Facts & Frequently Asked Questions

There are currently 18,577 budgeted positions, a slight increase from last year and an increase of 1% from five years ago.  The FY 2023-24 Recommended Budget includes requests for an additional 189 positions to meet the increased demands for services and programs for county residents. On average, between 8% and 13% of the budgeted positions are vacant at any one time.

The County’s financial structure consists of several types of funds as required by state or federal revenue sources or by the types of expenditures being tracked.  Each of these funds maintains a fund balance, the net amount remaining after all expenditures and revenues are accounted for, which is used to ensure there is sufficient funding for the fiscal period’s planned expenditures.  Not all of the fund balance may be available to use.  Fund balance amounts may be categorized as “reserved” and set aside to meet a current obligation to a contract, future capital or IT needs, or as contingency to cover an unforeseen or unexpected event. 

As described above, the fund balance is the net amount remaining after all expenditures and revenues have been accounted for in the fund and may be classified as either “reserved” or “unreserved.”   The General Fund is the main fund used by the County to account for many departments’ operational activities and provides for the ongoing operation of the County.  The Government Finance Officers Association has issued recommendations for local governments to maintain a financial, also known as contingency, reserve of two months of operating revenue, which for FY 2023-24 is approximately $666 million, to safeguard against risks such as recession and natural disasters.  These reserves are part of the reserved fund balance and maintained in the General Fund.

September – December:  The County begins its budget process with the preparation of the Five-Year Strategic Financial Plan which allows for the impacts of assumed revenue increases and capital and equipment expenditures to be determined and provide an estimate of the budgetary needs for each department.  

January – March: County departments develop their annual budget for the next fiscal year and provide year-end projections for the current fiscal year to determine fund balances available.  All budgets are due to the County Budget and Finance Office on or before March 1st.

March – June: The County Budget and Finance Office ensures all budgeted funds are structurally balanced and works with each department to ensure all operational needs are met and clarify any requests for additional resources.  The Recommended Budget and Augmentation Books are compiled and released to the public a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled Public Budget Hearings which is typically the Board meeting falling on the 2^nd Tuesday in June.

At the Public Budget Hearings, the Recommended Budget for the next fiscal year is presented to the Board of Supervisors.  This budget consists of the department requests and the County Executive Office recommendations to the Board for discussion and approval.  During this hearing, the Board provides non-binding straw votes for each department’s budget and may also provide additional direction for the subsequent adoption of the budget. 

The County’s budget is revised through planned Budget Reports that are placed on the Board Agenda in September, January, and April and require a four-fifths vote to approve.

• September:  The estimates used in developing the budget are reconciled with the actual ending balances for the year and adjustments are made as required to address any fund balancing issues.
• January:  This is the only opportunity where departments may submit changes to their budgets to align their estimated state or federal allocations with the known amounts or to add any critical capital or equipment needs that were not known at the time of budget development.
• April: Year-end projections that result in appropriation shortfalls or savings are addressed in the April Budget Report to prepare for and ensure a smooth year-end closing process.

The Recommended Budget for FY 2023-24 has an appropriation limit of $9.3 billion.

County departments prepare and submit structurally balanced budgets that conserve financial resources, implement savings alternatives, and minimize costs consistent with the County’s mission, values, strategic initiatives, and goals.  Requests for General Fund resources are limited to items that are critical in nature and vital to the health, safety and sustainability of the County and community.

Budget requests are reviewed and analyzed to prior year trends, the Five-Year Strategic Financial Plan, and the economic forecasts provided by organizations such as Chapman University or UCLA.  Recommendations on the resulting budgets are then made to the Chief Financial Officer and County Executive Officer. The budget is compiled, balanced, and, upon completion of the final review, a Recommended Budget is publicly published and prepared for the Public Budget Hearings in June.

Of the $9.3 billion in appropriations in the FY 2023-24 Recommended Budget, approximately half (47%, $4.4 billion) is funded from restricted or dedicated revenues that must be used for specific purposes such as for John Wayne Airport, OC Waste & Recycling, Roads, Flood, Libraries, and Parks.  Another 42% ($3.9 billion) is funded by state and federal allocations or grants to administer state and federal programs at the local government level. 

Discretionary funds are not restricted/dedicated for a specific purpose or passed through the state or federal government to carry out their programs at a local level.  This represents about 11% ($1.0 billion) of the total funding included in the FY 2023-24 Recommended Budget. This is also referred to as General Purpose Revenue (GPR) or Net County Cost (NCC).

Departments receive NCC allocations, approved by the Board, for programs and activities which are not funded by specific, dedicated revenue streams.  While GPR does not have the specific limitations associated with the dedicated and non-discretionary revenue sources, the County uses GPR to meet its mandated services requirements that are not fulfilled by the state and federal governments such as funding match requirements for Community Services programs and operational expenses of the Public Protection and General Government Services departments.

Mandated services account for 89% of NCC, with the remaining 11% allocated to non-mandated services. Property taxes are the largest and most important source of GPR. As of March 2023, property taxes accounted for almost 95% of all GPR. Of particular note, Orange County’s General Fund receives the lowest property tax revenue allocation share (5%) of all 58 counties in California.

Included in the County’s Five-Year Strategic Financial Plan are strategic priorities costing $1 million or more in any one year that may span over multiple fiscal periods and require planning to ensure sufficient resources to implement.   Funds are typically set aside from unanticipated revenues, growth funds, or savings realized at the end of the fiscal period and reside in a reserved fund balance account.

The General Fund (GF) includes approximately $4.9 billion in appropriations, which is just over half of the total budget for the County.   By expenditure category, over 70% of the GF appropriations are within the Salaries & Benefits (48%, $2.5 billion) and Services & Supplies (31%, $1.6 billion) categories.

By programs, Community Services receives about 50% of the GF appropriations as shown below:

• 50% - Community Services: $2.5 billion
• 32% - Public Protection: $1.6 billion
• 11% - General Government: $536 million
• 3% - Insurance, Reserves & Miscellaneous: $151 million
• 3% - Infrastructure & Environmental Resources: $147 million

The Public Protection program is the third largest program in the County and makes up 19% ($1.7 billion) of the county’s budgeted $9.3 billion appropriations, compared to 39% ($3.7 billion) for Community Services programs and 19% ($1.8 billion) for Infrastructure & Environmental Resources. The Public Protection program is a mandated function the County is required to provide and, in general, fund with General Purpose Revenue.  In comparison, the Community Services programs are generally responsible for carrying out programs on behalf of the state and federal governments and are thus provided state and federal funding to do so. 

All departments may submit requests to adjust their budgets to add critical equipment needs not known at budget development time or to align estimated state or federal allocations with the known amounts.   Adjustments are included in the January Mid-Year Budget Report which is placed on the Board’s agenda for the last meeting in January.  Additional Budget Reports are done in September to reconcile to the year-end closing process and April to prepare for the year-end closing and address any appropriation issues identified with the departments’ year-end projections.

All budget and strategic planning documents are available on the County’s website at the links noted below.  In addition, the Citizens’ Guides to the Strategic Financial Plan and Budget are prepared annually and provide an overview of the County’s organization, budget process, and current initiatives.  Further details, including economic assumptions and department details can be found in the Recommended Budget Book, the Annual Budget Book or Strategic Financial Plan.

Budget:  https://cfo.ocgov.com/budget

Strategic Financial Plan: https://cfo.ocgov.com/budget/strategic-financial-plan

A listing of Key Budget Terms is maintained and posted each year on the County’s website along with the budget documents.

Budget:  https://cfo.ocgov.com/budget

The most efficient manner to get a specific question answered is to submit it directly to the Budget and Finance Office through the website at https://cfo.ocgov.com/  or via email at CEOBudget@ocgov.com.