Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/category/cities/placentia/)
Seven OC cities are asking voters for tax increases in November, including increases to sales, business license and hotel bed taxes. Cities say they’re desperate for more revenue as growing pension debt and other factors drive up expenses.
Orange County is on track to form a regional agency to build housing units aimed at helping curb the growing homeless crisis after Gov. Jerry Brown signed key legislation Tuesday.
Garden Grove city leaders are considering merging their fire department with the Orange County Fire Authority, a move aimed at cutting costs as the city faces a growing budget crisis and discusses a possible sales tax increase.
The Irvine City Council voted to tell the Orange County Fire Authority it may withdraw from the agency, part of a long-running dispute between Irvine and the Fire Authority over the city’s disproportionately large property tax contributions compared to the services it receives.
The election saw OC voters eliminating the Democrats’ supermajority in the state Senate; setting up competitive runoff elections for four Republican-held congressional districts and 4th District county supervisor; and delivering the first runoff elections for district attorney and sheriff in more than a quarter century.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter two months ago called on south county cities to identify and develop additional shelter beds, and gave them until Wednesday to identify locations.
Unofficial election results show all contested seats could be a Republican against a Democrat in the Orange County Congressional races.
The latest results show Shaw slightly ahead of Democrats Doug Chaffee and Joe Kerr, with Shaw at 21.0 percent, Chaffee at 20.6 percent, and Kerr at 20.0 percent.
His replacement appears to be Republican former Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang. Both major political parties focused heavily on their sides of recall effort.
State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) faced a Republican-led recall effort focused on his vote last year to increase California’s gas tax and vehicle fees. The effort is part of a battle over whether Democrats will have a supermajority in the state Legislature.