LAGUNA NIGUEL

City Council members agreed to adopt the $29.4-million budget for the upcoming year but disagreed on whether the city should support programs for at-risk youths. The council split over funding the work of the newly formed Youth Task Force at the budget workshop meeting Thursday. Mayor Mark Goodman offered the strongest opposition, calling the endeavor a waste of the city’s resources. “I have a real problem getting into any social engineering. . . . Unless you guys can come up with something really unique, I think you’ll be in trouble,” Goodman said. Councilwoman Mimi Walters wondered whether there was a real need. “What is the criteria for at-risk kids?” Walters asked. “Are you sure we have a need for this program in our community?” But other council members defended the committee as necessary to reach out to at-risk youths who perform poorly in school and otherwise might feel disenfranchised by the city.