Orange officials are not ready yet to place a one-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot, despite warnings of looming cuts to core services like public safety and projections of a $20 million budget shortfall.
It’s not the first time city council members have hesitated to put a tax increase before voters as they continue to grapple with how to address a longtime structural budget deficit they say has been passed down by their predecessors.
In 2024, city council members went back and forth struggling to get consensus on a proposed sales tax increase before deciding in the 11th hour to place a 0.5% sales tax measure that ultimately failed…