SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal government directive to freeze trillions of dollars in spending sent Orange County supervisors scrambling at their meeting Tuesday to ask staff how to cope with a shortfall if the money doesn't come through.


What You Need To Know

  • Orange County supervisors were scrambling at their meeting Tuesday, asking staff how to cope with a shortfall if federal money doesn't come through.

  • Attorney General Rob Bonta, working with 23 other attorneys general, sued to stop the directive, which ultimately was temporarily stayed by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., by the end of the day

  • Supervisor Janet Nguyen encouraged county officials to continue applying for the federal grants because, "We don't want to be left behind"

  • Dylan Wright, director of community resources, told the supervisors it's possible the county would have to borrow to backfill any gaps until the federal funding was restored

Board of Supervisors Vice Chairwoman Katrina Foley sounded the alarm throughout the board's meeting while Attorney General Rob Bonta, working with 23 other attorneys general, sued to stop the directive, which ultimately was temporarily stayed by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., by the end of the day.

"We need to find out and do it today," Foley said of what federal grants and spending in the county were in jeopardy. "We can't wait two weeks, three weeks... We need to inform all of these (service) providers."

On a routine vote for the Sheriff's Department grant application, Foley raised the issue again. Orange County Crime Lab Director Stephanie Callian assured Foley "our services will not be impacted... My plan is to continue moving forward with the (grant) request and when things are un-paused we'll move forward as approved."

If the grant is denied, "We should be OK," Callian said.

Supervisor Janet Nguyen encouraged county officials to continue applying for the federal grants because, "We don't want to be left behind."

Supervisor Don Wagner said that he believes the memo from the Office of Management and Budget was meant to suspend spending on Diversion, Equity and Inclusion programs. Wagner asked county staff to provide a report on what DEI programs the county has that could be "potentially at risk" of defunding.

Wagner touted a county plan to negotiate contract extensions with county vendors as a cost-savings measure.

"I believe there's an opportunity here to garner some savings for the county through the use of incentives such as an additional contract extension for contractors who agree to lower costs," Wagner said.

Wagner said the plan could save up to $100 million annually.

Orange County CEO Michelle Aguirre has warned cost-cutting is expected with potential liability from the Airport Fire, which may have been accidentally sparked by public works employees.

"We have to get creative at this time," Foley said.

When some in the audience applauded the federal funding cuts, Foley shot back, "You clap, but it's going to affect you too."

Foley claimed the spending freeze could affect numerous programs such as housing and rental assistance, family planning, childhood lead poisoning prevention, teenage pregnancy prevention programs, cancer detection research and human trafficking victim research.

Foley also feared the spending freeze would cut into programs for veterans.

"I mean, this is outrageous and everyone here is impacted and should be upset," Foley said.

Aguirre said since last week county officials have been planning for any shortfall in spending to the county from the federal government.

"We've  been through this before during the Great Recession" in 2009, Aguirre said.

"We don't immediately stop providing services. We make informed decisions based on the information that we have," Aguirre said. "Staff is working out that right now, to determine which programs may be impacted.... It becomes a cash-flow issue."

Dylan Wright, director of community resources, told the supervisors it's possible the county would have to borrow to backfill any gaps until the federal funding was restored.

Foley disagreed that the spending freeze was like the Great Recession.

"We've never been through something like this before," she said. "This is very different."

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento agreed, calling it a "self-inflicted exercise," prompting a "ridiculous waste of our time" finding solutions.

Orange County Board Chairman Doug Chaffee was reluctant to direct staff to research the issue when another executive order could come along in a day that changes the plans again.