Newport:

Preliminary plans for the 2008-09 Newport Beach budget include more than $224 million in anticipated revenue for the city.

Despite a troubled national economy, city officials say the city’s finances are still in good shape.

The tentative budget also contains more than $3 million in funding for designing and permitting a new city hall and about $250,000 for city attorney and code enforcement services to deal with drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes in the city.

“While these are challenging times, because of a strong tax base and an underlying strong local economy, we are in relatively good shape going into this budgeting session,” said Councilman Keith Curry, who chairs the city finance committee.

Curry said the city expects good revenues in the coming year from hotel taxes, including a boost in tax money from the luxury Resort at Pelican Hill hotel scheduled to open this fall in Newport Coast.

Newport Beach also will not experience the significant declines in sales taxes next year that are affecting other cities across the state, he said.

The city expects revenue from city and sales use taxes to grow by a meager 2% next fiscal year, from $22,877,127 to $23,334,670.

The good news is that only a slight increase in revenue indicates a local economy that is faring better than in other cities around the country, where tax revenues are on the decline, Curry said.

Although the city is doing better than other cities in tough economic times, Councilman Mike Henn, also a member of the finance committee, predicts the city will still have to tighten its belt in the coming years as tax revenues stagnate.

“It’s going to be tighter in the next few years as the economy slows down and we see a lower level of growth in property tax receipts...,” Henn said. “Even with that, the city of Newport Beach is in a much position than other cities in California.”

Despite a troubled housing market nationwide, the city’s property tax revenues are not expected to take as hard of a hit as other California communities, Henn said.

“We’re much better positioned than other cites to weather the storm,” he said.

Henn credited Newport’s slightly brighter economic outlook in part to the fact that the city’s real estate market is less dependent on new housing development than other areas. The city projects a 3.5% increase in property tax revenue during the next fiscal year, from $74,519,129 to $77,092,912, according to the preliminary budget.

BY THE NUMBERS

Expenditure highlights from the 2008-09 city of Newport Beach preliminary budget:

Public safety, including police, fire and emergency medical services, etc. — $76,312,502

Community services, including libraries, arts and cultural events, senior citizen services and recreation, etc. — $13,607,991

General government, including city council, elections, human resources, etc. — $14,722,427

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.