Supervisors Decide Not to Seek Tax Hike for Jail, Court

Sensing that the political climate in Orange County is not favorable for a tax increase, the Board of Supervisors unanimously decided Tuesday not to ask voters on the November ballot if they want to pay $700 million for a controversial jail in Gypsum Canyon and a new courthouse in Santa Ana.

County officials disagreed about whether the action would delay construction of the buildings, both of which are scheduled to open in 1992. But they said both projects would likely fall behind schedule if a source of funds is not found by early next year.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board on some of these issues,” Supervisor Don R. Roth said. “Even if the fairy godmother gave us the money to build the jail, we still couldn’t afford to run it.”

All of the financing mechanisms suggested so far by county administrators would require approval by voters, but the next scheduled election after November is in June, 1990. A special election next year would cost the county an extra $700,000, officials estimate. Delaying a vote until 1990 could set the projects back more than a year, County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish said.

Plans Put in Limbo

The decision to avoid a November vote on bond financing for the two badly needed facilities puts construction plans in limbo while the county searches for alternative funding sources.

The proposed bond issue would provide about $450 million for the first phase of the jail planned in Gypsum Canyon, near Anaheim. The bond sale would also generate about $250 million for a 14-story criminal courthouse in Santa Ana. Together, county officials estimate the $700-million bond issue would add about $70 in property taxes for every $100,000 of assessed property value.

The second phase of jail construction, which would cost $150 million and be completed in 1995, is not included in the proposed bond sale.

Locating the new jail, which is needed to relieve overcrowding in the county’s existing facility, has been the most controversial, emotional and high-pressure issue considered by the county supervisors in recent history.

Supervisors chose the Gypsum Canyon

site in a heated 3-2 decision in July, 1987, but only after a federal judge found the board in contempt of court for not addressing the problem of jail crowding. Roth and Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose district includes Gypsum Canyon, voted against the project.

But even then, county officials conceded that the bigger question was going to be how to find the money for the 6,000-bed facility. One year later, the same question haunts the board.

The conservative voters of Orange County are notoriously reluctant to approve any kind of a tax increase, supervisors said Tuesday, noting that approval of the proposed $700-million general obligation bond would require a two-thirds majority at the polls. With significant community opposition already well organized against the jail, the board was convinced that there would not be enough support to pass the bond issue in November. A well-financed community campaign seeks to place a measure on the November ballot that would require all future jails to be built in Santa Ana, the county seat.

“Recent history clearly indicates that Orange County voters are not receptive to these kinds of bond measures,” Vasquez said. “It puts the construction of Gypsum in a difficult situation.”

Presiding Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox said Tuesday that the supervisors’ decision was unwelcome, but it was based on political reality.

“There is a consensus that it wouldn’t be a very good idea to put it on the ballot in November,” he said. “We’ve got to educate the public about what they are doing to themselves.”

Alternatives Suggested

The County Administrative Office has suggested alternatives for financing the project, all of which require approval by voters.

In addition to the general obligation bond, the county has considered a half-cent sales tax to generate the money. That would require approval by the Legislature and only a majority approval of voters. It is also attractive because the sales tax could be used to pay for the operation of the jail and courts once they are built.

Another funding tool under consideration is creation of a Community Facilities District, a designated area in which properties are assessed a special tax for specific public improvements. The district would also require a two-thirds majority vote, but it could also be used to pay for the operation of the facilities.

In addition, the supervisors ordered county administrators to report every 90 days on their efforts to find new funding sources.