THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:The price of Harbor Patrol

A debate is on the offing between Orange County and the cities of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach over who pays for Harbor Patrol services, after Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby this week reiterated his desire for the cities to pony up.

Harbor Patrol services are now provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and paid for from the county general fund. The harbor patrol is headquartered in Newport Beach and serves the Dana Point harbor — a county facility — as well Newport’s and Huntington’s harbors, which are city-owned.

“People in my district wonder, ‘Why is some guy in La Habra paying to patrol a guy’s boat in Newport Harbor?’ ” Norby said Wednesday. “The docks are all private, and they’re owned by the city.”

Newport officials said in 2005 they’d probably want to take over the operation if they’re asked to pay, and Mayor Steve Rosansky said he still feels that way. The city could likely run the Harbor Patrol at less expense, he said.

Another option is to bill the city for the Harbor Patrol but offset the cost by giving the city a share of money the county makes from Newport’s waterfront — for example, the county collects revenue from leasing the Newport Dunes and some moorings in the city’s harbor, Rosansky said.

“We’re not looking to pay for service, I don’t think, unless we’re going to have a lot more control over how that service is provided,” he said.

Supervisor John Moorlach, whose district includes Newport and Huntington, said he’d support asking cities to pay, and he’d also have no problem sharing revenues with Newport.

“I don’t believe that we’re just in the business of giving costs away,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to give revenues away too.”

A formal proposal on Harbor Patrol costs likely won’t come forward until after a new first district supervisor is elected in February, Norby said.

CONFERENCE ON REHAB HOMES

Newport Beach can expect a large crowd for a March 2 conference on drug and alcohol recovery facilities, based on the early response, Rosansky said this week.

Residents have been increasing the pressure on city officials to do something to limit the homes, which they say are responsible for a variety of problems, including commercial trucks parking in the street, drug use and crime.

Invitations to the conference went out late last week to about 2,500 people, including city managers, council members and city attorneys around the state.

“I thought we were only going to have maybe 50 or 60 people show up to this conference. We may have 250 people,” Rosansky said.

The city has said its hands are largely tied by state and federal regulations that protect recovery facilities, and the conference is an attempt to change that.

“Nothing’s going to get done unless people are willing to put pressure on their representatives,” Rosansky said.

STATE OF THE CITY

And in other Steve Rosansky news, the Newport Beach mayor will talk about the state of the city, and specifically West Newport, at a Wednesday meeting of the West Newport Beach Assn. The meeting will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. in the council chambers at Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd. For information, call (949) 246-8383.

BILL DEADLINE APPROACHES

With a Friday deadline to get new bills to the state’s legislative counsel, a flurry of proposals will be coming. Newport-Mesa’s representatives this week announced bills to help prevent child abuse and keep terrorists from working for state government.

Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore suggested the anti-terrorist provision. After finding laws on the books that ban state employees from belonging to the Communist Party, DeVore decided to update the laws instead of getting rid of them. His proposal would prohibit anyone in state government from belonging to or financially supporting a foreign terrorist organization, DeVore said in a statement.

Huntington Beach Sen. Tom Harman, who represents Newport-Mesa, wrote a bill that would require state health education standards to include instruction in child abuse prevention. A statement from Harman said studies have shown that prevention programs are effective in reducing abuse.

GRANT APPLICATIONS

Costa Mesa Assemblyman Van Tran is inviting applications for state cultural and historical grants. The $43 million in funding available this year comes from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment and will pay for projects that preserve the state’s cultural and historical resources.

Nonprofit groups and local governments are eligible to apply. Applications are due March 1. For information, go to www.library.ca.gov /chhe or call (916) 651-8223.