ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A First Step in a Painful Process

Gov. Pete Wilson’s signing of three bills needed to help Orange County recover from bankruptcy was welcome, if unsurprising. Unfortunately, far from solving any problems, the measures merely enable the county to start a painful journey back to fiscal health.

At the signing ceremony this week, Wilson and other politicians were upbeat, with the governor calling the county “financially vibrant.” But a proper note of caution came from Stan Oftelie, chief of the county’s transportation agency, which will take a big hit in the recovery effort. Oftelie noted that there is a price to pay, and no one knows how large it will be.

The rejection of Measure R, the sales tax increase, means the county has no new source of funds to pay its debts after losing $1.7 billion in risky investments and filing for bankruptcy last December.

The bills passed in Sacramento call for moving money around and doing without in some areas. Millions of dollars that would have been spent on road construction and maintenance will wind up going to pay other bills. In a county so dependent on the automobile, rough roads because of delayed repairs are likely to escalate quickly from an annoyance to a major headache.

Bus service, the lifeline for those unable to afford a car or operate one, will be slashed. Harbors, beaches and parks and flood-control projects will also have money siphoned off. The county will be not be as good a place to live or work.

Among those handling the recovery will be Donald Saltarelli, the former Tustin mayor appointed by Wilson on Wednesday to fill the seat of Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who resigned. For Saltarelli and the other supervisors, much of the recovery hinges on the county’s ability to win money in lawsuits from firms that sold it the securities that went bad, hardly a guaranteed source of income. In addition, Wilson must appoint a trustee to take over the county’s operations if a recovery plan is not filed in Bankruptcy Court next May.

The county has laid off many workers and cut health and social programs severely. Despite the rhetoric at the signing ceremony, the county will need things to fall into place to get through the bankruptcy without more damage.