City leaders say the clean water act could benefit local water cleanup efforts. Opponents say the state can’t afford the debt that would be incurred by 84.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
Supporters say Proposition 84, the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Act, if passed on Nov. 7, would allocate almost $5.4 billion in bond funds to ensure safe drinking water, preserve natural California landscapes, including lakes, bays and coastlines, and shore up central California levees to avoid a New Orleans-type disaster in the event of floods.
They say all resources would be disbursed with tight fiscal accountability provisions, such as independent yearly audits and a citizen’s oversight committee, and will be funded without raising general taxes. Gov. Schwarzenegger has endorsed this initiative, along with dozens of civic and labor organizations, state government entities, elected officials and every coastal and ocean advocate on the map.
So what’s not to like about Prop 84?
Plenty, say opponents to the measure, including members of the California State Board of Equalization, a governmental office charged with the public duty of taxation oversight, and various tax-averse groups like Americans for Tax Reform and the National Tax Limitation Committee.
Tom Hudson is the executive director of the California Taxpayer Protection Committee.
“We can’t afford it,” he said of the proposition. “At our current bond rates, with legislative analysts presenting the rosiest projections, we are still looking at $350 million a year, just on debt service for this particular bond.”
Hudson said the state cannot accommodate the extra burden.
“We are currently running a deficit of $3 billion to $5 billion. Paying for this bond will bring it up to $5 billion to $7 billion at least.”
Prop 84’s allocations would be spread amongst various statewide water projects, including grants to ensure safe drinking water, millions for flood control, almost a billion dollars for protection of rivers and lakes, half a billion for wildlife and forest conservation and more than a half billion for beaches, bay and coastal protection. Proponents of the initiative say that Prop 84 will bring federal matching funds to the state and that fiscal oversight will be strictly observed.
“Not good enough,” Hudson argued. “California is looking at its worst fiscal picture of the last 150 years. The problem with overburdening us with more debt is that a state cannot get federal debt relief, as individuals can in bankruptcy court. We need some breathing space.”
When reminded that Schwarzenegger has come out strongly for the initiative, Hudson puts it down to political posturing.
“The governor’s own chief of staff has said that the only way to pay for such debt is through massive cuts in spending. But, of c ourse, he won’t say exactly where those cuts will come from.”
But Hudson says his biggest problem with Prop 84 is that funds collected from all California residents will be allocated to benefit the few.
“If local communities want parks and streams cleaned up, they should seek funding at a municipal bond level.”
Local community benefit is exactly what appeals to Jim Thorsen, Malibu city manager.
“We are hoping to see water quality projects like Legacy Park funded through an integrated regional water management plan,” he said. “This will go a long way in cleaning up Surfrider Beach and the lagoon.”
For Mayor Ken Kearsley, it is a matter of priorities.
“Cleaning up our water is one, if not the, biggest issue facing us today,” he said. “It is easy to pollute, but very difficult to clean up that mess. And even rats don’t dirty their own nests.”
Noting that Malibu Surfrider Beach saw 131 days of “unacceptably high” bacterial contamination in 2003, he said, “We have to clean up our watersheds. This is why the city is already planning a $5 million water treatment plant near our Civic Center.”
When the dangers of unmanageable debt cited by the members of the Board of Equalization were pointed out, the mayor was dismissive.
“They’re a bunch of bean counters up in Sacramento,” he said. “We can’t afford not to clean up the beaches. We’ve got to think about our heritage… what we are leaving to our children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
“The bean counters will be on the wrong side of the grass by then. When you come down to it, you have to ask yourself at the end of it all, ‘Have we left this world a better place than we found it?'”