Foothills Sentry June 2024

NEWS INSIDE A Monthly Community Newspaper JUNE 2024 Letters Page 4 Real Estate Page 5 Canyon Beat Page 6 Obituaries Page 11 Service Directory Pages 11-13 Classifieds Page 13 Community Sports Page 14-15 The Best News In Town Since 1969 FOLLOW US at Foothills Sentry NO HORSE SENSE OC Fair Board continues to flaunt its equestrian center mismanagement and taunt boarders with higher fees. See Fairgrounds, page 8 GO WITH THE FLOW Orange creates Santiago Creek Commission to consider its potential as community asset. See New, page 13 TRADING SPACES A pending Orange ordinance will allow owners of potential parkland property to sell their development rights in exchange for keeping it green. See Orange, page 2 YOU GOTTA HAVE ART Canyon artisans opened their studios to share their wares with the public. See Art tour, page 7 GREAT EXPECTATIONS Local organizations toast the leaders of tomorrow with awards, scholarships and recognition dinners. See stories, page 9 See "Orange council" continued on page 5 See "Orange faces" continued on page 5 See "OUSD board" continued on page 5 Orange council weakens city’s campaign finance ordinance By Tina Richards The Orange City Council ap- proved an increase in individual campaign contributions from $1,000 to $1,500 and voided an ordinance prohibiting contribu- tions from candidate-controlled committees in a late-night vote, May 14. The limit increase and removal of the committee-to-committee pipeline was proposed by Coun- cilman Jon Dumitru at the April 9 council meeting. Two council members were absent, and the discussion was continued (twice) until all members were present. It finally came to the fore at nearly midnight, following an unusually long meeting devoted mostly to the city’s budget deficit. By that time, only one resident re- mained in the room to make pub- lic comments. Shirley Grindle, longtime campaign finance law watchdog and creator of the city’s and the county’s original campaign con- tribution ordinances, was luke- warm about the limit increase, but voiced no-nonsense opposi- tion to eliminating the candidate- controlled committee transfers Not everyone meets the max She noted that campaign costs for councilmembers have actu- ally decreased now that they are running in districts. “You only have to reach 17% of the voters now,” she said. She also reported that in the 2022 election, 66% of the total donations were $250 or less from individual voters. Only 10% were the maximum $1,000. “Increas- ing the limit to $1,500 is not like- Orange faces draconian cuts; considers sales tax increase to boost revenue By Carrie Graham Twenty police officers, 18 fire- fighters, and the Taft Branch Li- brary are just some of the cuts the City of Orange may have to make if it doesn't find a way to increase revenue and close the $19 million deficit in this year’s budget cycle. “Should these budget reduc- tions be implemented, there will be a new norm in the City of Or- ange as it relates to public safety and city services,” said City Man- ager Tom Kisela during a presen- tation at the May 14 city council meeting. “Unfortunately, given the severity of these reductions, it won't be the level of service the community is used to.” Safe but not sound Public safety is a top priority in Orange, with fire and police mak- ing up almost 70% of the city’s budget. That also means those services stand to lose the most. The police department could lose 13 current officers and seven po- sitions that are currently vacant, as well as an additional 17 non- sworn positions. Also at risk are the crossing guard program, five code enforcement officers and a decrease in training, ammunition and equipment. Though drastic, it would save the city just over $5 million. Sale of the Taft Library, which first opened its doors in 1969, could give the city another $2.7 million. Axes or taxes The heart of Orange itself, the small-town community spirit, may also all but disappear to save another $1.5 million. In addition to a reduction in landscaping, tree trimming and graffiti removal, the city could also end Treats in the Streets, 3rd of July fireworks, the Tree Lighting ceremony, holi- day decorations, concerts and movies in the park and Veteran’s Day commemorations. Councilman John Gyllenham- mer, who serves on an ad hoc budget committee with Mayor Dan Slater and Councilman De- nis Bilodeau, charged with iden- tifying potential cuts, said part of why the city’s situation looks so grim is because it has tradition- ally been conservative in passing along costs to residents. Orange has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the county at 7.75%. The city rarely increases fees for community services and events, often absorbing losses in- stead. Those decisions mean that the city has operating expenses of $161 million, but only generates $144 million in revenue. “There's going to be two paths forward,” Gyllenhammer ex- plained. “The first path is find- ing ways to reduce costs to align revenue with expenses, because there’s no way out of this. It needs to happen at some level. At the existing spending level, we have less than two years of resources and revenue to pay for things. The second path forward is going to be some sort of rev- enue increase. The only revenue increase that will cover this is a sales tax increase.” No cuts, no buts Residents showed up in droves, with nearly three dozen signing up to speak during public com- ments, prompting Mayor Slater to reduce speaking times from the usual three minutes to two to en- sure everyone had a chance to be heard. The majority attended to show support for the police and firefighters, beseeching the coun- cil not to make cuts there. A large number said they were willing to pay higher sales taxes if it meant New trustees appointed to OUSD board By Tina Richards Steven Glass, Ph.D., and Sara Pelly were provisionally appoint- ed to the Orange Unified School Board of Education by unani- mous vote, May 2, to fill the seats vacated by the recall of Madison Miner and Rick Ledesma. Glass, a former teacher, prin- cipal, now Distinguished Faculty in Residence at Long Beach State and advocate for educational equality among students of color, will represent Area 7: Pelly, a retired OUSD principal, instru- mental in Fletcher Elementary’s Mandarin Immersion Program and an active volunteer in the Or- ange community, will represent Area 4. They were selected from a field of 16 qualified applicants, ranging from educators, admin- istrators, financial and IT profes- sionals to parents who have long volunteered with the district. The May 2 meeting was called by Board President Ana Page specifically to meet the appli- cants in a public setting and allow constituents to participate. Board member John Ortega did not at- tend, leaving the appointments to Page, Kris Erickson, Andrea Ya- masaki and Angie Rumsey. Students first Public speakers expressed a common thread. They wanted the appointed trustees to have knowledge of OUSD, have or had children in the district, dem- onstrate honesty, accountability and integrity, have no pet proj- ects or personal agendas and put OUSD students first. “I don’t want to see performa- tive politics,” Soren Williams said, “or disrespect to those who disagree.” “Looking through a business lens, we need to at- tract and retain talent and be able to adapt to a rapidly changing world," Carla Contreras noted. “This job goes well beyond fis- cal responsibility,” Jon Sanks pointed out. “It's way more than attending a meeting once a month. We want trustees who visit schools, allow parents to Sara Pelly Steven Glass Assistance League of Orange volunteers rustled up their lightsabers and donned their robes for the annual Orange Chamber of Commerce May Parade, “Come to the Orange Side,” to win the “Spirit of the Rebellion” award. See photos, page 16.