Board weighs hiring freeze and project delays to avoid raising general fund rate

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. Staff estimated available fund balance and reserves that could be used: the proposed budget assumes using $3,159,008.42 of fund balance plus $250,000 for water-impoundment costs that might be reimbursed, and staff told the board about roughly $3.7 million available for appropriation without tapping the county's policy reserve.

One supervisor suggested a 12-month hiring freeze on new positions to save money; staff noted the proposed budget includes approximately $219,000 in new-position costs in the general fund (with an additional $203,000 of new-position cost in the fire and EMS fund) and about $144,630 in positions funded from the landfill fund transfer. Proponents of the hiring-freeze idea estimated that not creating new positions for 12 months would bring the budget closer to the equalized rate, though speakers cautioned that the proposal could be unpopular with some departments.

Stephanie (county facilities staff) briefed the board on the county's roof projects and said recent temporary repairs and patching on the Booster Park roof and on the Gordon and Grimes building roofs have reduced immediate risk; she said Booster Park (about $120,000) and the courthouse/community-development roofs (about $190,000) could be postponed for a year or two if necessary, adding that longer deferrals would risk further deterioration. She told the board that pushing those two projects into next year would free roughly $310,000 in the current CIP column.

Board members discussed policy trade-offs: whether to hold the general-fund rate to the equalized 47¢, to accept a 48¢ proposed rate, or to rely more heavily on fund balance (staff noted the county maintains a 15% policy reserve plus an additional 3% stability set-aside). Several supervisors said they preferred not to raise the general fund rate this year and supported measures to narrow the gap through cuts or temporary freezes.

Staff reminded the board of the schedule for public engagement: a tax-rate/reassessment public hearing and a separate budget hearing will provide citizen input; the board may amend the budget after those hearings before final adoption. The work session closed with staff saying they would proceed with advertising the rates and that the board had several weeks to refine options before adoption.

The board did not adopt final budget changes at the work session; members asked staff for follow-up materials and reserved time for additional budget discussion after the scheduled public hearings.