‘Pothole’ Tax for Fullerton?

Fullerton residents may be asked to approve a special tax for a $150 million upgrade of the city’s badly deteriorating infrastructure--mostly repairs on its 275 miles of streets--according to a new report.

But that won’t be an easy sell to voters. An accompanying survey shows that most residents don’t consider the situation that bad and would oppose a special tax for improvements.

That’s why the report’s authors, who presented it to the City Council on Tuesday, recommend a major public awareness campaign to get voters behind it.

A special tax probably would not be put on the ballot before 2005.

“We wouldn’t even think of asking for the tax now, because no one would support it,” said Larry Ballard, an attorney who chaired the citizen committee that wrote the report at the city’s request. “Before I joined the committee, I’d drive our streets and think, ‘This isn’t so bad.’ But I know better now. We have to convince everybody else.”

As in many California cities that put off road repairs amid the early 1990s recession, Fullerton’s street system has simply exceeded its useful life. Most streets were built during the city’s growth spurt after World War II. They weren’t designed to last longer than 40 to 50 years, especially under the crush of Southern California traffic.

The committee finds that a “significant” portion of the city’s 212 miles of residential streets and about 40% of its 63 miles of arterial roads are deficient. Also below standard, according to the city’s priority list, are sidewalks, curbs and gutters, then parks, street lights, and finally alleys.

It’s a statewide problem, says California League of Cities spokeswoman Megan Taylor.

She points to state transportation reports that show it will take $10.5 billion to upgrade infrastructure in California’s 476 cities and 58 counties. A bill last year added $400 million for road repairs, but that barely made a dent.

In Fullerton, for example, the new report shows that if something isn’t done soon, the $150 million needed to fix the problem now will grow to $255 million by 2020.

The energy crisis is making matters worse. A new state bill would have set aside a percentage--to be determined--from the gasoline tax for infrastructure repairs. But that provision has temporarily been set aside, Taylor said, until the crisis is resolved.

In Fullerton, the committee recommends that 1% be set aside from the general fund for five years to slow the deterioration. But besides that, voters will likely be asked to support a tax increase of $7.5 million to $8 million annually.

That would amount to about a $120 annual increase per $100,000 of assessed property value, according to the report.

But a special tax needs approval from two-thirds of voters. In recent years, voters in Anaheim, Placentia and Buena Park have turned down special tax requests for schools, libraries, and a new police station. A majority approved them, but not the two-thirds needed to pass.

“We know we have a massive job ahead of us explaining this to the public,” said Jennifer Phillips, assistant to the city manager who worked with the citizens group. “But we have to start now, because we’ve got serious problems.”

Resurfacing is the biggest street improvement expense. The city is blanketed with potholes, and some streets--six miles of major thoroughfare, for example--need total reconstruction.

Tree roots cause most sidewalk buckling. The report says most of the problem trees will have to be replaced. And most of the city’s street lights are part of an outdated high-voltage system for which replacement parts are difficult to obtain.