In a 2023 article about the pitiful state of Fullerton’s roads, the VoiceofOC explained that “Mayor Fred Jung pointed to decades of neglect and misappropriation from previous city councils that didn’t prioritize infrastructure in one of OC’s oldest cities.” Yet despite receiving a federal COVID-19 windfall of $33 million, the city’s roads remain filled with potholes. And now the city is facing another problem involving the mistaken accounting of public funds.
The publication reported last month that the city, already facing challenging budget issues, found itself with another big funding hole after “city staff told them they erroneously accounted for over $10 million in reserves that was actually money already spent.” The city is looking at a budget deficit — and is now scrambling to come up with the cash. Fullerton’s reserves have been obliterated.
Accounting errors this large are troubling. But Jung’s solution is even more disturbing: Jung is backing a transportation tax to avoid making major service cuts. Fullerton isn’t the only city that wants to force its residents to pay more to make up for city officials’ poor spending decisions. As the Register reported, the city of Orange is facing a $19-million deficit and is looking at tax increases. Buena Park, Seal Beach and La Habra boosted taxes in 2024. Santa Ana is looking at making its “temporary” sales-tax increase permanent.
Before residents try feeling their city governments’ pain, they ought to take a look at the Transparent California database detailing what their cities currently spend on public-employee salaries. Using the latest data (2023), we find in Fullerton 50 city employees earn total pay and benefit packages of between $344,000 and $543,000. Fullerton isn’t unique, but these costs might explain why infrastructure remains underfunded.
In times of soaring inflation, it’s frustrating that cities are increasing residents’ tax burdens. City officials always give voters a Hobson’s Choice: higher taxes or the continued erosion of public services. Throw in some staff incompetence in misallocating $10 million and Fullerton residents will once again be forced to choose between those two rotten alternatives.