by Harry Sidhu, Anaheim city council member
The Orange County Register - Saturday, October 1, 2005
Proposed by a firefighters' union, Measure D is a misguided initiative to divert Proposition 172 funds to the Orange County Fire Authority.
In 1993, voters statewide approved Prop. 172, which provides a half-cent sales tax for local public safety services. Prop. 172 gave authority to the counties to allocate their shares of the sales tax revenue. Orange County currently allocates 80 percent of its share of Prop. 172 funds to the Sheriff-Coroner's Department and 20 percent to the District Attorney's Office.
On the Nov. 8 ballot, Orange County voters will be faced with four measures relating to Prop. 172 funds. Measures B, C and E were added to the ballot in response to Measure D.
I am compelled to join those in opposition to Measure D. The Orange County Fire Authority already has its own separate, direct funding source from property taxes, and there has been a steady growth in that revenue. And the OCFA did not challenge having Prop. 172 funds earmarked for law enforcement.
Moreover, while the fire authority has mutual-aid agreements with other agencies to respond to major emergencies, it does not serve the entire county every day. Its mission is to protect the 43 percent of the county's population that lives in its contract cities and unincorporated areas. Taxpayers in cities with their own fire departments should not be forced to subsidize contract cities.
If passed, Measure D would directly impact countywide law enforcement, countywide criminal prosecutions and countywide jail operations in a negative way. On the other hand, there is no negative impact upon the firefighters should Measure D fail.