatens to unravel the mental health bailout plan.

In January, supervisors approved three taxes to raise $18.3 million for the county Mental Health Department to prevent extensive layoffs and clinic closures prompted by state funding cuts.

About $14.3 million of that was expected to come from a 5% tax on gas, electric and telephone bills of county residents, with the remainder from taxes on garbage dumps and amusement parks.

The exemption applies only to the power used by farmers to pump water for irrigation. It is expected to mean $300,000 less in county revenues.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the rural Antelope Valley, said he proposed the exemption because he feared the tax would put some farmers out of business.

“This tax has created a severe and disproportionate hardship for Los Angeles County’s farmers,” Antonovich said, adding that county estimates show the tax would have forced 25 farmers to pay “between 15 and 500 times what the average family pays.”

Opponents said the exemption invites others to ask for the same treatment, endangering the plan to raise funds for the Mental Health Department.

Comparing farmers to average families is misleading, said Supervisor Ed Edelman, because farmers earn income from their power use and families don’t. The exemption will “open up a Pandora’s box,” he said.

After Tuesday’s vote, Supervisor Gloria Molina threatened to round up industry owners from her East Los Angeles district who are similarly affected by the tax.

“This has totally undermined” the bailout, she said.

However, County Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon said the Mental Health Department probably would not be hurt because the cut would be made in the county’s overall budget.