Wilson’s Proposed Giveback Falls Well Short of Windfall

Gov. Pete Wilson’s much-ballyhooed proposal to return $100 million in property tax revenue to counties, cities and special districts would probably bring less than $7 million to Orange County governments, according to an estimate by the legislative analyst’s office.

The sum falls short of some local officials’ expectations and marks a fraction of the amount of property tax revenue the state diverted from cities and counties in the early 1990s.

“It isn’t a windfall,” said Ronald Bates, a Los Alamitos councilman and chairman of the League of California Cities. “We certainly appreciate any additional money, but it still falls short.”

The Legislature is now considering several plans for distributing the $100 million. Some legislators also have proposed increasing the amount of money that would go to local governments.

Under two of the distribution plans examined by the legislative analyst, Orange County government would gain about $1.3 million, while local water agencies, library systems, flood control authorities and other special districts would receive a total of $3.1 million.

Cities would see a much smaller share, ranging from $291,000 for Santa Ana to $11,000 for Los Alamitos, according to the legislative analyst.

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Wilson proposed the $100-million allocation in May as a way of sharing with local governments the rising tax revenue from California’s booming economy. It still must be approved by the Legislature.

During the recession of 1992-93, the state took $3.5 billion in property tax revenue designated for local governments to balance its own budget.

Based on the legislative analyst’s projections, Wilson’s plan probably won’t have a significant impact on the budgets of cities and other government agencies. Anaheim, for example, could receive between $174,000 and $280,000, a sliver of its $671-million budget.

County officials said that any additional state funding will be added to the final budget, which the Board of Supervisors will adopt in September. They said any added revenue could go to augment county services or help repay bankruptcy debts. The county’s total budget is more than $3 billion.