Adelanto officials say disincorporation last resort

ADELANTO — Adelanto’s recent financial woes, which are pushing city officials toward a bankruptcy filing, have led many residents to question what’s next for the small High Desert city.

While the bankruptcy process would be lengthy and leave the city of 32,226 residents at the mercy of a bankruptcy court judge, local officials have been nearly mute about the possibility of disincorporating — a process that would dissolve the city and hand the community’s local government duties back to San Bernardino County.

Residents are expected to vote on a 7.95 percent utility-user tax in November. If approved, the tax would apply to electricity, gas, communication services, water, sewer and cable in order to alleviate the city’s $2.6 million deficit.

Adelanto Mayor Cari Thomas was asked if she would support the disincorporation process.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I don’t think anybody in city government is in favor of it, in my opinion. I have no desire to live in a service-county area. I think the amount of services we would receive from the county would be so slim — it would be detrimental to our community.”

If the city were to disincorporate, the county Board of Supervisors would be responsible for “winding up the affairs of the former city,” according to a legal paper entitled, “Municipal Disincorporation in California,” by John H. Knox and Chris Hutchison.

Thomas believes the county is “not really in the business of providing city services.”

“I don’t know if we would ever see them up here,” Thomas said.

Under the Cortese-Knox Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985, a Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, in each county must oversee proposed changes of an organization or city.

Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, executive officer of the LAFCO for San Bernardino County, said Adelanto’s incorporation in 1970 wasn’t without controversy. She said LAFCO staff’s original recommendation opposed it.

“The recommendation of the staff at the time was for the incorporation to be denied,” Rollings-McDonald said, “because they didn’t have enough money to provide the services that a city typically provides.”

The commission in 1970 is believed to have been influenced by local officials, Rollings-McDonald said. The commission ignored the staff recommendation and approved the application. In a public vote on Dec. 15, 1970, residents voted 194-121 in favor of incorporation.

According to Rollings-McDonald in her presentation entitled, “The Possibility of a Vanishing City,” disincorporation arises for three reasons: Large, unmanageable debts, political dysfunction or corruption, or — like in Adelanto’s case — an unsustainable fiscal situation such as increasing labor costs and a loss of an economic base.

“In 2009, we did a services review for the city of Adelanto and outlined our questions regarding financial viability and questioned their ability to continue,” Rollings-McDonald said. “We went through all the financial constraints they were operating under. They have been in this financial position, in my opinion, for quite some time.”

In California’s history, 17 cities have disincorporated, including Long Beach, Pismo Beach and Stanton. Each of those three eventually re-incorporated. Jurupa Valley in Riverside County is currently in the process of disincorporating.

Some Adelanto residents support the idea.

“I think as a resident of Adelanto we’d be better off disincorporating and having the county take over,” said Daniel Penafiel, 28. “I believe we’d get more services. I don’t think we’d get any less than we already have.”

In June, Adelanto made drastic cuts to its general fund budget while declaring a fiscal emergency. City staff eliminated $2.5 million in expenses, including 23 percent of the city’s workforce. In addition, San Bernardino County public safety contracts were reduced by closing a fire station and cutting staffing levels on all shifts, and reducing the sheriff’s contract by axing administrative staff and a gang officer. The city also cut more than a half-million dollars in operational and capital budgets from various departments that offer public services.

“This impact potentially affects the quality of essential services such as neighborhood police patrols, crime and gang prevention, 911 response times, and improvements to parks, streets, and roads,” according to the city’s resolution to declare a fiscal emergency on its website, www.ci.adelanto.ca.us.

To disincorporate, a city may choose one of two paths. The first is to petition LAFCO. The second option is with a “resolution of application” adopted by any “affected local agency,” for example, a city. That would require the approval of the state Legislature and Governor.

“You have to try all opportunities,” said Adelanto City Manager Jim Hart. “Under the law, there’s nothing that says you have to disincorporate. That just becomes something the community has to decide at some point in time. But we wouldn’t take that to the community until we have exhausted every opportunity.”

Adelanto’s current options include putting a tax measure on the ballot, as the city is currently doing. Rollings-McDonald said some Adelanto residents already saw 200- to 300 percent increases to water and sewer rates in 2009.

“Can the citizens really afford that?” Rollings-McDonald asked about the proposed utility-user tax. “That’s not a question I can answer.”

If the city disincorporates, any potential taxes to be levied by the county would require voter approval. However, LAFCO can require voter approval of the taxes as a condition of approving the disincorporation proposal in the first place.

Adelanto Elementary School District Board President Elaine Gonzales said she is unsure how either outcome would impact residents.

“Of course I want to see Adelanto come out of the (fiscal crisis),” Gonzales said. “I don’t want to see any community suffer that way.”

Gonzales said when the school district was in a similarly dire financial situation several years ago, she couldn’t imagine the possibility of “bureaucrats” coming in to make community-based decisions.

“We know what’s best for our community, our families,” Gonzales said.

Brooke Self may be reached at 760-951-6232 or BSelf@VVDailyPress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSelf or @DPEduNews.