Irvine’s $37 million structural deficit did not appear overnight. The City’s own September 22, 2026 staff report shows it was built up over the four budget years under former City Manager Oliver Chi, from 2021 until he left in 2025.

The numbers speak for themselves: 218 new full-time positions were added from FY 2021-22 through FY 2024-25, including 87 in a single year. General Fund payroll grew 36%, from $131.2 million to $178.5 million, far faster than the revenue meant to pay for it. Salaries and benefits in the City Manager’s own office grew 165%, from $1.6 million to $4.3 million. About $26 million in one-time funds was used to cover ongoing costs, so the budget looked balanced when it wasn’t.

On June 10, 2025, Councilmember Kathleen Treseder voted to adopt the City’s FY 2025-27 budget, which again covered ongoing costs with one-time funds. In the same vote she approved the resolution authorizing the City’s full-time positions, including 39 new ones. Ten months later, the City was under a hiring freeze and facing a $37 million structural deficit.

The result is the plan now in front of Council: $27 million in cuts, about 123 positions held vacant, higher fees for residents and businesses, and a possible draw on reserves. Irvine residents are paying for payroll and programs the City could not sustain. The Council owns the fix. Target ’28 should come with firm limits on new ongoing costs. One-time money should stop paying for recurring expenses. And any new position or program should have to show a lasting way to fund it before it is approved.

Sources: City of Irvine, Request for City Council Action, September 22, 2026 (Response to General Fund Structural Deficit Direction and Target ’28 Balancing Plan), including Attachments 1 and 2; Minutes, Irvine City Council Regular Meeting and Special Joint Meeting with the Great Park Board, June 10, 2025, Item 3.1 (Resolutions 25-74 and 25-76).