SANTA ANA : LULAC Opposes Loan to Finish Jail Project

Local officials for the League of United Latin American Citizens sent a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday urging the federal agency to reject Santa Ana’s request for a $14-million loan.

The City Council voted March 6 to request the loan to ensure that construction on a $107-million jail project could continue on schedule. The money is required to make up for the unexpected loss of funds tied up in the county’s failed investment pool, city officials said.

In a letter to HUD Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, LULAC spokesman Arturo Montez blasted the jail project as an improper use of federal money and called upon the agency to reject “any such bailout of local government fiscal mismanagement.”

Montez said the city should not be allowed to borrow money that could otherwise be used for other projects such as recreational centers, libraries and educational programs. Further, a federal loan would set a bad precedent, possibly prompting other agencies to divert funds from needed programs to ease the sting of losses in the county investment pool, Montez said.

City Councilman Ted R. Moreno scoffed at LULAC’s arguments. “I don’t take their complaint seriously,” he said. “All they ever do is complain.

“We wouldn’t be borrowing the money if the county had not gone under,” he said. “We’re just anticipating the future loss of funds because of the county. So what are we going to do, not finish the project?”