Citrus College, the oldest community college in Los Angeles County, is in need of a little refurbishment, modernization, a building or two.

That's why officials are going to the people, for the first time in its history, seeking $121 million in bond financing through ballot Measure G.

Sounds like a lot of money, but in terms of cost per property owner in the district that encompasses Duarte, Monrovia, Bradbury, Azusa, Glendora, Claremont and the Charter Oak area of Covina, the cost works out to an annual price tag of about $25 per $100,000 of assessed value. These days, that's a pretty low cost to maintain a first-rate community facility that not only prepares folks for the workplace but gives them a leg up on a university degree.

Increasingly, the state's community college system is the only avenue for many seeking a college degree as UC and CSU schools lock them out through higher tuition and admission standards and limited enrollment.

According to bond proponents, 30 percent of UC grads started their college careers at community colleges. Some 60 percent of Cal State grads transferred from the two-year institutions. Too, these workhorses of the California higher education system retrain workers for high- paying jobs in an increasingly technology-based workplace.

So what will property owners receive for their $50 to $75 per year tax increase? First, a boost in property value as the Citrus campus enlarges and improves existing facilities to accommodate increased enrollment and creates cutting-edge health science and technology labs.

Without Measure G funds to expand classrooms to accommodate increasing enrollment, more area residents will continue to lose out on higher education. Now, the college must turn away interested students in popular but impacted nursing, public health and safety programs.

Prudent fiscal management has allowed the college to maintain existing facilities but like many of the community colleges in the area, aging wiring and plumbing now need replacement. The college has even managed to construct additional facilities over the years including a state-of-the-art performing arts center, but the state now requires local matching funds before parceling out limited funds.

Voters can expect modernization and construction under Measure G to stand the college and area students in good stead for at least 50 or more years. Citrus' fiscal track record since its founding in 1915 recommends the measure's passage on Tuesday's ballot.