Orange County Proposes $10.8B Budget With $1.2B Increase

County governments in Kenya are resisting the national government's plan to transfer Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff payrolls to counties without additional funding, citing inadequate financial capacity and lack of coordination. The Council of Governors emphasized that counties need increased equitable share allocations to manage over 8,700 UHC workers sustainably and have requested a meeting with President William Ruto to discuss funding shortfalls. Meanwhile, in the United States, Orange County, California, is proposing a $10.8 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, an increase of about $1.2 billion driven by new state mandates and court-related expenses, despite revenue increases largely from property taxes. The general fund budget for Orange County is projected at $5.4 billion, with challenges including a slight decrease in law enforcement funding from a local tax. Public safety dominates budgeting priorities in Liberty County, Georgia, with a 5.1% budget increase to nearly $65.7 million, where salaries and benefits comprise nearly half of expenditures, and property taxes provide the majority of revenue. These budgetary developments reflect broader challenges counties face in balancing growing service demands with constrained financial resources.