\u201cIt would be my recommendation that if the city council does not decide to move forward with a ballot measure, that we would begin that process of whittling down the programs, almost like a ramp, if you will, over the next three years, rather than just waiting until last minute, and then doing a very abrupt stoppage of services,\u201d said Assistant City Manager Kathryn Downs at the March 17 city council meeting.<\/p>\n
Last year when those officials approved their budget, they said it would be the last big spending plan they do for a while<\/a> before they start tightening the spending belt.<\/p>\n But now city leaders are looking to voters to help keep up current city services.<\/p>\n On the heels of staff\u2019s warning, Santa Ana City Council members voted 5-2 this month to direct staff to prepare a tax measure ballot to cancel the sunset of Measure X and maintain it indefinitely.<\/p>\n Mayor Valerie Amezcua said it will be up to the voters if they want to keep the sales tax measure and maintain current city services.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s really exciting for me, personally, it\u2019s up to the voters if they want to keep the services that we have,\u201d she said at the March 17 meeting<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re talking about the ability to afford increasing fire contracts, faster investigations, added street lights again, bus shelter maintenance, cleaner, safer parks, Vietnamese outreach, translation, business expo, the Defense Fund for immigration assistance \u2013 there\u2019s so many things.\u201d<\/p>\n To view the entirety of what Measure X helps fund, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Councilmembers Jessie Lopez and David Penaloza, who are both running for State Assembly, were the dissenting votes.<\/p>\n Lopez called for a special stand alone study session meeting on Measure X and the ballot proposal to have a discussion for the public on what their budget would look like without the tens of millions of dollars that bolster it from the sales tax.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the city is prepared to lose $30 million then what is not going to be included in the budget,\u201d she said at the March 17 meeting. \u201cI would love to see staff bring back a budget that doesn\u2019t include these dollars, because I want the voters to be fully prepared for what this is going to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilman Phil Bacerra said that discussion will already play out when they start to debate the next fiscal year budget and they should discuss other ways to grow revenue rather than always asking residents to cover their shortfalls.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our only way of growing revenue is taxing people, that\u2019s not a sustainable model,\u201d he said at the March 17 meeting, criticizing city council members from 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw that the council back then put little to no effort, and they just went right straight to the voters pockets. I opposed Measure X, I\u2019m proud that I did, because I looked at it at the time as something that that council was lazy and wasn\u2019t willing to do the necessary work with staff,\u201d Bacerra continued, ultimately voting in favor of preparing the ballot measure.<\/p>\n Councilman Penaloza didn\u2019t speak to his opposition to preparing the ballot measure.<\/p>\n Preparation of the tax measure in Santa Ana comes as leaders in other OC cities are also expected to ask voters to bolster their municipal budgets through tax increases this year.<\/p>\n [Read: More Tax Increases Could be on the Ballot This Year<\/a>]<\/p>\n Officials have been grappling with balancing their budgets in recent years as city spending across OC is steadily outpacing revenues \u2013 threatening services like public safety, city events and local libraries.<\/p>\n In the City of Orange, officials are debating asking voters to consider making the town a charter city<\/a> and including tax increases in the proposal after voters shot down a sales tax increase measure two years ago.<\/p>\n In Fullerton, officials are expected to add tax measures to this year\u2019s ballot<\/a> amid a stark revelation that staff erroneously accounted for over $10 million in reserves that was actually already allocated and that they may nearly deplete their reserve by next year.<\/p>\n In November, Santa Ana officials voted to pay a research company up to roughly $200,000 to conduct a poll to test a potential ballot measure to maintain Measure X indefinitely.<\/p>\n Of the over 620 potential voters surveyed, more than 60% were in favor of the measure, according to the poll results<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ahead of the ballot measure debate at the March 17 city council meeting, officials dropped a planned discussion to give city executives annual salary range boosts tied to increases in the local consumer price index following Voice of OC reporting.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SantaAnaCityCouncil_July1_2025_Taylor-20.jpg\")
Councilmember Jessie Lopez at the Santa Ana City Council meeting on July 1, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SantaAnaCityCouncil_Oct7_2025_Taylor-15.jpg\")
Councilmember Phil Bacerra sits at the dais during the Oct. 7, 2025 Santa Ana City Council meeting. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n