To Shore Up Our Quality of Life, We Need Higher Taxes

As an Orange County native and a land and urban planner who has worked here for 40 years, I have had an opportunity to watch the county grow and prosper. From that professional perspective, I know that the county and its cities require more funding to maintain the public infrastructure needed to provide necessary community services and accommodate new residents and businesses.

The Times has reported that it will cost about $20 billion over the next 20 years to ensure that Orange County’s infrastructure stays abreast of population growth -- as well as to repair and upgrade roads, water, sewer, and electric and natural gas networks that are the underpinnings of modern society. Without these things, our cities and the county would lose their quality of life and eventually cease to operate.

But the problems facing Orange County and its cities go much deeper than the $20-billion figure, which takes into account only the most immediate and visible deficiencies.

The challenge for this county, and many other California counties, is recognizing the severity of these problems and finding the political will to do what is necessary to protect and advance our quality of life. That means a willingness on the part of the voters and residents to pay the real price of progress.

Today, the biggest issue confronting California is the unbearable state budget gap, and without resolving this problem, state and local governments cannot begin to address other problems, including the deteriorating infrastructure.

Cities and counties are at a loss to keep the most necessary of services running -- much less give thought to improvement or accommodating growth.

The shortfall and deteriorating infrastructure are also having a continued, dramatic and long-term effect on the state’s economic vitality. Without adequate infrastructure, counties and cities are reluctant to allow development that could accommodate new businesses or support the growth of companies. Businesses are leaving California for friendlier pastures, and out-of-state companies that may have at one time considered relocating to California are staying away.

States such as Arizona and Nevada are fighting to lure our companies with promises of financial help and a readily available, affordable work force. It’s a fight we can’t afford to lose.

Faced with this immense crisis, what can Californians do?

First and foremost, we need to rescind or modify Proposition 13, the results of which have placed a much greater budgetary burden on our government agencies than was ever anticipated. I have seen cities and counties scramble for the last 30 years to find money to operate and improve their communities. Proposition 13 may have saved homeowners money, but it turned our municipalities into fiscal beggars.

Unless that changes, Californians will continue to mortgage the future for short-term gain, leaving our children and grandchildren to pay a much bigger tab.

Along with property taxes, other state and local taxes must be increased. Because of a lack of adequate funding for three decades, California has watched its public schools, fire and safety services, communities and environment suffer from fiscal neglect.

The shortfall will only make it worse. We must now face reality and be willing to pay our way to a better future.

Finally, state government needs to recognize the inequities of current tax distribution methods and return more locally generated tax revenue to the counties and cities from which they came.

Under the state’s existing tax structure, local governments are encouraged to bulk up on big-box retail or hefty commercial buildings, but when it comes to new residential development such as low-cost housing -- housing that California’s residents, communities and businesses really need -- our cities and counties are left hanging to twist slowly in the wind.