The City Council has selected a hometown guy as Orange’s next city manager, the city announced Friday.
Jarad Hildenbrand will be replacing retiring city manager Tom Kisela, who has held the post since 2022 after he retired as chief of the Orange Police Department.
Raised in Orange and a graduate of Villa Park High, Hildenbrand has been serving as city manager of Laguna Hills since 2022. Prior to that, he held city manager roles in Stanton, La Habra Heights and Villa Park.
“I’m very happy with our council’s choice for our new city manager,” Mayor Dan Slater said in a statement. “Between his city manager experience and solid background, Orange will definitely be in very capable hands.”
The council will need to confirm Hildenbrand’s appointment at its next public meeting on June 24.
Hildenbrand is scheduled to start his duties with the city on Aug. 11.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to Mayor Slater and the City Council for their trust in me,” Hildenbrand said in a statement. “Having grown up in Orange, this opportunity feels like a homecoming.”
As Orange’s city manager, Hildenbrand will oversee a general fund budget of approximately $156.2 million and a workforce of more than 700 full-time employees.
It’s a city budget long mired in woe, Orange having run fiscal deficits as far back as the Great Recession, a recent financial audit report indicated.
While the city balanced its general fund budget in the post-recession years, Orange continued to accrue long-term debt, while expanding the city workforce and underfunding workers’ compensation, self-insurance liability and equipment maintenance funds.
Following the pandemic, one-time revenues kept Orange’s general fund budget clear of red numbers until 2024, when the City Council had to freeze hiring and make cuts across departments to stave off a potential $19.1 million budget shortfall.
The city tried to rectify its structural budget problem by proposing a half-cent local sales tax on the November ballot. The measure could have raised up to $20 million per year for the city, officials estimated. But voters very narrowly defeated it.
In the last year, Orange has nixed city funding for public events such as the 3rd of July fireworks show. It’s cut library hours, summer programming and other community services while keeping staff positions vacant and limiting overtime.
As of June 10, the city had 63 vacant positions, including 24 in the Police Department, according to a staff report to City Council.
Still, Orange might be on the verge of projecting another operating deficit in fiscal year 2025-26, which begins in July.
“I am eager to get started and ready to make a positive impact on our community,” Hildenbrand said. “I look forward to addressing the challenges ahead and to working together to continue moving our city forward, ensuring we preserve our values and historic character.”
Hildenbrand holds a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach.
Related Articles
How OC response networks are tracking ICE raids as fear and confusion spread Altadena’s Powerball lottery winner got at least $628.5 million after taxes Lottery winner, investors snatch up homesites in LA fire zones These 16 buyers bought multiple parcels in LA County’s burn zones ‘Concerning rise’ in violence, overdoses leads to restrictions at California prisons Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Laguna Hills’ Jarad Hildenbrand to be next city manager of Orange )
Also on site :