Proposed city budget on Newport council agenda

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider approving a balanced $278-million spending plan for the coming fiscal year.

The city’s seven-member Finance Committee voted unanimously this month to recommend that the council approve the proposed budget, which includes funding for new police car computers, increased staffing of part-time seasonal lifeguards and increased ambulance service during the summer months.

Anticipated general fund expenditures are $190.1 million. The lion’s share of that — $134 million — is proposed for employee salaries and benefits. About $55.3 million is expected to fund maintenance and operations. The general fund is the key operating fund within the city’s budget used for discretionary revenues and expenditures.

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General fund revenue is projected at $199.2 million from sources that include property, sales and hotel-related taxes.

The city also earmarked $64.7 million for capital improvements, which include long- and short-term construction projects for streets, buildings, parks and beaches,.

Highlights of the capital improvement plan include:

• $23.5 million for street repairs and drainage, including turf replacement in city medians, storm drain water quality improvements and streetlight replacement

• $12.33 million for facilities projects, including repairs and reconstruction of fire stations, a remodel of the Police Department headquarters and designing the West Newport Community Center

• $13.26 million for parks, Newport Harbor and the beaches, including the eventual replacement of the aging Balboa Island sea walls, dredging of the Grand Canal and access studies for Sunset Ridge Park

• About $6.55 million toward water quality and environmental projects, including the Semenuik Slough dredging and Bayview Heights drainage and runoff treatment

• About $2.45 million for transportation projects, including traffic signal synchronization and Mariner’s Mile street configuration and land-use plans

Being on the list for 2016-17 doesn’t necessarily mean a project will be completed during that year, according to budget documents.

The budget also shows that about $1.7 million in surplus money is proposed to help fund neighborhood enhancements, such as pavement and landscaping for Irvine Avenue, landscaping for medians and utility undergrounding assessment districts for city-owned properties.

The majority of the Finance Committee also recommended that $3.5 million in surplus funds be allocated to the sewer fund, which pays for line repairs and other projects necessary to maintain the city’s 50-year-old sewer system.

The fund for wastewater service is quickly running out of money, according to Municipal Operations Director George Murdoch. The City Council had considered increasing customers’ wastewater rates over a five-year period, but council members denied the proposal in March.

Staff has said that if the $3.5 million is put into the sewer fund, future customer rate increases could be lower.

The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at 100 Civic Center Drive.

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Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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