After narrowly agreeing to ask voters to raise taxes later this year, City of Orange officials may not be done making cuts to public services as they continue to face a deficit that’s millions of dollars deep.
For a couple months now, Orange officials have publicly struggled to make tough decisions to tackle what started out as a whooping $19 million budget deficit.
But since the middle of May, city leaders have been able to bring that deficit down to about $8 million by creating new revenue streams including upping parking enforcement on residents – a move that is expected to generate up to $10 million over five years.
They have also shrunk the deficit by cutting a series of hiring freezes and delaying critical maintenance projects, like roads and parks.
Leaving Police Slots Vacant
Next up potentially on the chopping block: six police department vacancies worth a million dollars as well as over $400,000 worth of spending on community events like concerts in the park and the annual tree lighting ceremony, according to a staff report.
Under the current police budget that provides 170 police positions there are six slots that have been left unfilled for some time.
City officials now want to consider adjusting the budget down to reflect current staffing levels – something that’s divided the city council.
Some officials like Mayor Dan Slater, Councilmembers Kathy Tavoularis and Jon Dumitru have previously pushed back on that approach.
“To me, policing in the city is paramount,” Slater said. “Our citizens want it. We want safe neighborhoods. Our businesses want it. We approved 170 positions, I do not want to see us dropping below that number.”
Orange Police Chief Dan Adams said at the May 28 meeting 164 officers is the most the department has had on payroll.
“We’re talking about protecting officers that haven’t even been hired so that’s where it gets a little tricky,” said Councilman Denis Bilodeau at the meeting.
Councilman John Gyllenhammer said at the May 28 meeting the city is out of options.
“If we go forward deciding that there won’t be a hiring freeze or an allowed vacancy rate within these departments, we’re accepting a significant budget deficit,” he said about not cutting police and fire vacancies.
[Read: Can Orange Leaders Make The Hard Choices To Tame a Looming $19M Budget Deficit?]
The debate was supposed to continue last week but City Manager Tom Kisela asked for the discussion of $1.4 millions worth of cuts to be pulled off the agenda that if approved would shrink the budget deficit down to $6.6 million.
“We have some additional work to do,” he said.
In a Wednesday phone call, City Spokeswoman Charlene Cheng confirmed the item was expected to come back to the council at an unspecified later date.
Taxes & Generating Revenue
Cutting six police department vacancies and special event spending isn’t the only idea officials have publicly floated to address the deficit since May.
At the end of June, city council members narrowly voted at a special meeting to put a 0.5% sales tax measure on the November ballot that – if approved by voters – would sunset in 10 years and generate $20 million annually to help with budget woes.
[Read: Orange Asks Voters to Raise Taxes To Bail Out City Budget]
They are not the only city in OC where officials are looking at taxes to bring in more revenue.
Last week, officials in Seal Beach and Buena Park discussed putting sales tax measures on the November ballot while Laguna Beach officials discussed potentially asking voters to increase hotel bed taxes in the coastal city.
Orange officials are also contemplating other ways to address the deficit.
City council members have also called for implementing an over-enrollment penalty on Chapman University, as well as a fee charged for use of police and fire services on campus as well as discussing ways to entice Hollywood filmmakers to produce movies in the city.
Councilwoman Ana Gutierrez has called on her colleagues to cut their stipends and benefits but no such discussion has taken place thus far.
Will Donations Save City Events?
At the same meeting, council members also directed staff to come back with ways nonprofits, local foundations and or residents could step in and fund community events like Treats in the Streets.
Gyllenhammer, who brought forth the discussion, said residents who want to help save local community events should be allowed to do so.
“My intention behind this is I want Orange residents who care, who are well intentioned, that want to take ownership in a space and come forward with whatever they’re able to contribute, to be able to do that,” he said.
City Manager Kisela pushed back on the city directly accepting donations to fund city run community events and said it would tie up staff time.
“We are the city, we’re not in the fundraising business,” he said. “I don’t like the city taking money in this manner. I think it becomes very problematic if somebody gives us $200 for an event – number one, what happens if the event doesn’t go forward?”
Gyllenhammer suggested that perhaps the Community Foundation of Orange could take the small donations for local events and then give the aggregate amount to the city to fund them.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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