RESOLUTION NO. 11567
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ORANGE ORDERING THE SUBMISSION
TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY A
CERTAIN MEASURE RELATING TO INCREASING
THE RATE OF THE CITY’S TRANSIENT
OCCUPANCY TAX AT THE NOVEMBER 5, 2024,
GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION AS CALLED BY
RESOLUTION NO. 11545.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Title 5 (Business Taxes and Regulations) of the Orange Municipal Code (“OMC”), the City of Orange currently imposes a Transient Occupancy Tax (“TOT”) at the rate of ten percent (10%) on short-term guests of hotels, motels, and other lodgings withing the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the OMC to increase the maximum rate of the TOT from 10 percent (10%) to fifteen percent (15%); and WHEREAS, TOT is a general tax, the proceeds of which are deposited in the City’s General Fund and pay for essential City services, including but not limited to, police and fire services, infrastructure maintenance, community programs, and other general governmental services; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code Section 9222 and California Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 7280 and 7281, the City Council has the authority to place a measure on the ballot regarding the imposition, extension or increase in local TOT to be considered by the voters at a municipal election; and
WHEREAS, in order to levy such a tax, the ordinance imposing the tax must be approved by a two-thirds vote of all members of the City Council and the tax must be approved by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the City voting in an election on the issue; and WHEREAS, on May 14, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 11545 calling a General Municipal Election for Tuesday, November 5, 2024; and WHEREAS, on May 14, 2024, the City Council also adopted Resolution No. 11544 requesting that the General Municipal Election be consolidated with the Statewide General Election to be held on November 5, 2024, and requested assistance of the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to submit to the voters of the City, at the General Municipal Election to be held on November 5, 2024, an ordinance increasing the City’s TOT from 10% to 15%.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Orange does hereby resolve, declare, determine and order as follows:
2 SECTION 1. That the above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein.
SECTION 2. That the City Council, pursuant to its right and authority, does order submitted to the voters at the General Municipal Election to be held on November 5, 2024, the following question:
City of Orange Public Safety/ City Services Measure
Shall the measure providing funding for City of Orange’s general government use such as maintaining 911 response,
fire/police/paramedic services; recruiting/retaining well-trained police/firefighters; preventing property crimes; addressing homelessness; keeping public areas/parks safe/clean by increasing City of Orange ’s transient occupancy tax, paid only by hotel/motel and short-term rental guests from 10% to 15% providing
approximately $2,900,000 annually until ended by voters; requiring audits, spending disclosure, all funds benefiting City of Orange residents, be adopted?
YES
NO
SECTION 3. That the proposed complete text of the ordinance to be submitted to the voters is attached as Exhibit A. The ballot question and the ordinance are collectively referred to herein as the “Measure.”
SECTION 4. That the vote requirement for the Measure to pass is a majority (50%+1) of the votes cast.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk is hereby directed to file a certified copy of this Resolution with the Board of Supervisors of the County of Orange and the Registrar of Voters of the County of Orange.
SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Resolution and enter it into the book of original Resolutions.
ADOPTED this ______ day of June 2024.
Daniel R. Slater, Mayor, City of Orange
ATTEST:
3 Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Mike Vigliotta, City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE )
CITY OF ORANGE )
I, PAMELA COLEMAN, City Clerk of the City of Orange, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of the City of Orange at a regular meeting thereof held on the ______ day of June 2024 by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS:
Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange
EXHIBIT A
ORDINANCE NO. 22-24
AN ORDINANCE OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY
OF ORANGE AMENDING SECTION 5.16.030 OF
THE ORANGE MUNICIPAL CODE TO
INCREASE THE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX
PERCENTAGE.
WHEREAS, the City of Orange wishes to amend Chapter 5.16 to increase the Transient Occupancy Tax to be imposed by the City from 10% to 15%.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ORANGE DO
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I:
Section 5.16.030 shall be amended to read as follows:
5.16.30 - Tax Imposed.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 15% of the rent charged by the operator. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the City which is extinguished only by payment to the operator or to the City. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each installment. The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient's ceasing to occupy space in the hotel. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the Tax Administrator may require that such tax be paid directly to the Tax Administrator.
SECTION II:
If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one (or more) section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase had been declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION III:
The adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq. and California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15000 et seq. (CEQA Guidelines). The transient occupancy tax increase this Ordinance adopts is a government funding mechanism that does not “involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment,” and thus it is not a project under CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4). 2 SECTION IV:
Pursuant to California Elections Code Section 9217, this ordinance shall take effect only if approved by a majority of the eligible voters of the City of Orange voting at a General Municipal Election to be held on November 5, 2024. It shall be deemed adopted when the City Council has certified the results of that election by resolution and shall take effect ten (10) days thereafter.
SECTION V:
The Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to attest to the adoption of this Ordinance by the People voting thereon on November 5, 2024, by signing where indicated below.
The foregoing ordinance wasPASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the People of the City of Orange voting on November 5, 2024, which vote was certified by the City Council on this ____ day of ___________________, 2024.
Daniel R. Slater, Mayor, City of Orange
ATTEST:
Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Mike Vigliotta, City Attorney