Lukewarm support for utility line work

FOR THE RECORD

A story in Tuesday’s Daily Pilot, “Lukewarm support for utility line work,” incorrectly reported that Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said he expected the backing of Councilwoman Linda Dixon if he proposes an increase in the city’s hotel visitors tax, though Dixon does support such a hike.

***

Putting utility lines underground ranked near the bottom of some Costa Mesa residents’ priorities on a recent survey. But that hasn’t turned Mayor Allan Mansoor off of the idea.

The city would need some way to pay for the project ? about $850 million to bury lines city-wide, according to a 2004 report ? so a tax proposal could be in the offing.

Council members will discuss the survey results today. The survey, which was conducted in March and included 500 likely voters, asked about the priority of certain city issues and three kinds of possible taxes to cover the utility line work.

Those polled ranked crime prevention highest among the 11 community issues that were included. At the bottom were limiting commercial and residential growth and utility-line burial.

Mansoor said public safety is a top issue for him, but infrastructure projects ? such as the utility work ? are also important.

“I still believe that there is support for putting utilities underground and some of the survey questions indicated that,” Mansoor said. “The real question is how do we pay for it, and the survey indicated that people were not willing to go with a utility user tax, and I respect that.”

The survey showed voters probably would reject a tax on utility users, which would include most residents, and respondents were lukewarm toward a possible sales tax increase.

Conversely, more than 60% of those polled said they’d definitely or probably support a boost in the hotel visitors tax, known as the transient occupancy tax. Costa Mesa now charges a 6% tax on hotel stays ? a rate that hasn’t changed in more than 24 years and is the lowest rate in the county ? and an additional 2% that goes to the city’s visitor bureau to promote Costa Mesa tourism.

The 6% hotel tax is expected to generate $4.9 million this year for the city’s general fund.

As far as increasing the hotel visitors tax, that’s the rub ? it couldn’t go exclusively to utility line burial. Only a special tax can be devoted to a specific use, and that must pass a two-thirds threshold of voter approval.

Four of five council members would need to vote for the hotel visitors tax increase to get it on the fall ballot, and passing it would require the support of a simple majority of voters.

“I have been very clear from the start that if any type of funding is provided, it’s my intent that it goes toward putting utilities underground,” Mansoor said.

He said he wants more public input before making any tax proposal. If he does make the proposal, Mansoor said he’ll likely have Councilwoman Linda Dixon behind him.

Whether the tax would go to roads, parks, or utility line burial, Dixon said, “I definitely support an increase in the [hotel visitors] tax because we’re far behind other communities.”

It’s important to remember the hotel tax would mainly affect visitors to Costa Mesa and not residents, she said

Councilwoman Katrina Foley said she wants to look at using assessment districts, as Newport Beach has done, to pay for utility line burial. In that scenario, residents are organized into districts, and property owners vote on whether to tax themselves to put utilities underground in their district.

Foley interpreted the survey as showing that residents aren’t that interested in utility line burial and it would be a waste of the council’s time to pursue it as a city-wide project, she said.

“To me it’s just another example of how he [Mansoor] speaks about what the community supports but seems to be completely out of touch with the general views of the community,” she said.