Coast residents will get their $18 million

June Casagrande

NEWPORT COAST -- The $18 million owed to residents of this newly

annexed community could start to show up as credits on their annual tax

bill, perhaps as soon as this fall.

The Newport Coast Advisory Committee this week decided that the best

way to pay residents the $18 million owed them over the next 15 years is

by crediting their tax bills -- an arrangement that will depend on the

county’s cooperation with Newport Beach.

The money was promised to Newport Coast residents as a condition of

annexing the area to the city. The money comes from the Irvine Ranch

Water District, which is paying the city a total of $25 million over six

years as part of an agreement to supply water to the recently annexed

area. Newport Beach has pledged to return that money to the community’s

residents.

The $18 million, committee members decided, will be used to repay a

portion of residents’ assessment taxes, which were used to build roads

and other facilities during Newport Coast’s infancy. The other $7 million

has been set aside to build a community center, if residents want one.

“Everybody’s going to get a credit on their tax bill each year. That’s

what has been decided,” said Jim McGee, a Newport Coast resident and

member of the committee. McGee was also a leader in annexing the area.

City officials are working with the county to transfer the money through

the county-issued tax bills.

City officials had worried that they would be unable to work out the

details with the county. But Dick Kurth, deputy director of the city’s

Administrative Services Department, said recent talks with county

representatives suggest it can be done.

“There are no guarantees yet, but I think it’s going to work out,”

Kurth said.

Refund amounts will vary from homeowner to homeowner, based on the

amount of assessment district tax each resident pays. For residents of

the fully built-out Newport Ridge area, the amount will probably remain

constant throughout the 15-year term. But in the remainder of the Newport

Coast area, the annual amount will diminish each year as more residents

move in, spreading the wealth among more people.

Officials originally estimated that the owner of a $1.7 million home there would get about $722 the first year. But McGee said that estimate

is too rough to be reliable.

“We’re crunching the numbers right now,” McGee said. “It’s too early

to know the figures.”

The committee is also looking into an even more complex aspect of

their assessment district taxes: namely, the question of how the county

spent their money.

Some worry that up to $20 million the county collected may be

unaccounted for. Committee members are scrutinizing details of the county

tax expenditures and plan to come up with a list of questions and a list

of county documents they want to review. County and city officials have

assured residents that the money has been put to proper use.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .