ORANGE COUNTY VOICES ON MEASURE R : County’s Plan for Economic Recovery Appears to Be Letter-Perfect

The “R” in Measure R, the one-half percent sales tax increase initiative to be decided upon by Orange County voters on June 27, stands for “Recovery,” according to its authors. But I think its meaning is much deeper and more complex, so I thought it would be helpful to explore some other “R” words in fleshing out its true implications. No doubt as the debate about the pros and cons of adopting the sales tax increase builds, there will be many opportunities to create other “R” words and meanings, and I invite everyone with a commitment to good government to contribute to the list.

* Resignation--(1) I’m resigned to the fact that we need the sales tax. (2) It would make me feel better about paying it if at least two of the three sitting supervisors who were on watch prior to Dec. 6, 1994, would submit their resignations.

* Rip-Off--What the sales tax is not.

* Rezo--(1) Spanish word for praying. (2) Supervisor Vasquez’s recommended approach for solving the bankruptcy crisis.

* Rip Van Winkle--(1) A fairy tale character who slept for 20 years--only slightly less time than Bob Citron was in office. (2) Leading candidate for the next open seat on the Board of Supervisors.

* Restructuring--(1) Buzzword for spending a lot of time and money to keep things the way they always have been in government. (2) Elimination of the Board of Supervisors, as proposed by Supervisor Marian Bergeson. (Now that’s real restructuring!)

* Recovery Notes--A fancy name for county IOUs.

* Ramification--By defaulting on the bonds that come due this summer, the county and its many cities and special districts are likely to have to pay a 2.5% premium to borrow money in the future, and we simply must borrow money from time to time in order to even out cash flow and to finance capital projects. On $1 billion in debt, that’s $25 million per year more than we otherwise would pay in interest. Combined with the $130-million-per-year gap in county operating revenues that will be created if the sales tax fails, the ramifications would be very bad.

* Roger--(1) A cartoon rabbit. (2) A declaration used to indicate that you understood what the other person was saying. (3) A supervisor who obviously didn’t understand what his colleague was saying when she proposed eliminating the Board of Supervisors. (Or, he didn’t want to hear it.)

* Reflexology--(1) New Age massage technique. (2) Science of bowing to the strongest political pressure of the moment, as practiced by Supervisor Jim Silva.

* Repugnant--How the Lincoln Club feels about taxes. All taxes.

* Rascal--An American political term, as in “throw the rascals out.” Certainly applicable in the Orange County situation.

* Rock ‘n’ Roll--(1) What it feels like during a Southern California earthquake. (2) The greatest music ever invented in America. (3) What it’s going to be like in Orange County if the bankruptcy crisis isn’t resolved expeditiously.

* Robert--Robert L. (Bob) Citron, of course. It always bothered me that I made out my property tax check to him personally. Obviously my intuition was right.

* Refuse--Part of the recovery plan, to open up the three landfills in Orange County to accept refuse from San Diego and Los Angeles. The cities of Brea, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano refuse to do it.

* Responsibility--What it all boils down to.

True, we the voters weren’t directly responsible for what happened. But we did elect the people who were. So, like it or not, it is to us that the final responsibility falls. And I’m convinced that the recovery plan developed by County CEO Bill Popejoy, which includes significant reductions in county agency budgets and layoffs of loyal county employees, is the best we can hope for. The sales tax is an essential part of that plan. There is no Plan B.