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Board weighs hiring freeze and project delays to avoid raising general fund rate
Summary
Supervisors discussed options to fund the proposed FY26 budget while avoiding a general-fund tax-rate increase, including a 12-month hiring freeze on new positions and delaying building roof projects; staff outlined fund-balance usage and timing for further budget decisions.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors spent the bulk of a work session discussing ways to fund the proposed FY26 budget without raising the county's general-fund tax rate above the equalized level.
Board members and staff outlined a set of possible adjustments to bridge a roughly one-cent gap between the equalized general-fund rate (47¢) and the proposed general-fund rate (48¢) in the draft budget. Suggestions included a 12-month hiring freeze on new positions (distinct from filling existing vacancies), delaying selected capital projects (notably roofs on county buildings and Booster Park), and a midyear review to reassess priorities if revenue performance improves.
County staff said the general-fund equalized rate after reassessment is 47¢ and that the draft budget would require 48¢ to fully fund current proposals.…
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