A Word to Lift Spirits in These Taxing Times

The 2000 census confirms that Orange County is an ethnically diverse and increasingly urban area. Now approaching 3 million in population, Orange County is home to more people than almost any major city in the United States. But unlike a single city, Orange County is governed by a series of independent municipalities, school districts, and special districts.

As you wrestle with your income taxes and juggle your checkbook with tax day looming, it’s worth reflecting on how the governments supported by your taxes are doing by you and your fellow Orange County citizens.

Let’s start with the federal government. As home to a comparatively affluent population, Orange County generates more than its share of federal income and excise taxes. That same affluence tends to work against the county receiving a proportionate share of federal funds.

A federal tax cut would spur the local economy and encourage job growth, which is especially important for those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Relief from unfunded federal mandates would also be helpful, because local school districts and municipalities have to cut local programs to finance them.

So far, Orange County’s congressional delegation is 0 for 2. But the game isn’t over. Perhaps the local Congress members, awash in the middle of a huge federal surplus, can still deliver for local taxpayers.

The state, alas, is a much worse deal for Orange County taxpayers. For starters, you pay more and get less than taxpayers in any other major California county. As an added indignity, the state surplus to which you contributed so generously is going up in smoke while the capital gang stumbles around in the dark looking for the proverbial light switch. That surplus could have funded many classrooms, textbooks, teachers and parks, not to mention a tax cut.

Ah, Sacramento. Perhaps it is the tulle fog or the blazing summer heat that renders the Orange County legislative delegation so impotent. No matter the cause, Orange County taxpayers are getting a raw deal from Sacramento.

Turning to local governments, the picture brightens considerably. Compared with an urban city government, Orange County is good government incarnate. Credit in part the mosaic of local governments, which allows citizens to have a meaningful say in how their communities are run.

Although some Orange County cities are more efficient than others, any one of them is more accessible and attentive to local residents’ concerns than would be the case if the entire county were one large city. Examples abound across the county, from Placentia’s reaction to all-night train whistles to San Clemente’s concern about the Foothill toll road extension, to Huntington Beach’s proposed purchase of Bolsa Chica lands.

This sensitivity to citizen concerns manifests itself at the regional level as well. Despite some problem projects, the freeway improvements financed by the Measure M tax surcharge have improved regional traffic flows substantially. Perhaps even more remarkable, local citizens and city governments have managed to slow, and possibly stop, the expensive and inefficient light-rail project. One need only look at the horrendously expensive and little-used Los Angeles subway system to see how ham-fisted a large urban government can be.

In a similar vein, the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District are proceeding with the Ground Water Replenishment System. This project, to be completed by 2004, will supply some 70,000 acre-feet of water per year to the aquifer that serves much of the county. When the next drought hits, this farsighted action by local officials will stand in bold comparison to the state’s inept refusal to permit the building of sufficient electrical generating and transmission capacity.

Sure, there are some rough spots. But by and large, effective regional cooperation has been the norm within Orange County. Let’s hope it continues and the Orange County Fire Authority remains governed by a board composed of representatives from contracting cities rather than an elected board that would likely be controlled by union bosses, much to the detriment of local taxpayers.

So Orange County taxpayers are getting a much better deal from their local governments than from Sacramento or Washington. Much credit should go to local elected officials. Much credit should go to the city managers, school district superintendents and special district managers throughout Orange County. They are a valuable cadre of public servants.

And even more of the credit should go to you, the taxpayers of Orange County. You carry the state and give more than your fair share to the rest of the country. You elect and monitor local governments conscientiously, and you are building your community through charitable and volunteer efforts with remarkable success. So stand taller on your way to the post office when you mail your taxes. You are the embodiment of self-governance envisioned by the Founding Fathers, and you just may be the best model for future urbanizing areas.