Fire Authority Feeling Burned by Prop. 172

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates stood on the steps of the Old County Courthouse on Nov. 1, 1993, and pleaded for voters in the following day’s election to approve a half-cent state sales tax for public safety known as Proposition 172.

It was just days after the Oct. 27 wildfire burned or damaged more than 400 homes in Laguna Beach. On election day, flames would sweep through Malibu, repeating solemn images of burning homes and hillsides across Southern California.

“I was down in Laguna Beach during the past 48 hours watching those young men and women fight the fire. Don’t send those people to war without the right tools to do the job,” urged Gates, who chaired the statewide Yes on 172 campaign that repeatedly showed soot-covered firefighters in television ads and direct-mail solicitations.

Proposition 172 barely passed. But Laguna Beach firefighters did not directly benefit from any of the money. Neither have firefighters from most other areas in Orange County and across the state, where cities and counties decided to send the money to police and prosecutors.

Now, the Orange County Fire Authority, which was created in 1995 when the county Fire Department was merged with 19 city departments, is considering seeking a chunk of Proposition 172 funds. It already receives part of its funding from a portion of property taxes earmarked for fire services called the Structural Fire Fund.

Going after the sales tax money will not be easy.

Proposition 172 was intended to replace $2.6 billion a year statewide that was lost to county and city governments in the 1990s when the state Legislature decided to keep a larger share of taxes. In 1996-97, the sales tax generated $1.7 billion in funds sent back to local governments.

The problem for the Orange County Fire Authority: Because it did not exist when Proposition 172 was approved, it is not eligible for reimbursement of lost funds. But even before the vote, Orange County officials decided not to designate the Fire Department as a public safety agency. After the measure passed, the County Board of Supervisors voted to give 80% of county Proposition 172 money to the Sheriff’s Department and 20% to the district attorney’s office.

Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Scott Brown said the agency has a legal opinion from its attorney indicating it might be entitled to a portion of excess county Proposition 172 money, which was a healthy $15 million in fiscal 1996-97.

“Voters thought they were providing money for firefighters,” said Joe Kerr, president of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. “It turns out we didn’t get a dime.”

Even if the Fire Authority were to qualify for county excess funds--now designated by the Board of Supervisors to be used for Theo Lacy Branch Jail construction--it could collect only the amount that correlates with unincorporated areas, Assistant Sheriff Doug Storm said. Unincorporated areas account for 15% to 20% of the authority’s coverage.

Storm said fire departments were not chosen to get Proposition 172 money because they have a guaranteed funding source through property taxes.

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Orange County has lots of company in how it spends the sales tax funds. Los Angeles County, for example, also opted against using Proposition 172 money for fire services. Richard Solis, an analyst with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said only a few small counties have designated any money for fire departments. It is the same with cash-strapped cities, which decided to shift funds to police.

Political consultant Frank Caterinicchio was one of three principal architects of the Proposition 172 campaign. He said the measure’s victory--58% in California; 52% in Orange County--came thanks to firefighters.

“People saw footage day after day of homes burning up and down the state and the heroic efforts of firefighters,” he said. “If the state of California wasn’t in such a tragic fire situation, the measure probably would have failed.”

The lion’s share of the sales tax money every year goes to the county because it took the biggest property-tax hit. Since 1994, the county has collected about $586 million in Proposition 172 funds; another $28 million has gone to cities.

The city in Orange County receiving the largest share of Proposition 172 funds is Santa Ana, which got $1.3 million this past fiscal year. The city is one of the few to give any of its funds to the Fire Department, which receives 31% of the money. The rest goes to the Police Department.

Irvine receives the second-largest share of Proposition 172 money in Orange County, but none of it--$1.1 million last year--goes to fire services. Irvine is one of the 19 cities that contract with the Fire Authority.

In Laguna Beach, all of the money goes to police, but even that is not much. The city received only $86,279 in 1996-97.

Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said firefighters benefit from the extra money because, if it were not available for police, the Fire Department probably would have to cut more of its budget.

“Our complaint is with how the whole program worked,” Frank said. “We didn’t get the replacement revenue we thought we expected. When they worked out the formula [in Sacramento], the cities were disadvantaged.”

Complicating the picture was Orange County’s bankruptcy in December 1994. Proposition 172 funding allowed the county to avoid making draconian cuts in public safety from its shriveled general fund.

Today, with a robust economy, about $130 million of the Sheriff’s Department’s $214-million budget comes from sales tax funds. About $32 million in Proposition 172 money augments the district attorney’s $70.5-million budget.

Meanwhile, the Fire Authority is contemplating its options for pursuing some of the sales tax money. Changing the county’s 80-20 allocation scheme would require an unlikely four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors.

Perspective is a weekly column highlighting trends or events that define Orange County or an issue affecting Orange County. Readers are invited to call Los Angeles Times correspondent Jean O. Pasco at (714) 564-1052 or send e-mail to jean.pasco@la times.com

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Public Safety Sales Tax Revenue

In November 1993, California voters passed Proposition 172, which provided for a half-cent sales tax to be sent to local governments for public safety. The measure was intended to replace funds lost when the state began to shift tax money away from local governments. Since 1994, the county and most cities have received $614 million in Proposition 172 funds, with the bulk going to the county. The Board of Supervisors decided that 80% of the county money should go to the Sheriff’s Department. The remaining 20% is received by the district attorney’s office. Below is a breakdown of funds received for the 1996-97 fiscal year.

Agency/City: 1996-97 Amount

Sheriff’s Department: $129,610,547

District attorney’s office: 32,402,637

Anaheim: 574,377

Brea: 217,725

Buena Park: 193,340

Costa Mesa: 507,069

Cypress: 186,237

Fountain Valley: 195,269

Fullerton: 455,688

Garden Grove: 360,392

Irvine: 1,106,073

La Habra: 196,067

La Palma: 131,885

Laguna Beach: 86,279

Agency/City 1996-97 Amount

Los Alamitos: $50,142

Newport Beach: 487,547

Orange: 465,112

Placentia: 143,842

San Clemente: 214,028

San Juan Capistrano: 130,688

Santa Ana: 1,320,025

Seal Beach: 132,162

Stanton: 72,901

Tustin: 165,674

Villa Park: 32,532

Westminster: 83,220

Subtotal (cities): 7,508,274

Total (Orange County): 169,521,458