Elected Officials Fail to Measure Up : Lack of Leadership Hampers Effort to Show Necessity of Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike

The pieces of the county’s post-bankruptcy jigsaw puzzle continue to fall into place, with the county scheduling an auction of some properties and laying off county workers, and a bankruptcy judge authorizing payments from previously frozen funds.

But the central piece of the puzzle, the sales tax increase known as Measure R, remains in doubt. Unfortunately, it is receiving little help from the elected officials around Orange County, men and women who know the cost if the increase is voted down but who are blinded by ideology or fear of political consequences.

Last Sunday The Times Orange County reported that its survey of city council and school board members and county officials found that slightly more than a third supported Measure R, which is on the ballot June 27. More than 40% were opposed, with nearly 20% undecided.

Some opponents said the crisis was the fault of the supervisors for letting former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron lose $1.69 billion in risky investments, trashing the county’s investment fund and plunging it into bankruptcy last December. Citron has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his handling of the fund. Foes of the sales tax increase should be able to separate blaming the supervisors from opposing the most needed measure to help the county recover. They are separate issues.

Other opponents contend the county has not done enough to cut costs before asking the voters to raise taxes. But the county has already turned hundreds of workers out the door, has started studying ways to save money by having private firms do jobs the county does now, and has decided which of the properties it owns to put on the block.

Notably absent from Measure R opponents has been a viable alternative to the tax. Declarations that “there must be a Plan B” have not in fact produced any Plan B. The county’s chief executive officer, William J. Popejoy, insists no such plan exists. Popejoy says defeat of the sales tax, which would bring an estimated $130 million to the county for each of the next 10 years, means bondholders will not be paid. Yet anti-tax elected officials say they want the bondholders paid. Failing to pay them will bring still more costly lawsuits, digging the county deeper into the hole.

No one favors taxes, but there are times when government finds its back to the wall. Defeat of Measure R will hurt the county, with lower property values likely and a lesser quality of life a certainty. Elected officials should face the facts and display some leadership.