Dear Neighbor:  The City has just concluded our annual budget process for Fiscal Year 2025-2026.  As always, we will continue to keep you updated in a conversation with us about how best to protect our City’s long-term financial stability through these challenging national times.

In two separate community surveys conducted in 2023 and 2024, as many as 66% of respondents said they felt there was a need for additional funding for our City’s public safety and quality of life services.

Orange residents have identified the following City priorities:

• Addressing homelessness
• Maintaining 911 response
• Maintaining fire, police protection, and paramedic services
• Preventing property crimes and thefts
• Keeping public areas and parks safe and clean, and ensuring children have safe places to play
• Protecting the City of Orange’s long-term financial stability

Public safety services continue to be a top priority as Orange remains one of the safest cities in California. In the last year, there has been a 10% decrease in crime and our City is working hard to maintain 911 emergency response times and police patrols in neighborhoods and business areas to keep residents and their property safe.

In 2024, 83% of all calls to the City of Orange Fire Department were related to medical emergencies. The City of Orange has a need to maintain adequate numbers of firefighters, paramedics, and lifesaving equipment to maintain its emergency response times and save lives. Our City strives to maintain the services that continue to keep our community safe despite the budgetary challenges that many Orange County and California cities are currently facing.

In 2022, the County reported that the City of Orange had one of the highest numbers of homeless individuals in North Orange County and despite our City’s best efforts, since then, the County reports an increase in homelessness. The City has been working hard to address homelessness by connecting them with available non-profit and regional services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, emergency shelter, food services, and health and social services.

Effectively addressing the City’s homeless challenges will require additional resources. Doing so will ensure The Plaza, and other business districts, parks, and public areas are safe and secure for everyone.