EDITORIAL:

Certainly it was news last week when a city-commissioned study concluded that Newport Beach doesn’t charge enough fees to recover its costs.

But you know what would really be news? How about a city-commissioned study that shows taxpayers are getting a lousy deal and city fees are too high?

Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen.

That may sound cynical, but what do you expect when this study refers to “fee increases?” That’s bureaucratic pig Latin for “tax hike.”

Was it just a year ago that City Council members were sounding like prudent fiscal conservatives who wanted to get a handle on their spending problem? Like good conservatives, they bemoaned the 8.4% annual spending growth the previous four fiscal years. At the same time, the city’s income grew by 9% a year since 2003 so they weren’t saving much.

That was an obvious mistake. Even the most casual market watcher knows the bulls can’t run forever. Sooner or later the bear gets his claws out. You just want to make sure you have some cash stashed away when the grizzlies do their damage.

That time is now, but fortunately for Newport Beach it’s not as if the city is near bankruptcy. When council members approved the city’s budget last year, they expected to take in about $2.5 million more than they spent.

Now we’re being told the city should be charging $5.6 million more a year in fees because the city hasn’t adjusted most of them in a decade. So the solution is jacking up the cost of a planning department appeal board hearing from $887 to $3,070? Or the fee for impounding dogs and cats from $35 to $107?

How would you like it if your next dry cleaning bill cost $200 instead of the $25 you were expecting? And the clerk says, “Oh sorry, but we forgot to raise our prices all these years, so we’re catching up.”

We bet you wouldn’t go back to that store.

We understand that Newport Beach residents have high expectations when it comes to services. So be it. But don’t be so lazy that you just jack up taxes. That’s not what conservatives do. They look at ways to cut expenses and save money. Tax increases are a last resort, and even then you shouldn’t try to “catch up” all at once.