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Public comments seek Brown Act awareness; resident alleges 7,257 parcels wrongly billed for street sweeping
Summary
In public comment, Greg Arrowsmith urged the council to display and publish the California Brown Act; John Nelson said an audit found 7,257 City parcels allegedly not entitled to street‑sweeping service under Proposition 218 and estimated roughly $1.3 million in potentially improper charges; council did not take immediate action but discussed enforcement and revenue modeling later in the budget session.
Three members of the public addressed the council during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Greg Arrowsmith began by summarizing the California Brown Act of 1953 and urged the city to post the statute on lobby walls and on the city website to educate taxpayers, saying his purpose was "to inform and educate the taxpaying citizens the right about the act." John Nelson, identified on the record as chairman of the Committee for Transparent City of Orange, said his group had completed a parcel count and "found 7,257 parcels within the City Of Orange [that] should not be paying for street sweeping," which he estimated represented "about $1,300,000 of revenue" he said CR&R and the City "does not deserve." Sean Chavarria invited council and nonprofits to the Rotary Club’s 51st William G. Steiner Memorial Police and Firefighters luncheon (May 1).
Why it matters: the Brown Act reminder is a procedural call for greater transparency; Nelson’s claim, if verified, could affect rate structures, billing and CR&R contract calculations. Council did not take action on the claim during public comment. Later in the budget discussion council and staff addressed street‑sweeping enforcement and the assumptions used to forecast parking and citation revenue; staff estimated vehicle/parking citations for FY26 at about $1.6 million but did not commit on Nelson’s parcel audit during the meeting.
What happens next: no formal staff investigation was recorded in the public portion of this meeting; council requested more detail on street‑sweeping and citation revenues in follow‑up budget work.
