Rossmoor Will Get What It Wants, Moorlach Says: a Report on Its Financials

Rossmoor community leaders are going to get exactly what they are asking for, Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach said this week.

No, Rossmoor probably won’t get to remain an unincorporated island as it has for the last 50 years and as most residents said in a recent poll that they would prefer. Rather, the county will give the community an accounting of exactly how much Rossmoor raises in taxes and how much it costs in services such as police and fire, said Moorlach. A firm is in the process of compiling a report on Rossmoor for the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, which should be ready within the next couple of weeks, said Moorlach.

At a heated meeting of the Rossmoor Community Services District Board meeting this week, officials accused Moorlach of hiding or manipulating the financials to make the case that Rossmoor is a drain on the county. The debate goes to the heart of the community’s ability to continue as an unincorporated island amid an unpopular push to merge Rossmoor with neighboring Los Alamitos.

 “If what you are saying is true, the entirety of Orange County must want to know how is it that you, Mr. CPA, Mr. Finance, would condone and actually take part in this? Did you get the taxpayers’ approval to spend their money in this fashion, or did you mismanage their money?” Shannon Hough, vice president of the Rossmoor Community Services District board of directors,  asked of Moorlach. “You show us how you have mismanaged the taxpayers of Orange County’s money.”

Along with the board’s four other members, Hough accused Moorlach of lying about Rossmoor’s cost to the county.

“It’s called, ‘let’s hide the ball,’ and you’re a big part of this whole sham, Mr. Moorlach,” added Hough. “You perpetuate this scam by your lack of transparency, lack of leadership and betrayal to the very constituency that pays your salary.”

Her four colleagues on the board echoed Hough’s frustration. The board set a June date to hold a public hearing on whether to petition the county to transfer authority of police, trash hauling and animal control to the district. The move is part of the district’s strategy to resist annexation by Los Alamitos. LAFCO commissioners, including Moorlach, have identified Rossmoor as a priority in the county’s drive to eliminate unincorporated islands. Moorlach has floated numerous suggestions for Rossmoor, although few of them are popular with residents.

He suggested merging Rossmoor with Seal Beach and Los Alamitos to form a supercity, or merging Rossmoor and Los Alamitos, since Seal Beach leaders have made it clear they want no part of a supercity. Moorlach has also proposed transferring police and animal control services for Rossmoor from the county to Los Alamitos, giving the city Rossmoor’s only commercial corner in exchange for the services. He has threatened to hold a countywide election, asking voters if residents in unincorporated islands should pay a utility users tax to cover the cost of their services. Last, he has offered to transfer police and animal control services over to the Rossmoor Community Services District if the residents volunteer to pay an 11 percent utility users tax.

All of these options have been perceived as threats to the Rossmoor way of life.

“Supervisor Moorlach, you know I’ve lost a lot of respect for you lately,” said Bill Kahlert, a board member for the Rossmoor Community Services District. “I never saw a definition of leadership that says, ‘Ignore the people you serve.’ ”

While most residents at community meetings and in last month’s voter survey have come out against a merger with Los Alamitos, residents are still divided about how to proceed.

A handful attended this week’s Rossmoor board meeting and accused community leaders of using fear tactics to grab city powers in lieu of incorporation.

It shows that the community isn’t all speaking in one voice, said Moorlach.

“The leadership of the Rossmoor Community Services District isn’t representing all the perspectives here,” he said. “They are pretty much pushing validation of what they want to do.”

Moorlach doesn’t deny the accusation that he and decades of county leaders have mismanaged taxpayer money if it’s true that Rossmoor is a drain on county coffers.

“My regret is the same as theirs. Why hasn’t someone taken care of this in the last 50 years? So that’s what I am doing,” he said. “I didn’t start this war, but I am here to get something done.”