Orange County cities are facing a financial mess

The latest state budget forecasts are expectedly grim, with finance officials predicting revenue in the last quarter to be down an eye-popping 61 percent. But the COVID-19 related economic devastation isn’t confined only to the state general fund. It is wreaking havoc on local government finances in Orange County and across California.
The most direct cause of local problems is a precipitous drop in sales- and hotel-tax revenue. With many stores and hotels closed, cities are losing a huge