ISSUES FACING OUR COMMUNITY

By Michael F. "Mike" Safranski

The following paragraphs discuss several local and statewide issues that could have a significant impact on the residents of Rancho Santa Maragarita.

In addition, two propositions will appear on this November's budget, Prop 1A and Prop 65. Prop 1A will attempt to create a constitutional amendment that will protect cities and special districts from further losses in tax revenue by restoring them to pre-SB1096 levels. In exchange, starting in 2007, the State will be allowed to borrow property tax revenue in the future no more than twice in ten years, and only under certain circumstances. The net impact of SB1096 and Prop 1A could mean reduced property tax related revenues and budget adjustments for Cities and Special district for the next five years or more.

Prop 65, written prior to Prop 1A attempts to control the shifting of property tax revenues from Cities and Special Districts by requiring a vote to do so. Prop 65 appears to have lost support in favor of Prop 1A which is supported by many cities, special districts and the Governor's office.

Regardless of the outcome of these Propositions, it's clear that the City of Rancho Santa Margarita will have to continue prudent financial practices along with keeping a close watch on longer term budget impacts. Orange County continues to be a major "donor" county (meaning they get back quite a bit less tax revenue than they collect) creating major inequities throughout our cities. With the State being the primary "collector and keeper" of property tax and sales tax revenues generated by cities, its clear that longer term tax appropriation reform is needed.

INFRASTRUCTURE ROADS + Rancho Santa Margarita is fortunate to be a well thought out, master planned community that is located at the furthest eastern edge of Orange County. This isolation against the Cleveland National forest also creates unique transportation challenges. Continued growth and development continues task existing roads and circulation routes. Signal timing on Santa Margarita Boulevard and the upgrade of the 241 Toll Road onramp to that street have helped traffic flow considerably. The planned southward extension of the 241 Toll Road is crucial to the city. This will allow residents a much more direct route towards San Diego and will open up RSM to visitors and additional business revenues. The cooperative efforts between Orange and Riverside Counties have initiated conceptual plans for increased traffic corridors between the counties. With the 91 Freeway almost in constant gridlock, improvements must be planned and implemented soon. The plan for a "tunnel" would allow traffic along with much needed power and water infrastructure to coexist. Because of the difficult engineering aspects of this proposal and environmental concerns, other options such as widening of the 91 freeway are being considered. While a new "corridor" had been suggested that would run through the northern boundary of RSM and create a new interchange in RSM, I would not support any new freeways or toll roads that negatively impact RSM residents in any way. I would oppose any transportation corridors that were not part of the original master planning process. I would oppose any transportation corridors that were not disclosed to our residents when they purchased their homes.

ENERGY + I have taken a very active role in this area since the Energy Crisis in 2001. I have co-chaired "Californians for Power Reliability" and I am currently working with the South Orange County Regional Chambers of Commerce and the Orange County Business Council to help structure the policies needed to restructure California energy policy. The system is broke. Deregulation was too aggressive and was rolled out way to quickly. The result has been a tremendous fiscal burden that has been borne primarily by California businesses. I advocate a well thought out, complete restructuring of the energy industry as opposed to a piecemeal approach. I would like to see improved maintenance of existing electrical infrastructure and the addition of expanded transmission and generation facilities. I believe that rate structures must be fair and equitable for all rate types from residential to small business owners and large corporations. I support the phasing in of "direct access" that would allow larger energy users the opportunity to shop for their power in a competitive market. The residents and businesses in RSM deserve reliable and cost efficient power.

WATER + The unpredictability of our rainy seasons coupled with ongoing, dramatic growth, continues to challenge our limited water resources. Federally mandated reductions in Colorado river water will continue to impact the long term reliability of our water supplies in Southern Orange County. Rancho Santa Margarita is fortunate to be served by two forward thinking water districts, Santa Margarita Water District and Trabuco Canyon Water District. While the State continues to be puzzled by the need for so many of these "special districts" I believe the more talented and creative water professionals we have looking at this challenge, the better off we will be in the future. As the State and the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCOs) continue to explore ways to consolidate water districts, I would oppose such consolidations unless they could truly prove a long-term, sustained cost and reliability benefit for our residents.

URBAN RUNOFF + One of the most unfortunate environmental disasters in the State is the poor health of our beaches and ocean. As a prime coastal location with a wonderful climate, its extremely sad that our beaches are so contaminated and unhealthy. Unfortunately, onerous state mandates to control urban runoff have become unreasonable and almost impossible to implement. Cities such as RSM have been place in a position to comply with these sometimes impossible demands and will need the assistance of every local agency, including water and sewer agencies, in order to respond. The residents of RSM will also be called on to provide a large part of this solution. The RSM City Council will need to craft additional guidelines and ordinances that balance the demands of the state with the needs of the community. At the end of the day, we should all be striving to improve our oceans and beaches.