Orange council majority stalls sales tax vote as budget deficit drags on

Orange's City Council majority declined to advance a sales tax ballot measure at an April 28 meeting, leaving the city's structural budget deficit without a clear resolution path, according to a Voice of OC opinion piece published Tuesday.

The standoff puts Orange at risk of missing a July 2026 ballot submission deadline while the city's understaffed police and fire departments continue to lose experienced personnel to higher-paying neighboring agencies.

Mayor Dan Slater and Councilmember Jon Dumitru were prepared to place a sales tax measure before voters at the April 28 session, Voice of OC reported. The council majority instead floated alternatives — among them a property tax, franchise fees, a cannabis retail licensing program and a sale of the city's water utility — or called for further study rather than a vote.

In a May 12 opinion piece, Orange resident Reggie Mundekis, who regularly attends council meetings, argued the alternatives were poorly conceived. A parking-structure tax, Mundekis wrote according to Voice of OC, would fall disproportionately on Chapman University and area hospitals. Selling the water utility to a private operator, the piece noted, could push water costs two to four times above current rates.

Orange has struggled to retain experienced police officers and firefighters, Voice of OC reported. The city's pay scales trail those of neighboring jurisdictions, making Orange a de facto training ground: personnel gain credentials there, then move to agencies offering higher wages — leaving the force with less experience to draw on when responding to public safety calls.

The structural deficit debate first surfaced in 2025, when a sales tax measure was proposed but did not advance. Two budget sessions in 2026 have again confirmed, according to Voice of OC, that spending cuts alone cannot close the gap.

Mundekis argued Orange should pursue a combination of measures: a sales tax as the largest available revenue source, a higher transient occupancy tax to bring the city in line with other Orange County cities, and approval for a limited number of regulated cannabis dispensaries, Voice of OC reported.

The July 2026 deadline for ballot measure submissions leaves the council little time to reach a consensus before the window for a November election vote closes.