Mello-Roos Bonds Abused by Greedy Developers

Re “Bonds of Development” (Dec. 9): For years, the Board of Supervisors and the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) have asked us to read their lips with respect to tax financing of the San Joaquin Hills tollway.

As was the case with a similar well-known promise, the lips did not match the actions, and we now learn that residents of Aliso Viejo have already paid for a portion of the preliminary work on the toll road through their Mello-Roos taxes. It comes as no surprise that developers and the Board of Supervisors have sought to conceal this fact from the public, in view of The Times’ recent revelation that the supervisors receive nearly half of their campaign contributions from the development industry. Here are some other details of interest:

Fact: The original development agreement for Aliso Viejo precluded the building of the final 2,700 homes until construction commenced on the toll road, in keeping with the supervisors’ policy that no new homes could be built before new roads were paved. The Mission Viejo Co., well aware that the toll road might never be built due to serious (and, to date, successful) legal challenges, was anxious to realize its profit on the long-delayed final phase and so essentially bought off the Planning Commission with the $34-million “advance” it knew would come from taxpayer dollars.

Fact: There are development agreements for tens of thousands of additional homes in South County, which, like the final phase of Aliso Viejo, are contingent upon construction of the toll road. How many millions of additional Mello-Roos tax dollars will the public have to shell out to finance these developer windfalls?

Fact: The Board of Supervisors and TCA have steadfastly insisted that no tax dollars are involved in this project. However, it is my understanding that approximately $43 million to $46 million of state (i.e. taxpayer) funds have been earmarked for financing of the toll road.

Fact: The price of every gallon of gasoline sold in Orange County includes about 30 cents in state and federal taxes and 7.25% in sales tax. County residents also pay an additional half-cent per dollar in Measure M general sales taxes, which were voter-approved to fund road improvements and transit. With all this tax money already available, why is our government spending our property tax dollars to build a tollway that taxpayers must pay a per-trip fee to use?

Fact: The TCA intends to fund construction of the $778-million toll road with revenue bonds, backed by bank-issued letters of credit and repaid with future toll revenues. What will happen when toll revenues are insufficient to cover the bond debt and operating costs of the road? You guessed it--another bill for the taxpayers.

Mark Goodman expressed his disbelief that the public would actually believe the Board of Supervisors’ claim that developers would be paying for something. Well, Mr. Goodman, here’s something you can believe: We taxpayers are bailing out the savings and loans, and we are bailing out the insurance industry. Read our lips: No bailouts for the projects of greedy developers and the supervisors they have bought and paid for!

ANITA M. MANGELS, Laguna Beach