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By Katrina Foley, OC Board of Supervisors Vice Chair
Two years ago, I secured $3.5 million for the County to clear Talbert Park encampments. While some individuals accepted our outreach to move into shelter and housing, other residents simply moved over the fence to Randall Preserve.
We must enforce anti-camping ordinances when residents turn down our assistance. Since 2024, we have cleared approximately 2,512 encampments, repaired more than 600 holes cut into chain link fencing, and disposed of 1,200 tons of trash.
Recently, my team coordinated with the Cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, OC Parks, Randall Preserve, the State of California, Army Corps of Engineers, and our OC Deputy Sheriffs to coordinate encampment clearing of Randall Preserve, Talbert Park and Marsh, and the Santa Ana Riverbed.
On May 21, 2025, OC Public Works joined our city and state partners to clear the marsh and preserve areas. We’re also working on creating uniform enforcement standards and protocols to strengthen the safety and health of our community. In the meantime, Supervisor Sarmiento and I are developing a monitoring and endowment plan for the flood channels, including full time security guards and solar-powered monitoring devices in key locations, helping to deter camping and crime.
Fighting Crime with Flock Cameras
Flock cameras also play a key role in our coordinated crime-fighting strategy throughout the Fifth District by providing our local law enforcement with real-time identification.
In the past few years, several different crimes occurred in Newport Beach and Fashion Island, after which the offenders were caught all the way in LA County.
As more cities adopt our flock camera program – as Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, and Dana Point have – catching criminals in active crime becomes easier.
Updating Newport Harbor’s Patrol Boat Fleet
Our OC Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol Bureau celebrated 50 years of service this year. More than 15,000 registered boats in Orange County call our three harbors home. Operating seven fireboats and 10 patrol boats, they conducted approximately 200 rescues in 2024 and respond to more than 12,000 calls for service annually.
Newport Harbor’s multi-year plan to update the Harbor Patrol fleet includes modernizing 11 of our patrol and fire boats, protecting our safety on the water and enhancing law enforcement, search and rescue, boat fire response, and Homeland Security operations.
Combatting Rising Drug Abuse Trends
Walking by vape stores or smoke shops, one might think our County was in the grips of a whipped cream frenzy. Candy-colored packaging and fun flavors lead consumers to believe ingesting Nitrous oxide (a.k.a. whippets, galaxy gas, or NOX) is safe – it’s not. And it’s illegal to possess, despite its availability in some retail stores.
NOX suffocates your brain, causing serious neurological harm, psychosis, even death. Student use is on the rise. Where the state falls short in adequately prohibiting NOX sales for recreational use, the County of Orange and our cities must step up to enhance public safety. Following our lead, the City of Santa Ana now prohibits NOX sales. Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Anaheim will soon consider. We’ve sent our model ordinance to all District 5 cities to encourage banning NOX and protecting our public health and safety.
Protecting Our Thriving Orange County Economy
The County of Orange’s fiscal health and financial responsibility is as strong as ever, backed by a AAA rating by Fitch Ratings. Our 2025-26 draft budget reflects rising property tax revenue, a 2.5 percent decline in sales tax (about $9 million), and higher costs, while unfunded state and federal mandates continue growing.
As the ninth largest county economy in America, we remain committed to protecting your taxpayer dollars and investing strategically in infrastructure to enhance the health, safety, and economic well-being of all who call Orange County home.
The seven-year Capital Improvement Project investments represent nearly 54 percent of the budget.
Supervisor Katrina Foley serves as Fifth District Supervisor for the County of Orange, representing the 650,000 residents in south Orange County, including Newport Beach.