Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Runagi told Fair Game Laguna Beach listeners that county programs and funding play a key role in local public safety and community services.

"A perfect example of where the county can come in" is the installation of helipod filling stations, Mayor Alex Runagi said, crediting those stations and fuel-modification plans with helping during the July Rancho fire by enabling faster water deployment to aircraft.

Foley described the countys budget constraints and how funds flow to cities. "We have a $10,800,000,000 budget ... 88% of our budget comes from federal and state funding," she said, adding that only a limited portion of the total (she cited about $128,000,000) is discretionary and available for county-directed initiatives.

Those constraints, Foley said, shape how the county partners with cities. She described efforts to expand helipods up and down the high fire-risk corridor, including a planned helipod in San Clemente she said she has agreed to fund, while also warning about difficulties coordinating with Caltrans on projects such as Laguna Canyon Road.

Foley and the hosts also highlighted the county-run Laguna Beach Library and a broader "library of things" program the county launched with a state grant. Foley described the program as a way to expand access to nonbook items for short-term use: "You can just borrow the mixer from the library and make your cookies for the holidays and then turn it back in," she said, listing other items from shovels to games that the program makes available.

Runagi said the county often fills public-safety gaps that cities cannot: "...the helipod filling stations that [Foley] worked with [a local water district] and OCFA to install ... that really is a perfect example of where the county can come in and where Supervisor Foley has been instrumental in really supporting the city of Laguna Beach." He emphasized coordination after the Rancho fire as an instance of those systems working.

Foley said the countys role is not only core services but also programs that improve daily life. "Sometimes the role of government isnt just to, like, fix potholes ... Sometimes it's also fun stuff to make your life better, like the library of things," she said.

The officials encouraged continued collaboration among city, county and state agencies, and Foley said her office assigns district representatives to attend city council and community meetings to ensure local concerns are escalated to county departments.

Next steps mentioned on the program included Foleys planned support for library improvements and the San Clemente helipod; both, she acknowledged, require further coordination with other agencies and available discretionary funds.

(Reporting based on a Fair Game Laguna Beach interview; no formal votes or ordinances were discussed during the segment.)