In another effort to patch a $6 million budget deficit — with a trajectory to grow to $47 million by 2030 if left unaddressed — the Irvine City Council is considering multiple independent audits on various city projects.
Read more ‘A nightmare to think about.’ Driving behavior may be early warning sign of dementia
Irvine leaders learned in March of the $6 million deficit, a 2% overage of the city’s general fund driven by rising costs related to hiring, new facilities and expenses related to Irvine’s growing population, city staff reports have said. Earlier this month, councilmembers backed a 10-point plan proposed by Councilmember James Mai, who, among his requests, asked for comprehensive reports on general fund spending, including for staffing and labor costs.
In another step forward, the Council last week unanimously supported a request from Councilmembers William Go, Melinda Liu and Kathleen Treseder for city staffers to return in early September with options for independent audits of city projects, detailing “potential scope, estimated costs and timelines” for those reviews, according to the request.
“I know we’ve been talking about the budget the last few meetings,” Go said. “We just want to make sure we look at all the items that got us to that situation.”
The Council suggested an audit of how federal funds from 2021-2025 were spent. They also expressed interest in auditing City Hall renovations, severance packages offered to staff in 2022, the cost of the 2025 State of the Great Park, the $700,000 spent on a Great Park gondola proposal, the All American Asphalt Plant’s acquisition, the establishment of the city’s own library system, the failed pruchase of two properties on Armstrong Avenue and the city’s Office of Inclusive Excellence.
Read more Congo will open 3 Ebola treatment centers as a rare strain spreads
“The point of this request is not to assign blame. It is to adjust our way of using taxpayer funds,” Liu said.
Mayor Larry Agran initially expressed concerns with a few projects proposed for audits, including reviews of COVID funds, for which he said the city was already audited “up, down backwards, sideways by the federal government.”
Agran also emphasized that “the city is in outstanding federal shape,” adding the budget for the next fiscal year “will not be a budget that requires us to reach into our very ample reserves.”
Read more Summer travelers who relied on Spirit Airlines may struggle to find budget alternatives
Still, he ultimately supported his colleagues’ request to explore the audits.