Third District Supervisor Don Wagner asked staff for a report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs the county has, and suggested possibly considering a pause on such programs in light of the Trump administration’s plans to defund DEI initiatives.
A memo from the White House released Monday evening directed a pause in federal funding assistance pending a review to ensure activities do not conflict with President Donald Trump’s latest executive orders about “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal.” The freeze was supposed to go into effect Tuesday afternoon, however, a federal judge has delayed implementation until at least Monday.
Following the memo, county leaders were scrambling to figure out which programs or services could be jeopardized.
“I would like a report from staff about all of our DEI programs,” Wagner said at Tuesday’s board meeting while discussing the county’s mid-year budget review as leaders tackle a $22 million gap in funding for the next fiscal year. “What are they? What are they intended to accomplish? How are they evaluated? Who supervises them? How many employees are staffed by these programs? How are they funded? Whether that funding from the federal government is potentially at risk. And finally, whether, given this funding uncertainty, we ourselves should put a pause on these programs.”
“Although (the memo) seems very broad, it is, from press reports and from the president’s own comments, in many ways, directed at DEI, which is why I had the specific item directed at our specific DEI programs that we would need some answers to,” Wagner added.
A spokesperson for the supervisor said later he did not have specific programs in mind.
But Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the county needs a diverse workforce to service a diverse community and can’t just say, “anything having to do with the DEI label is wrong. I want to see if it does provide an enhanced service to our residents.”
The five supervisors didn’t vote on any specific action in terms of Wagner’s suggestion, but staff is expected to return with a report.
Wagner also directed county executives to look into creating a contract reduction program.
“The county currently has over 3,000 active contracts totaling $1 billion annually. I believe there’s an opportunity here to garner some savings for the county through the use of incentives, such as an additional one- or two-year contract extension for vendors who agree to lower the amount they are charging us,” Wagner said.
If only 10% of vendors participate, a one-year extension with a 10% price reduction, could save the county up to $100 million, and a two-year extension with a 15% reduction, could save $150 million, Wagner said.
“This program would be beneficial to the county and its vendors,” Wagner said, “but most importantly, to Orange County taxpayers.”
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