More than a million Orange County residents live in cities spending beyond their means, according to a Voice of OC investigation published Tuesday, July 7. Newport Beach isn't among them, though the city's own adopted budget figures were not available for independent review. But the county government that funds services every Newport Beach resident uses is running a $75 million structural deficit.
Former County CEO Michelle Aguirre, who retired in late June, delivered the warning to supervisors on her way out: "Simply put, we have exhausted all resources available to us, but we are resilient. You will see that we have no general fund requests for additional resources, because there are none to be given."
Aguirre told supervisors the gap shows no sign of improving next year.
The county's $10.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27 includes $1.98 billion for public protection services like the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Probation, plus $3.8 billion for community services including the Health Care Agency, OC Libraries, OC Parks, and OC Animal Care. Newport Beach residents depend on all of them.
The biggest drivers across the county: labor costs, healthcare escalations, inflation, and the expiration of one-time federal COVID-19 relief funding that cities used to stabilize budgets in prior years.
Neighbors in the red
The investigation cataloged deficits across some of Orange County's largest cities:
- Anaheim: Over $60 million structural deficit, with officials banking on $120 million in freed-up bond payments next year
- Irvine: A shortfall projected to reach $47 million by 2030
- Orange: A $20 million deficit so severe that city-hired consultants warned of possible municipal bankruptcy; voters will decide on a 1% sales tax increase in November 2026
- Huntington Beach: A $15.6 million gap between recurring revenues and ongoing expenses
- Fullerton: Nearly $14 million in the red after a multi-million dollar accounting error burned through $10.1 million in reserves
- Santa Ana: A $13 million deficit projected to balloon to $30 million by 2028-29 as its Measure X sales tax sunsets
Placentia Mayor Chad Wanke, at his city's Tuesday, June 30 council meeting, put it bluntly: "A lot of cities are ignoring it. The County of Orange is looking at a looming deficit, we have cities that are looking at $30 million deficits. We have a little bit of a crisis here."
Meanwhile in Newport Beach
The city was not named in the investigation's deficit list. Separately, Newport Beach is weighing its own expensive decisions.
The Police Headquarters Advisory Committee held its first public meeting Tuesday, July 7, at 3 p.m. in the Civic Center Community Room. The committee includes Mayor Pro Tem Noah Blom, Councilmembers Sara J. Weber and Michelle Barto, and four resident members. They're evaluating options ranging from $150 million for a Dove Street site to over $233 million for an expanded Civic Center location. The existing station dates to 1973.
Blom has said the city plans to sell the current police station land to finance construction without raising taxes or issuing bonds.
District 5 Supervisor Katrina Foley, who represents Newport Beach on the county Board of Supervisors, defended the county's budget choices in a statement, saying officials "protected reserves and focused resources where residents need them most."
The Police Headquarters Advisory Committee's next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, at 3 p.m. in the Civic Center Community Room.
