Why is voter registration down significantly in Yorba Linda this year? Is politics too negative?

What's behind the mystery of the missing voters in Yorba Linda?

Are adult-age residents turned off by ever-increasing negative campaigning, as some academic studies suggest, or are they under the mistaken impression they can avoid jury duty if they don't register to vote?

Whatever the reason, the decline of registered voters and election turnout is significant in this community, as evidenced by the number of residents who sign-up to vote and who cast ballots.

Here's the data: An all-time high of 45,494 Yorba Lindans were registered to vote in the 2012 Presidential election, and 35,164 actually cast ballots. That dropped to 39,863 registrants for this year's June primary – despite an increase in population – with only 20,658 casting ballots.

The same is true for Yorba Linda's two county islands, Fairlynn and Country Club, which had 1,682 registered voters in November 2012, declining to 1,457 for this June's primary election.

Of course, voter participation always is less for a primary ballot than a general election, but a drop of more than 5,000 of Yorba Linda's registered voters over four years can't be explained by the usual reasons the county Registrar of Voters offers for voter roll changes.

Aside from normal fluctuations due to moves into or out of the city and adding new 18-year-olds and dropping deceased residents, officials remove from the registration list individuals who do not respond to inquiries after missing two consecutive general elections.

Registration has picked up a bit since the primary, with 284 voters added in seven weeks for a 40,147 total. The 2012 jump between the primary and general elections was 1,902; but the 2014 cycle saw a drop of 545 voters from June to November.

Last day to register to vote Nov. 8 is Oct. 24.

Meanwhile, filing for City Council, water board and school trustee positions scheduled for the November ballot continues through Aug. 12, extended to Aug. 17 if an incumbent doesn't file.

Twenty-four-year Yorba Linda Water District director Mike Beverage said he won't seek a new term, but 12-year director Ric Collett filed his declaration of candidacy July 21 for an election expected to be the most hard-fought in the district's 57 years as a public agency.

Beverage is the city's third longest-serving elected official at 28 years, including his 1982-86 council stint. Only Paul Armstrong, with 41 years (13 on the old Yorba Linda elementary school board and 28 on the water board), and Hank Wedaa, with 30 council years, served longer. School trustee Karin Freeman will have 29 years when her current term ends in 2018.

Most of the water district's voters are Yorba Lindans, but the territory includes parts of three other cities and county islands. The most recent registration breakdown is from 2010: Yorba Linda, 41,489; Placentia, 4,626; Anaheim, 457; Brea, 137; two Yorba Linda county islands, 891; East Placentia county island, 632.

AP, IB scores set records in Placentia-Yorba Linda schools; Mello-Roos tax areas hit mid-mark point

Another record year for hundreds of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students at Placentia-Yorba Linda public high schools and a milestone of sorts for property owners who pay Mello-Roos taxes to the school district are topics for this week's column.

First, a highest-ever number of 3,890 Advanced Placement examinations in 25 subject areas were administered to 9th through 12^th grade students at the four comprehensive high schools in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District in May.

And the just-released results show passing scores of three or higher on a five-point scale were achieved by 83 percent of the students district-wide. Individual universities establish their own criteria for awarding credits for AP classes taken at the nation's high schools.

The number of three-hour examinations administered and rounded-off pass percentages at district campuses were 707 and 75 percent at El Dorado; 646 and 80 percent at Esperanza; 1,469 and 86 percent at Valencia; and 1,068 and 87 percent at Yorba Linda.

California's statewide pass rates for some 370,000 tests hover at about 64 percent, while the global pass rates for close to 4.5 million exams are about 61 percent on a year-to-year basis.

The International Baccalaureate program at Valencia High School also reported stellar results on 471 examinations administered in 19 subject areas, coordinator Fred Jenkins noted. The school's pass rate was 96 percent, based on scores of four or higher on a seven-point scale.

Sixty-four students earned the rigorous IB full diploma, up from 41 granted last year. The IB program has awarded about 1.3 million full diplomas in some 140 countries since 1968.

Second, property owners in Yorba Linda's only Mello-Roos taxing area – formally called a Community Facilities District – will reach the halfway point when they pay this fiscal year's property tax bills, with only 15 more years to pay off a $5.5 million bond sale from 2002.

The extra cash goes to the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district, which sold the bonds to raise dollars for capital projects needed to provide facilities for new enrollment generated by residential housing construction. Trustees approved this year's special taxes July 12.

The lone taxing district consists of 293 Pulte homes located on the north and south sides of Bastanchury Road, west of Fairmont Boulevard. Owners pay additional taxes, ranging from

$1,603 to $2,613 yearly, based on square footage, for an annual total of just over $562,000.

A 22-page agreement signed with Pulte in 2002 set the annual tax at $3.50 per square foot for each residence.

The state has allowed Mello-Roos districts to fund public improvements with five or more years of useful life since 1982 to help replace tax losses due to Proposition 13 passing in 1978. A two-thirds vote is needed to form a district, but most are established when the property is owned by the developer.

Higher-than-expected tax revenues signal continuing recovery path for Yorba Linda

Yorba Linda in 2016 continues on a strong recovery path from the 2009 low-point of the Great Recession, with even better economic news forecast for the coming year, as reliably measured by the higher-than-expected income the city is receiving in property and sales tax revenue.

Other income from fees and charges related to the city's economic activity is also more than was estimated when a two-year budget was adopted by the City Council in September 2015.

That's the takeaway from a report Finance Director Scott Catlett presented at a recent council meeting. Also, Catlett indicated he'd be back to the governing body with recommendations for updating the city's “user fees,” noting “significant increases are anticipated in some fees.”

Here are some highlights from Catlett's 11-page report:

--For the just-completed fiscal year, sales taxes led the list of revenues that increased over the amounts estimated several months previously, bringing in $803,000 more than predicted. The income from property taxes was $553,000 higher than expected.

Franchise taxes, the dollars residents pay on utilities, including cable television, brought in an extra $209,000, and engineering fees, charges and permits added $197,000 more to receipts.

Only permits issued for building activity brought in less than estimated, with a $766,000 drop, due to several projects assumed to be ready “not yet moving through the permitting process.”

For the fiscal year that started July 1, property tax revenue is expected to be $17.3 million, an increase of another $885,290, and sales taxes are anticipated to total nearly $7.4 million, with an additional $410,407 increase.

The city's reserve fund is projected to total $25 million on June 30, 2017, about 80 percent of a typical year's operating budget.

--Usually, the city budgets $100,000 yearly to pay workers compensation claims outstanding from the time Brea provided the city's police services. However, claims in 2015-16 jumped to

$365,000 due to the settlement of two cases.

After several conversations with Brea officials, Catlett reported the city has “gathered data regarding the remaining liability and expected cash flows in future years.” He added, “The

current estimated workers compensation liability amounts to $1.3 million (for 22 open cases).”

--User fees and charges residents pay to the city or through contractors for city services haven't been updated in many cases since 2005, and a 2013 review was delayed due to staff turnover and a need to conduct further analysis.

Now, Catlett plans to recommend “appropriate, and as needed gradual, increases to fees to bring cost recovery levels up to what the City Council determines to be an appropriate level.”

Catlett also plans to introduce a five-year financial plan with five years of income projections, a revised policy regarding the city's substantial reserve fund and a presentation on the city's unfunded needs.

Sheriff's costs, school matters, election details

Sheriff's costs, school matters and election details merit attention in Yorba Linda this week:

--The new cost for policing the city for a one-year period that began July 1 is $9.8 million, up 4.3 percent from last year's billings by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. However, a portion, 1.4 percent, is for salary hikes paid retroactively for the past year.

The new amount pays for 40 full-time and 12.4 part-time law enforcement personnel to serve the city, including the salary and benefit boosts after completing negotiations with four unions.

Significantly, Assistant City Manager David Christian reported a recent review shows the city has “adequate staff for now,” but “there will be a need to revisit this assessment again due to the upcoming development of Town Center, the increasing population and the steady increase in calls for service over the past three years.”

A year ago, in preparing a two-year budget for fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the city anticipated a 3 percent increase in costs, so $125,913 was added to this year's spending.

--Placentia-Yorba Linda schools ended a productive year with several honors for campuses, including Gold Ribbon School awards at 12 elementary sites (Brookhaven, Bryant Ranch, Glenknoll, Golden, Linda Vista, Mabel Paine, Morse, Rio Vista, Ruby Drive, Travis Ranch, Tynes and Van Buren).

Other honors went to Yorba Linda Middle as a model middle grades school, El Camino Real as a model continuation high school, Travis Ranch for an exemplary arts education program and Morse, Rio Vista, Ruby Drive and Tynes as Title 1 academic achieving schools.

-- A substitute teacher shortage partly due to surrounding districts offering up to $27 per day more in pay has led trustees to approve a $10 raise for substitutes at Placentia-Yorba Linda campuses.

The new daily rates will be $115 for regular classes, $120 for special education and $130 for long-term assignments.

A salary increase to $195,978 was granted Candy Plahy in her new position as Deputy Superintendent to the new Superintendent Greg Plutko. Plahy is the second-ever deputy named in the district, after the well-respected Sharon McHolland, who served 1994-2002.

--Residents planning to run for one of 11 open positions representing Yorba Linda on five local governing bodies should not wait until the end of the July 18-Aug. 12 filing period to complete the detailed paperwork to appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

Potential candidates should also note filing is extended to Aug. 17 if an incumbent eligible for re-election does not file by Aug. 12. Contenders also can provide 200-word statements to be mailed with sample ballots for a fee that varies based on the number of registered voters.

Candidates for City Council file at city hall, while contenders for school trustee and water director file at the county Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave., Building C, Santa Ana. 

Filing begins July 18 for candidates seeking 11 positions on five Yorba Linda governing boards

A four-week filing period begins July 18 for candidates seeking 11 positions representing Yorba Linda on five governmental bodies scheduled for the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

Contentious elections are expected for at least three of the public agencies, based on current political activity and recent social media postings. Spirited battles are anticipated in three City Council contests and for two director slots at the Yorba Linda Water District.

And it's possible a recall targeting water board directors Bob Kiley and Gary Melton could be added to the November ballot. Also, feisty disputes with council and water board incumbents might spill over into the usually staid school district election for Placentia-Yorba Linda trustees.

Here's a breakdown of the upcoming electoral engagements:

--Two City Council incumbents began raising funds for re-election runs several months ago, joined by Parks and Recreation Commission chair Tara Campbell for a slate, with three opponents expected to be endorsed by the one-year-old Yorba Linda Taxpayers Association.

In the race for second terms are Gene Hernandez and Craig Young, who were elected to the county Republican Central Committee last month. Young topped a 15-candidate field for six positions with 10,248 GOP votes, 4,474 from Yorba Linda. Mark Schwing is not expected to seek a sixth term.

--Two water board positions now held by 24-year director Mike Beverage and 12-year director Ric Collett will be on the ballot, with the taxpayers group expected to endorse two challengers. The 2012 and 2014 elections didn't draw opponents, so all five incumbents continued in office.

If a recall qualifies and is consolidated with the Nov. 8 ballot, the taxpayers group is expected to endorse replacement candidates. Candidates favorable to the incumbents also might file for the recall ballot, a tactic used by anti-recall forces in a failed attempt to oust two councilmen in 2014.

--Three Placentia-Yorba Linda school trustee positions now held by Judi Carmona, Carol Downey and Eric Padget are scheduled for the ballot. They were appointed to new terms

after nobody ran against them four years ago.

The usually low-key trustee contest heated up last month when two leaders of the taxpayers association posted comments on the group's Facebook page critical of Carmona, the current board president.

--Four North Orange County Community College District trustee positions are slated for the ballot, including two slots representing this city, now held by 17-year trustee Tony Ontiveros of Anaheim Hills, who represents most of the city, and appointed trustee Jacqueline Rodarte of Anaheim, who represents a tiny southwest slice of the city.

--One of four Orange County Water District positions up for election is that of 12-year director Roger Yoh of Buena Park, who represents this and four other cities on the board in charge of groundwater supplies.