ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Jail Tax: Careful How You Do It

Orange County officials have pulled out the stops to clear the way for a May 14 vote on a county sales tax referendum to finance a new jail. This week, an injunction was lifted, and Tuesday the Board of Supervisors formed a commission that will decide whether to call a special election. Hold on to your hats.

The county is under enormous legal and political pressure to end a long stalemate over jail overcrowding. The results of a Times poll published a mere 10 days ago, showing considerable support for a half-cent sales tax, came as political manna for the supervisors. They understandably want to strike while the iron is hot. One thing we have learned about county government in recent days--it has the capacity to move fast when it wants to, even with its fiscal problems and the political logjam over jails.

When all the facts are out, a sales tax probably will prove the only plausible way of financing a new jail. But it is important to resist the rush to judgment, a temptation fueled by a suddenly ticking countdown to May 14. There is as yet no concrete proposal either for funding or obtaining a site.

On the road to May, a number of questions must be addressed. We know a tax is needed but is a sales tax the best choice? Maybe the county can convince the electorate that the answer is yes; if so, there still is that old question of where the jail will be located. The board needs one more vote to condemn the Gypsum Canyon site in Anaheim Hills. Once a facility is built, will there be funds from a half-cent sales tax to guarantee operation?

There are larger questions, too, about the effect of what may be portrayed as yet another sales tax du jour . Sheriff Brad Gates addressed some of these concerns on Monday, but taxpayers need to hear a thorough presentation from the county’s financial people and from the commission.

It is important to recognize the difficulties in selling a tax in a soft economy. Let’s not forget that taxpayers recently have assumed new tax burdens, ranging from increased gas and sales taxes for transportation to new federal “sin” taxes.

Proponents might be well advised to study the successful campaign for Measure M, the county transportation measure that passed last fall after several tries. Voters were given a clear blueprint. Jail tax advocates may be able to make their case by May, but they must work fast. The task of public education hasn’t been made easier by the supervisors’ reluctance to tackle publicly the tough issue until now.

It could be an interesting election. Voters countywide would need to be turned out in numbers for a special election on jails; Anaheim, where there is opposition to the Gypsum Canyon site, is likely to be stirred because of a hotly contested state Senate runoff. So let the debate begin.