Irvine leaders quietly spent millions of dollars remodeling their city hall in the years before it was announced that the budget was facing a multimillion-dollar structural deficit.
Now city councilors are debating where the money went.
It’s unclear exactly how much the remodel cost, but contracts reviewed by Voice of OC obtained through a public records request show change orders pushed the price between 2022 and April 2026 to between $12 million and more than $15 million.
It’s unclear whether those funds will be double counted in change orders, and city staff did not respond to questions about how much the city spent on the renovation.
Now city leaders are discussing conducting an audit of the funds to find out how they were spent.
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City faces budget problems after renovation
The new review of the cost of the renovation comes after City Council members learned that without major changes, the city will face a multimillion-dollar budget deficit annually for the next few years.
[Read: Irvine’s Budget Deficit Could Lead to Parking Fees and No New Libraries]
That set off alarm bells among city council members and the public, who have been told repeatedly for years that Irvine has one of the best municipal budgets in the country and had never previously shown signs of financial strain.
[Read: How Rocky Are Orange County’s Municipal Budgets?]
After less than a year in office, City Manager Sean Crumby submitted his resignation, weeks after informing the City Council of the deficit, and his successor has not yet been selected.
City Council members also saw their personal budgets double in recent years, expanding their ability to hire staff and promote city events as they fell into a deficit.
[Read: Irvine City Council Quietly Doubles Their Personal Budgets Ahead of Deficit]
At their May 12 meeting, City Council members voted unanimously to have their staff explore options for examining a range of past spending, including the renovation of City Hall and the way the city spent its federal COVID rescue money.
“We should get a diagnosis before we start treatment. So this memo is that diagnosis,” Councilwoman Melinda Liu said at the May meeting. “The purpose of this request is not to assign blame, but rather to adjust the way we use taxpayer dollars.”
“I want to know what happened here so it doesn’t happen again,” said City Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder.
While staff were directed to initiate further discussions about how the exams might move forward within 60 days, they have missed that deadline and it has not yet been discussed.
What was purchased?
While some of the work involved remodeling the building, including resealing windows and installing new air conditioning and electrical systems, much of the remodel was dedicated to cosmetic improvements, according to purchase orders obtained by Voice of OC.
Many of the city’s largest purchases involved new furniture for city staff and a redesign of the cubicle layout on the second and third floors of City Hall, as well as new offices for City Council members and the city manager.
Among the most expensive projects was a series of “cabin makeovers” that cost a combined $2.1 million, along with another $1.9 million for new furniture for a number of different offices.
The new furniture and remodeling for the “city manager’s office and finance/administrative area” alone totaled more than $235,000, according to orders.
About $3 million was also spent remodeling police headquarters, including new furniture, workstations, elevator upgrades and new carpeting.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
Related
https://voiceofoc.org/2026/07/how-much-money-did-irvine-spend-remodeling-city-hall/
