Orange voters are likely going to be asked if they are willing to pay more in sales taxes and if visitors should pay more in taxes for staying at local hotels as budget cuts loom amid a projected $20 million deficit going into the summer.
A majority of elected officials in the historic town also publicly directed staff to further explore legalizing cannabis stores in a limited capacity and increasing and modernizing business license taxes in the city in the future.
Last month, city council members initially held off on moving forward with placing a one-cent tax increase on the November ballot as they keep struggling to quell a longtime structural deficit that, if not addressed, threatens to lead to deeper cuts to core city services…