Sheriff and fire officials at odds

Measure D on Nov. 8 ballot would transfer some sales tax money from sheriff and D.A. to firefighters. Voters are being asked to extinguish a political battle between Orange County firefighters and sheriff’s deputies during the Nov. 8 statewide special election.

Four competing county ballot measures have been drafted to tackle how a half-cent sales tax should be spent on public safety. Officials with the Orange County Fire Authority said their firefighters deserve a share of the decade-old revenue source and are supporting Measure D, a ballot initiative to channel some police money to firefighters. The Orange County Fire Authority provides fire protection to unincorporated parts of Orange County, including the community of Sunset Beach, as well as 22 cities.

A consortium of politicians, law-enforcement officials and crime victims groups have come out against Measure D, arguing that the bill could lead to layoffs in the sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office. Led by Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, the coalition has launched three competing ballot measures that would keep the money in the hands of law enforcement.

The heated debate centers on money generated from Proposition 172, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1993 for public safety officials. Counties were allowed to devise their own allocations of the money; in Orange County’s case, 80% of the sales tax went to the sheriff’s department and 20% to the district attorney’s office.

Many firefighters felt betrayed when they found out they weren’t getting any of the money, said Joe Kerr of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. Proposition 172 was approved on the heels of the Laguna Beach wildfires that scorched sections of Orange County. Campaign commercials for Proposition 172 featured images of firefighters battling wildfires; Kerr said residents passed the ordinance thinking the money would be spent on fire protection.

After 12 years of failed negotiations with the Board of Supervisors for a portion of the money, the firefighters introduced Measure D. County officials challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance, but a superior court judge ordered it be placed on the Nov. 8 special election ballot.

Measure D would allocate 50% of Proposition 172 increases to the Orange County Fire Authority up to the point that the agency was receiving 10% of the sales tax money. Kerr said by taking only a percentage of funding increases, the sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office could maintain their current levels and enjoy modest increases.

Opponents of the plan say the Fire Authority is already fully funded through property taxes, whereas law enforcement struggles each year to meet its spending requirements. Campbell said a recent independent financial report indicates that Measure D would lead to the elimination of 211 positions over the next decade; Kerr disputes those numbers and said no jobs likely would be eliminated.

Measure D would divert money from agencies that provide services for the entire county to the fire authority, which assists an estimated 43% percent of residents.

“I’m afraid that some jails won’t be manned,” he said. “The D.A. won’t be able to prosecute all of the criminals.”

Kerr said the authority’s scope is much larger than the cities it protects. The fire authority offers hazardous materials backup to every city in Orange County and has emergency response agreements with most local municipalities.

Still, Campbell said he doesn’t believe the increase in funding is necessary.

“Since I’ve been in office, I haven’t gotten one complaint about the fire authority’s response time to fires or to paramedic situations,” he said.

Campbell and other law enforcement agencies are floating three competing measures on the ballot. Measure B would leave current Proposition 172 funding in place; Measure C would allocate $10 million of the money annually for homeland security grants, and Measure E would shift 5% of the sales tax money to county probation programs.

In the event that more than one of the measures passes, the one that earned the most votes will go into effect.

“The three other initiatives are a farce and a smoke screen, and we expected that as part of their political tactics,” Kerr said.