Apartment Group Fighting Proposed Fee

Apartment building owners and associations have contributed more than $24,000 to defeat the city’s public-safety services fee that will come before voters next month.

Councilman David John Shawver tried Tuesday night to convince members of the Apartment Assn. of Orange County that they have made a mistake.

“It’s hard for me to sit back and see money that’s coming from the outside, not even from within my community, that’s going to take away my police and fire services,” Shawver said.

The public-safety services fee, called Measure B on the city’s June 3 ballot, would replace the city’s 5% utility tax and offset projected losses from Proposition 218. Passed by state voters in November, Proposition 218 requires a two-thirds approval for most local taxes and fees and is expected to invalidate taxes and fees not approved by voters.

Measure B would provide $2.9 million for police and fire services while eliminating $2.2 million in utility taxes and lighting district assessment fees. Shawver said the city will have to cut county-provided police and fire services by one-third if the measure is not approved.

The Apartment Assn. of Orange County has created Stanton Taxpayers Against Measure B to defeat the fee, which would be paid by apartment building owners.

“One of the reasons we are opposing this is because this could be a model for other cities,” said Raymond R. Maggi, director emeritus of the county apartment association. Maggi said the city should instead raise utility user taxes and create a paramedic subscription fee and a public safety inspection fee.