GOVERNMENT WATCH : Bonds and Public Faith

In these difficult economic times, it is tough to persuade voters to ante up for a bond issue for new schools, new police stations or even a bankruptcy bailout. So one thing is certain: When a bond sales pitch is successful, those in charge of the funding had better deliver.

Here’s one example of the consequences of not delivering. In 1920, the residents of Garden Grove, concerned about public health, approved a bond issue to connect them to a sewer project in Anaheim and Santa Ana. The bond money ran out too soon. The city had to levy a tax to cover the shortfall. And three of the sanitary district trustees who had favored the bond issue were ousted in a recall election.

That should be a reminder to the Los Angeles officials who sold the public on the 1989 Fire Life Safety Fund bond issue, not to mention those folks who might have done a better job of monitoring the spending.

The goal was to prevent catastrophic fires in major city-owned buildings. The means: a $65-million bond issue for adding sprinkler systems to six public buildings. The result: sprinklers installed in one building. The problem: The money ran out. The analysis of one city official: “It may be the clearest example of how our performance doesn’t meet what our promises are.” The proposed solution: take some money from another bond issue. Of course. The result of all this: Structures like City Hall East and Parker Center may never get sprinklers.

And you wonder why it’s tough to pass a bond issue in this town.