O.C. Cities Went for Levy, but Voters Left Them Dry

By JEAN O. PASCO

June 5, 1997 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The cities lie at either end of the local landscape, but if the failed utility tax elections in San Clemente and Stanton are any indication, it may be a long time before voters choose to tax themselves in Orange County.

The resounding defeats came despite dire warnings from local officials that public safety and park services would suffer in the wake of Proposition 218, which requires that any new taxes and those imposed since January 1995 be approved by a voter majority.

While tax measures for library and fire services were approved Tuesday in Los Angeles and around the state earlier this year, Orange County was true to its history of being hostile to efforts to raise money for government.

In low-turnout special elections, the influence of die-hard, anti-tax voters is even greater, said Frank Caterinicchio, the consultant who managed the campaign Tuesday against Stanton’s utility tax. The measure failed, 1,674 votes to 667. The San Clemente tax lost, 5,105 votes to 3,577.

“They’re dead on arrival in Orange County,” Caterinicchio said. “You’ll see these things have a better chance in areas where the electorate is more moderate to liberal. Perhaps the lesson here is that voters need to be more supportive of candidates who look to other, more creative ways other than raising taxes to pay for essential services.”

Stanton and San Clemente were the only cities in Orange County to seek voter approval to replace existing citywide funds to be lost under Proposition 218. Other cities dropped services and accepted leaner budgets.

Three cities--Irvine, Tustin and Yorba Linda--are asking individual property owners by mail to approve existing assessments for things like street lighting and median landscaping that will expire July 1. In Irvine, for example, the city would face cuts of $1.4 million if enough property owners don’t approve it by July 8.

“Most new taxation is doomed to fail in Orange County, but we are not increasing taxes, we’re just asking voters to maintain the assessment originated in the early ‘80s and add a 50% reduction,” Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea said.

In Stanton and San Clemente, she said, “they were proposing new taxation. I think people will vote against new taxes. We’re not asking them to vote for new taxes in Irvine.”

One reason behind the local losses could be lingering suspicion from the county’s bankruptcy in late 1994, said Janet Huston, executive director of the county chapter of the League of California Cities. Voters countywide vetoed the idea of a sales tax increase as a bankruptcy bailout in 1995, despite the loss of $1.6 billion that came from the county treasurer’s risky investments.

Based on what happened in Stanton and San Clemente, Huston said, other city officials may think twice before proposing similar ballot measures next year to bolster budgets.

“Other municipalities will try to analyze these results for what went wrong and what went right and how to learn from it,” Huston said. “What do you have to do to get beyond the suspicion and let everyone know there isn’t a free lunch?”

Local government watchdog Berklee Maughan of Tustin said voters didn’t have a chance to assess the necessity of the original fees and, ultimately, didn’t believe the new hikes were warranted. Voters in San Clemente and Stanton said they didn’t buy arguments that the public would be endangered or that parks would close if they voted against the tax.

“The best chance any city has in getting voters to maintain these taxes is to give them evidence that they’re not being overcharged,” Maughan said.

The measures in Stanton and San Clemente were intended to refill budget holes created by Proposition 218 but the cities approached the task differently: Stanton’s election was a special tax for fire and police that required a two-thirds vote; San Clemente’s was a general tax that needed only a majority vote.

Caterinicchio said Stanton’s Measure B had two major flaws: It asked for more money instead of merely replacing funds lost under Proposition 218, and it allowed future city councils to raise the special tax annually based on increases to the Consumer Price Index.

“The bottom line is that there were inherent problems with Measure B that made it easy to defeat,” he said.

In San Clemente, city officials spelled out exactly what would be lost to residents if they voted down the tax: closing softball fields; moving the local police dispatch center; increasing golf fees; and eliminating programs for at-risk youth.

“It was a matter of, ‘Do you want these services and pay $50 a month for them, or do you want to do without these services?’ ” City Councilman Steve Apodaca said.

Apodaca said seeking future approval of another tax measure would be dishonest to voters.

“We fired our best shot at it,” he said. “This is going to hurt, but it’s not the end of the world. I still believe in five to 10 years, those economic development programs we’re working on will come online. That’s where the real solution is, recapturing some of the sales tax.”

Santa Ana Councilman Ted R. Moreno said voters in San Clemente and Stanton sent a clear message that people are tired of taxes, but he predicted that his own city might place future fee increases before voters.

Santa Ana resident Ed McKie, who criticized the most recent city budget for not conforming with Proposition 218, said officials in other cities used scare tactics to get tax increases by warning that police services would be cut.

“I hope that people, now that they’ve been given this tremendous responsibility, take the time to educate themselves,” he said. Others said they doubted their cities could have achieved voter approval to replace lost taxes and Tuesday’s votes merely confirmed their fears.

Said Fullerton Administrative Services Director Chris G. Meyer: “I don’t think there’s any new taxes in Fullerton’s future.”

The Fullerton City Council approved a controversial utility tax in 1993, which proved so unpopular among residents that the three council members who voted for the tax were recalled and the tax was eventually repealed.

Joel Fox, who heads the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which pushed Proposition 218, looks at the results statewide, not just in Orange County.

“What we’ve seen is a mixed bag, and that’s fine,” he said, adding, “218 was designed to let local voters decide if they want the taxes and for local officials to convince voters that they’re needed.”

Also contributing to this report were Times correspondents Steve Carney, Lori Haycox, Jeff Kass, Mimi Ko Cruz and Cathy Werblin.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Utilizing the Ballot

Voters in two Orange County cities defeated proposed utility taxes Tuesday. Official final vote:

SAN CLEMENTE

100% Precincts Reporting

Votes (Percent)

Yes: 3,577 (41.2%)

No: 5,105 (58.8%)

STANTON

100% Precincts Reporting

Votes (Percent)