Santa Ana officials are expected to slash a host of city commissions as they move to close a $13 million budget gap heading into July.
According to the city’s proposed budget, elimination of non-mandated boards and commissions will save over $38,000 as officials make several spending cuts to quell a $13 million budget gap.
The proposed cuts come as officials in the heart of OC mull over a proposed ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would make Measure X, their 2018 sales tax increase, indefinite.
At their 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, city council members are expected to finalize the adoption of their budget and to cut five city commissions including the Youth Commission, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission and the Arts and Culture Commission.
Officials are also looking to cut the Historic Resources Commission – which makes recommendations on historical buildings – and the Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commission that makes recommendations on public trees.
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez said the council could always bring back the commissions if they ever land in a position when they’re not losing money.
“This doesn’t have to be a permanent decision but we are running a business. We are not generating enough money to cover all of the expenses, the costs, the debt that the city is in and so those are just basic principles of how you can continue to operate,” she said at the June 2 council meeting.
The Santa Ana City Council meeting on July 1, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Councilman Phil Bacerra said he does not support cutting the commissions but they have to balance their budget.
“We’re not in debt but if we keep spending like drunken sailors, we will be and so we have to make these tough decisions,” he said at the June 2 council meeting.
City Manager Alvaro Nuñez echoed his remarks.
“Nobody wants to cut public commissions,” he said at the meeting. “We want to support more public involvement. Obviously, the way we balance the budget this time around is not going to get easier next year.”
According to a staff report, the Historical Resources Commission and the Arts and Culture Commission will be absorbed by the Community Development Commission and Planning Commission.
The cuts come after city staff told officials earlier this year that many of their commissions are failing to meet due to a lack of quorum.
Santa Ana’s Budget: What’s on the Chopping Block?
On June 2 – Primary Election Night, Santa Ana City Council members voted unanimously on a first reading to adopt their budget after closing a $13 million gap mainly by slashing vacant positions, cutting spending on park maintenance and dialing back the Police Activity and Athletic League after school program.
[Read: Budget Cuts Loom for an After School Program and Park Repairs in Santa Ana]
In total, officials are proposing cutting nearly $11 million in spending, with nearly $5 million of those cuts made by eliminating vacant positions and reducing spending on part-time employees.
Elected leaders are proposing closing the remaining gap by increasing revenue by about $2 million, including a technology cost recovery fee expected to bring in $750,000.
To view the proposed 2026-27 budget, click here.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua said she’s against cuts to the Police Activity and Athletic League (PAAL), adding that the program was important to a lot of parents and kids.
“It’s been very successful because they’re developing relationships with our first responders,” she said at the June 2 meeting. “When we start to cut, we cut our children and we cut our seniors. It’s where we always start, and I’m not supportive of that.”
Councilmember Thai Viet Phan during her remarks at the May 20, 2025 Santa Ana City Council meeting
Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan said they have to make tough choices.
“PAAL is a very, very expensive program that impacts a very small number of residents in this city and I think that we have many other programs that are much more affordable that have really great impacts,” she said.
Santa Ana leaders will also use one-time dollars to subsidize workers compensation, subsidize street sweeping, improve the restrooms at Cabrillo Park and to help purchase land to build a park in Washington Square – something neighborhood residents have called for.
Phan said the council should not move forward with Washington Square park land purchase, saying it wasn’t the right fiscal decision at the time.
She also said the city’s already home to a host of empty lots.
“I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but the reality is the City of Santa Ana has suffered for years with empty lots throughout the city that are not being utilized because we don’t have the funding for construction,” Phan said.
“Without any clear source of funding for actually building out the park, we are asking to have another empty dirt lot sitting around, especially as we are trimming down the number of staff in our Parks and Rec department again.”
Amezcua said residents have been patiently waiting for a park in their neighborhood and they can reach out to Congressman Lou Correa to secure federal funding.
She also if officials defund city events – an idea she has repeatedly floated on the dais in the past – officials would open up $1 million in revenue they could use towards the park.
“If we gave up our parties – I know you don’t like when I say that – it would be a million dollars. There’s your Washington Square additional funding,” Amezcua said.
Lopez said the cuts were not an easy choice.
“It is important to also recognize that the $13 million structural deficit was closed without any furloughs, without laying off any, any, any of our other staff members,” she said.
“We’re going to have to do layoffs if we’re unwilling to make the hard choice of cutting in different areas.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
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