Orange County is remembering Milan Panić, a prominent local executive whose life spanned international politics and business. Panić, a resident of Newport Beach and Pasadena, passed away late last week at the age of 96. His family stated that he lived on a scale uniquely his own, consistently stepping directly into history, and that “Milan Panić was, quite simply, larger than life.”
Born in Belgrade in 1929, Panić joined the Yugoslav resistance as a teenager during World War II. Following the war, he achieved recognition in cycling, competing internationally. In the 1950s, he fled communism and emigrated to the United States. With just a few hundred dollars, Panić founded ICN Pharmaceuticals, which grew to become one of Orange County’s first major pharmaceutical companies and the predecessor of Valent Pharmaceuticals. He led the company for decades, seeing its annual sales approach $700 million at its peak.
In the early 1990s, Panić returned to his birth country to serve a brief term as prime minister of Yugoslavia. He later challenged dictator Slobodan Milošević by running for president of Serbia, campaigning on a platform of peace and democracy in the Balkan region, an effort undertaken at great peril to himself.
In other local news, Irvine’s City Hall displayed what some might characterize as runaway spending last week, as the city works to address a growing budget deficit. At a City Council hearing on September 22, Irvine staff proposed various measures, including expenditure reductions, a slowdown in hiring, new fees, and business taxes, alongside other revenue-generating actions, all aimed at balancing the city’s budget.
These proposals follow a $6 million overspend in the past fiscal year, during which general fund expenditures reached $308 million. Projections indicate that budget shortfalls could rise significantly, reaching $47 million by the 2029-30 fiscal year. City staff expressed confidence that their recent proposals could lead to a balanced general fund budget within the next few years.
However, staff recommendations also project general fund expenditures to reach $350 million by fiscal year 2029-30. This represents a nearly 14% increase over 2025-2026 levels, despite efforts to address the deficit. For comparison, general fund expenditures stood at just $202 million in 2020. A significant factor in Irvine's budget challenges appears to be a bloated city payroll. According to a prior city report, full-time staffing increased from 856 to over 1,100 positions over the last five years.
Salaries and benefits for public safety, which constitutes the largest segment of city jobs, are slated to increase from $107 million this year to $136 million by 2029-30, according to city filings. This accounts for 54% of the city’s projected General Fund labor costs for that fiscal year. This increase in public safety spending by Irvine has nearly doubled over the past decade, outpacing the city’s general fund growth by 10%, a local publication noted last week. State records show that over the same 10-year period, felony offenses in Orange County have decreased by 5%, and violent offenses have fallen by more than 17%.
