OC LAFCO serves Orange County cities, special districts, and the county to ensure effective and efficient delivery of municipal services.
Background
Services and Resources
MSRs
Comprehensive studies that review the efficient and cost-effective delivery of municipal services by Orange County cities and special districts.
Fiscal Indicator Program
Fiscal indicators help measure and describe prospects involving the fiscal health of a local agency. OC LAFCO indicators include a depiction of the financial data of Orange County’s cities and special districts.
Shared Services Program
Launched in 2011, OC LAFCO Shared Services Program is designed to provide opportunities for local agencies to increase efficiency by sharing expertise and resources.
MS Dashboard
The Municipal Services Dashboard is an interactive tool that visually displays demographics and data found in the state-mandated municipal service reviews prepared for Orange County cities and special districts.
History of LAFCOs
Studying Boundaries & Resources
Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown appointed the Commission of Metropolitan Area Problems (The Commission) to study the complexities of local government boundaries and the misuse of land resources.
LAFCOs Established To Regulate Boundaries
The Commission’s recommendations were translated into the Knox-Nisbet Act of 1963 which established LAFCOs and provided LAFCOs with regulatory authority of local agency boundary changes.
Laws Governing City & District Boundaries Are Unified
The Legislature enacted the Cortese-Knox Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985, repealing three previous acts (the Knox-Nisbet Act of 1963, the District Reorganization Act of 1965 and the Municipal Organization Act of 1977) and bringing the state’s boundary laws for cities and districts together into a single, unified statute.
Commission Established Review & Revise Boundary Laws
The Legislature established the Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century to review current statutes and recommend revisions to laws that govern city, county and special district boundary changes.
Boundary Reform Bill Makes LAFCOs More Independent & Creates Review Process
The Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century released its recommendations in a report entitled Growth Within Bounds. The Legislature responded by passing the most important boundary reform bill since creating LAFCOs – the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000. This legislation empowered LAFCOs to become more proactive in addressing municipal service issues, required LAFCOs to be independent from counties, changed how LAFCOs were funded and required the preparation of Municipal Service Reviews.