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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has to do with local control,\u201d Councilmember Kathy Tavoularis said of her decision to bring the charter discussion before her colleagues. Voters would have to approve a charter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a fiscal emergency<\/a> and we have to start doing something,\u201d Tavoularis said.<\/p>\n The draft charter<\/a> the council took a look at during its meeting this week outlined a section for \u201ccity assets and taxation,\u201d which city staff said proffers \u201cthree revenue mechanisms pertinent to hotels, large parking structures and utility operators in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n But some councilmembers raised concerns, saying a charter might complicate exploring future revenue avenues.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t 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,\u201d Councilmember Arianna Barrios said, referring to future planned discussions about the city\u2019s budget, including one regarding a potential sales tax.<\/p>\n The council put a half-cent local sales tax measure before voters in 2024, which was narrowly rejected.<\/a><\/p>\n 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<\/a> this fiscal year after the council approved nearly $18 million in general fund cuts.<\/p>\n In California, 121 of 482 cities have adopted a charter, including 10 in Orange County. Other OC cities are looking at changing to charters.<\/p>\n Fullerton <\/a>councilmembers created an ad hoc committee last year to draft a charter for voter consideration. Laguna Beach councilmembers tasked the city\u2019s staff with crafting the draft of a limited charter<\/a> that could potentially be put before voters in November.<\/p>\n