Bankruptcy From Fiscal, Political, Legal Standpoints

* Like most residents of Orange County, I have been listening and reading and talking and thinking about the county’s financial predicament.

Contrary to some opinions, the county’s problem is a problem for all of us. It is not only the supervisors’ problem, county managers’ problem, county employees’ problem, or any particular isolated group’s problem.

Our problem is a fiscal one, not really the political one that many people try to make it. Without access to cash flow soon, the fiscal problem will deteriorate further. This will very soon be followed by further decreases in county services and education, and consequently our property values.

The property value issue has been largely ignored until quite recently, and then only mentioned as an afterthought to other considerations.

I look upon the sales tax not as money out of my pocket, but as a good investment in preserving my lifestyle. A conservative estimate is that $1 in sales tax will save an approximately $100 loss in property values. Where else can we currently obtain 100 to 1 return on our investments?

Complicating the problem by giving it any political spin or adding other excess baggage only stalls its solution. A stalled solution only worsens and becomes more expensive. Pay for it now or pay more for it later.

ARNOLD GOODMAN

Villa Park

* Now that (former County Treasurer-Tax Collector) Bob Citron has admitted his guilt, it is time to take a step forward to condemn the Orange County Board of Supervisors--not a step or two back for citizens to reconsider their anger (as quoted to Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, April 28). The board should have been reading the financial statements and supervising instead of taking every opportunity to rub elbows with their wealthy campaign contributors and getting their photo-ops. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was sick of those mug shots.

So what should their punishment be for the loss of jobs and services, the disaster for our already overburdened schools and libraries, and the heartache for so many families? I say they should be stripped of their lucrative pensions. The little guys always get hurt by the greed and pomposity of the big boys. Let them eat cake!

JANET BECK

Newport Beach

* Prosecution of an individual as a felon is not a panacea for all social ills. Branding Robert L. Citron as a criminal seems to me to be an example of overkill. Doing so overlooks the many years during which our various elected and appointed representatives were happy to accept his higher-than-average interest returns with their eyes closed to the fundamental truth that higher returns invariably involve higher risks.

Now, despite the concession that Mr. Citron is not a thief--he did not seek or get any personal gain--we label him a felon and propose a possible prison term. Do we not have enough people who commit traditional crimes, assaults, murders and thefts to fill our prisons? If Mr. Citron is a felon, what of those responsible for oversight of his activities?

KEITH C. MONROE

Attorney

Santa Ana

* Sheriff Brad Gates is quoted in your recent article as saying that laying off 13 deputy sheriff trainees ($32,724) scheduled for jail staffing is a serious threat to public safety, and it will affect our quality of life.

It seems somewhat of an exaggeration that laying off 13 trainees out of 1,360 safety employees (deputies who carry guns) will have such a profound effect. If managers in the Sheriff’s Department don’t know how to manage when they lose 1% of their deputies, it is time to get new managers.

Sheriff Gates has done absolutely nothing to downsize or restructure his bloated bureaucracy. His department includes five assistant sheriffs ($139,860), fourteen captains ($87,528), 43 lieutenants ($78,504) and 142 sergeants ($64,044). These yearly salaries are 10% to 20% low because they do not include overtime pay, shift differential, additional-language pay, education incentive or car allowance.

Is it clear now why Sheriff Brad Gates is promoting the Measure R sales tax increase?

MIKE STOCKI

Huntington Beach

* When San Francisco added one cent to the sales tax to pay for its subway, it removed the tax when it was finished. That would be a good way for Orange County to pay off the debt, with the promise to remove the tax once the debt is paid.

MILDRED GLASSELL

Balboa Island

* Since the Orange County bankruptcy, Measure R seems to be the one and only solution in getting the county out of its crisis. Proponents of R argue that the “failure to pass R will cost more in the form of lowered housing values . . . and the O.C. way of life.” Does this mean that R is our salvation and we should all vote for it? Or is this just another measure for and of the elite land developers?

A few days ago, Donald Bren, the Irvine Co. chairman, publicly announced his support of Measure R. Why are we not surprised? Bren’s privately held company only owns one-sixth of the land in Orange County. Now, don’t you think that the proponents of R have a vested interest in seeing that R passes? And to make sure that it passes, they plan to spend $2 million to $3 million to educate the public on the “advantages” of R. Need I ask how we should vote on R in the June 27 election?

ALLISON GUAN

Irvine

* Re: Letter from Mark P. Petracca on Measure R (April 23):

Let’s see, liberal Democrat Bob Citron screwed up the finances of Orange County. Now liberal Democrat Mark P. Petracca is appearing in person and in print all over Orange County saying that the problem is the Republican “power elites.” Huh? What’s going on here?

What’s going on here is that times of turmoil are also times of opportunity. What better time to break the Republican hegemony over Orange County than now.

Notwithstanding the above criticism of Mr. Petracca, the sales tax is a lousy idea, so long as the county government continues to fund liberal/left commissions, boards, programs and offices. One such commission that comes to mind is the Human Relations Commission. This commission is a liberal cell operating within the county government and uses tax funds to promote programs that the voters are against.

What the county needs to do in order to get popular support for the tax increase proposal is to cut out these wasteful fiefdoms. The county needs to cut off all funding for those programs that benefit illegal aliens, then voters may get behind the tax proposal; but even then it will probably only be reluctantly.

Furthermore, the Board of Supervisors has to start fighting back against those such as Mr. Petracca who are trying to convince people that the problem is one caused by Republicans. There is more here than just a matter of a half-cent tax. Orange County could end up less Republican after the dust settles unless the Republicans start taking action.

H. MILLARD

Costa Mesa