Adopting a charter of its own could be on the horizon for the city of Orange, with councilmembers deciding this week to at least continue exploring the prospect.
In the coming weeks, councilmembers plan to weigh the pros and cons of the city being governed by a charter, essentially a local constitution. Orange is a general law city, which operates by the statutes set by state laws; becoming a charter city, councilmembers said, could give Orange more local flexibility on issues such as contracting, council terms and local elections.
“This has to do with local control,” Councilmember Kathy Tavoularis said of her decision to bring the charter discussion before her colleagues. Voters would have to approve a charter.
“We are in a fiscal emergency and we have to start doing something,” Tavoularis said.
The draft charter the council took a look at during its meeting this week outlined a section for “city assets and taxation,” which city staff said proffers “three revenue mechanisms pertinent to hotels, large parking structures and utility operators in the city.”
But some councilmembers raised concerns, saying a charter might complicate exploring future revenue avenues.
“I don’t want to be distracted by this before we talk about the budget and other options. If this is part of those other options, we need to look at them side by side,” Councilmember Arianna Barrios said, referring to future planned discussions about the city’s budget, including one regarding a potential sales tax.
The council put a half-cent local sales tax measure before voters in 2024, which was narrowly rejected.
The tax would have raised about $20 million in city revenue over each of the next 10 years, city staffers had estimated. City leaders have been addressing a budget shortfall, which is now slimmed down to about $2.6 million this fiscal year after the council approved nearly $18 million in general fund cuts.
In California, 121 of 482 cities have adopted a charter, including 10 in Orange County. Other OC cities are looking at changing to charters.
Fullerton councilmembers created an ad hoc committee last year to draft a charter for voter consideration. Laguna Beach councilmembers tasked the city’s staff with crafting the draft of a limited charter that could potentially be put before voters in November.
Fountain Valley leaders, for several months, also weighed the idea of becoming a charter city, saying the designation could give the city more leeway on state housing mandates; the council, however, recently decided to pump the brakes on putting the idea on the November ballot.
Over in Orange, however, “the council would like to continue this discussion,” Mayor Dan Slater said.