Among this week’s expected actions in local government will be the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ adoption of the county budget for the coming fiscal year and action by the Orange County Transportation Authority on Anaheim’s controversial streetcar project.
County supervisors plan to hold a hearing Monday and approve a total budget of $5.3 billion for fiscal year 2013-2014.
Officials have had to scramble in reaction to a court ruling that the county may no longer collect about $73 million in property tax revenue, which amounts to around 11 percent of its discretionary spending.
And efforts to recoup those funds from the state hit a snag when Gov. Jerry Brown’s office criticized Orange County supervisors for exempting their offices from an across-the-board 5-percent cut among county departments.
Supervisor Todd Spitzer then vowed to reverse his swing vote on the issue, thereby applying the cut to supervisors. The vote is expected at Monday’s meeting.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, county supervisors are set to approve their official response to a grand jury report alleging a “culture of corruption,” approve a deal to add 331 beds to Theo Lacy jail and raise fees for removing and keeping dead bodies from $318 to $371.
And OCTA directors on Monday are scheduled to move forward with a controversial taxpayer-funded streetcar project in Anaheim, whose estimated $319-million price tag was found to be higher than any of the last 11 streetcar projects proposed nationwide.
Agency directors also plan to approve $2.5 million in capital projects for Metrolink and hold back $600,000 in payments.
Here’s a rundown of what’s up for debate this week across Orange County:
Monday, June 24
Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors — 9 a.m
- Signing off on Anaheim’s streetcar project.
- OCTA’s member agency contribution to financially-troubled Metrolink.
- ACCESS paratransit service transition update.
Orange County Board of Supervisors Special Meeting —12:30 p.m.
- Approve changes and adopt fiscal year 2014 budget.
Closed Session
- Labor negotiations with numerous employee groups.
Laguna Niguel City Council — 1:30 p.m.
- Evaluating the performance of the police chief.
San Clemente City Council — 6 p.m.
- Interviewing and appointing candidates to the Planning Commission, Coastal Advisory Committee and Investment Advisory Committee.
Tuesday, June 25
Orange County Board of Supervisors — 9:30 a.m.
- Approving an agreement with the Orange County Sports Foundation for the aquatics-ice complex at the Regional Park at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin.
- Approving a $100,000 per-year membership to the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority.
- Selecting Navex Global to provide online Equal Employment training for the County’s approximately 13,500 nonmanagement-supervisory staff.
- Awarding a $3.1-million per year contract to the New Irvine Ranch Conservancy for land management services at the Irvine Ranch Open Space.
- Approving a contract amendment with the city of Orange that allows the county to add 331 beds to the Theo Lacy jail, with the city receiving 3 percent of revenue from the federal immigration detainee contract.
- Approving official response to the grand jury report “A Call for Ethical Standards: Corruption in Orange County.”
- Increasing the fee for removing and keeping a dead body by 17 percent, from $318 to $371.
Irvine City Council — 4 p.m.
- Moving the offices of Orange County Great Park to a park location.
- Housing needs for the developmentally disabled.
- Proposed plan for addressing the city’s unfunded liability.
San Clemente City Council — 6 p.m.
- Interviewing and appoint candidates to the Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission, Human Affairs Committee and Golf Course Committee.
Wednesday, June 26
Rancho Santa Margarita City Council — 7 p.m.
- Approving the fiscal year 2013-14 law enforcement services contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for $7.4 million.
Adam Elmahrek and Brendan Wiles contributed to this report.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda.