Mailer, Cable-TV Talk Support New Fee

City officials are outspent in their fight to win voter approval for a public safety services fee on the ballot next month, but the City Council is fighting back with an “informational” mailing and a cable-television discussion of the measure.

Councilman David John Shawver made his pitch for Measure B, which would raise about $2.9 million a year to pay for police and fire services, during a cable-TV taping Friday. The program will be broadcast across the city at various times on cable Channel 6.

The June 3 ballot measure is intended to replace fees expected to be invalidated by Proposition 218, a statewide measure approved by voters last November that requires voter approval for most local fees and taxes. Measure B also would repeal the city’s 5% utility tax.

Council members also voted last week to send a copy of the proposed measure to the city’s 11,200 registered voters to try to counter opposition from the Apartment Assn. of Orange County.

County apartment owners have donated more than $24,000 to defeat the measure, which they fear could become a model for other cities struggling to cope with revenue losses expected from Proposition 218.

Measure B requires two-thirds approval by Stanton voters, a requirement Shawver describes as “almost insurmountable.”

“It’s a grass-roots effort,” he said. “Our people are going from door to door.”

Measure B calls for a monthly fee of $16.88 for each residential unit; $211 for each acre of commercial or industrial property; and $57.75 for each vacant parcel. Rental housing owners object to the measure because they would be required to pay the fee for each residential unit.

But proponents warn that without the fee, the city will be forced to cut county-provided police services by one-third.

--BY DEBRA CANO AND RUSS LOAR