Municipal Bills Come Due

Homeowners know that eventually roofs deteriorate and have to be patched or replaced--preferably before the rain pours down. Plumbing gets old and concrete cracks. Repairs and budgets become part of a juggling act. The degree of preventive maintenance possible depends on how affordable the maintenance is.

The same holds true for governments. Buildings have to be fixed up and cleaned; potholes need repair. Sometimes it becomes more economical to replace a structure than to fix it, but cash on hand is always part of the equation.

In Westminster three weeks ago, a water tank burst, sending a tidal wave gushing from a 22-foot-high hole. Six people were injured and more than two dozen left temporarily homeless. City officials have commissioned a study to learn if the reservoir can be repaired or must be rebuilt. The same study will determine if the city’s second above-ground water tank is safe. Meantime, that tank has been emptied.

The cost of fixing or replacing the damaged tank and repairing the townhouses damaged by the water, as well as cleanup costs, has been estimated at nearly $30 million. Insurance may cover much of that, but the incident has taken a toll on the city and its residents.

Officials said the tank was drained and inspected for structural damage after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. It was inspected again last December. City officials said that although both inspections showed signs of rust and cracks, they were on the opposite side of the point that ruptured.

Yet a former city manager said Westminster’s water system was known to need so much repair that consideration was given to having a private company take over its operations several years ago. An alternate proposal was to raise water rates 100%. Instead, rates were increased 15%.

That’s a graphic example of the balancing act required by city leaders everywhere. Some repairs fall into the “nice to do” category. Others are required. But persuading voters that the repairs indeed are necessary is never easy. Still, that’s the job of elected officials. They have to proclaim their case and defend it, explaining the costs of various actions and the possibly enormous cost of no action at all. Other cities should learn from Westminster.

Even before the county’s bankruptcy in December 1994, most cities had to keep a close eye on budgets. That’s the way it should be. Cities should not be extravagant with taxpayers’ money.

But bills do come due. After the Westminster reservoir flood, a Times survey of infrastructure priorities across the county ranged from Anaheim’s desire to spend $4 million to $5 million in each of the next five years to fix streets to Yorba Linda’s need to build several underground drains.

Other cities need to redrill damaged wells, replace reservoirs and upgrade railroad crossings. Postponing those expenses will not reduce the eventual bill; it will increase the cost.

Repairing old water wells or building new ones is not as glamorous and vote-grabbing as putting more police on the streets. But the basics have to be taken care of. Proposition 13 in 1978 limited cities’ taxing power and pushed them into fierce competition with each other for auto malls and similar large producers of sales taxes. But those taxes are heavily dependent on a good economy. Even in flush times, the term “fat city” doesn’t apply to municipalities, certainly not in Orange County. Residents need to keep an eye on how their elected officials spend money; but they also need to understand that time takes a toll on buildings, roads, pipes and valves.