Council tackles taxes, dredging

The Newport Beach City Council is expected in 2009 to discuss lagging sales tax revenues, finalize the design for a new city hall and come up with a plan to finance dredging in Newport Bay.

The council will hold its annual goal-setting retreat Jan. 10 at the Newport Beach Public Library to discuss its priorities for the new year.

Enforcing a city ordinance to regulate drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes and working on issues relating to John Wayne Airport also will be on the council’s to-do list for the coming year, Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich said.

Sales tax revenue in Newport Beach is down about 20% for the first half of the fiscal year, city officials said last week and Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau has asked city departments to take a look at their budgets in light of the problem.

At about 15% of the city’s overall revenue, Newport Beach isn’t as dependent on sales taxes as other Southern California cities, but officials are taking a close look at the numbers, Selich said.

“It doesn’t look like there are any significant problems yet, but it’s something we’re watching,” Selich said.

The city also could reap a few benefits from the depressed economy, Councilman Keith Curry said. The city hopes to break ground on a new $20-million Oasis Senior Center in the spring.

“The current economic situation is a challenge for every city in California, but we also are better suited take advantage of a depressed construction market to move Oasis and City Hall along,” Curry said. “I think were going to move ahead as quickly as possible.”

The City Council is expected to vote Jan. 13 on a contract with the San Francisco-based architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to design an 81,000-square-foot new city hall in Newport Center. Including an adjacent park and a parking structure, the municipal complex is expected to cost about $60 million.

Newport Beach expects to see a finalized design for the city hall by the fall, Selich said.

The mayor said he also would like to see the City Council focus more in the coming year on developing a comprehensive plan for dredging Newport Bay.

“The biggest problem is developing a revenue stream for it,” Selich said. “We’ll have to develop a multi-headed program and come up with some type of revenue-based program in the city, take advantage of grants and also have local funds available to do the job.”

The lower harbor is under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers, because it contains a federal navigation channel, but the channel is viewed by the Corps as more of a recreational area than a vital waterway. Federal funding for the project has not been forthcoming. An estimated 900,000 cubic yards of sediment needs to be removed from the lower harbor.

Government officials have managed to cobble together enough funding to keep dredging in Upper Newport Bay going until at least the end of January. The California Wildlife Conservation Board approved a $2-million grant in November to fund the project. Congress also approved an additional $2 million for dredging in October. City officials estimate that about $16 million is needed to complete the project.

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