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Orange County staff kicks off strategic financial plan update as supervisors complain about short notice
Summary
County staff presented draft strategic priorities for an updated five-year financial plan; several supervisors said they learned of the special workshop only at the last minute and urged a slower, more collaborative process; staff will hold individual briefings and return with a one-page summary for adoption later.
Orange County staff opened a special workshop on Sept. 3 to gather feedback on updating the countys 2012 strategic priorities, but several supervisors objected to the meeting format and short notice.
Webster (Committee member) said the process felt "fundamentally flawed," asserting that supervisors received the packet and were asked to react with little time to prepare. "I found out only yesterday that it was a board meeting and that we were gonna do this whole big dog and pony show," Webster said, urging the board to "air it in public and have a discussion" before any adoption.
Staff framed the session as a kickoff, not a decision-making meeting. Michelle (Speaker 3) said the presentation was intended to start a multi-month process to update the countys strategic financial plan and that departments would use the boards feedback as direction for a formal December presentation. "This is our starting point," she said, adding staff will schedule one-on-one briefings with each supervisor to collect more detailed input.
The draft priorities presented by staff included maintaining a structurally balanced budget and industry-standard reserves; investing in essential infrastructure (capital projects, IT and real estate); advancing key initiatives such as OC Cares, a master plan for aging and housing strategy; and becoming an "employer of choice" through succession planning and workforce investment.
Several supervisors said the packet looked like staffs priorities rather than board-originated ones and asked for more time to digest specifics. One supervisor recommended breaking the work into individual briefings rather than seeking substantive direction on the spot.
Staff said no action was being requested at the workshop. The next procedural step is for staff to hold individual office briefings, produce a one-page summary of the revised priorities and then incorporate feedback into the countys strategic financial plan for formal consideration later this year.
