CITY BUDGETS : A SPECIAL REPORT : A Balancing Act Between Less Money, Rising Costs

The Irvine City Council is considering new and increased fees, with concerts at Irvine Meadows and boxing at the Irvine Marriott among the targets for the levies. In Huntington Beach, some parking rates are going up. It’s the same story all over Orange County.

With few exceptions, cities wrestling with 1987-88 budgets that refuse to balance are being forced by reductions in anticipated sales and property tax revenues to hike fees and tap reserves--a sign that the county’s economy is slowing down.

Most of the county’s 26 cities still are expecting to take in more taxes in the 1987-88 fiscal year than in the current year--4% to 8% more, in most cases. But city officials say that that rate of growth is only about half of the previous year’s and is not enough to cover rapidly escalating expenses.

There are a few bright spots. Santa Ana, for example, has managed to find enough money to launch a new program to spruce up neighborhoods.

But, faced with a state law requiring balanced budgets, most city councils are struggling to maintain services at current levels.

Garden Grove Assistant City Manager Mike Fenderson summed up the situation described by many of his counterparts in other cities when he said: “We see the economy weakening . . . I see where serious problems will have to be addressed in the future.”

Here is a city-by-city look, in alphabetical order, at how the budget-balancing is going at city halls across the county.

Orange Revenue Gains Allow Focus on Capital Outlays

The City Council adopted a budget June 16 that is fat with funds for capital projects. At $53.5 million, the fiscal 1987-88 budget is 5.1% bigger than the current document, according to Budget Director Teri Cable.

The city’s sales tax revenue is expected to increase $100,000 in fiscal 1987-88 over the previous year, to $15.6 million, she said. Property tax revenue also is expected to climb, from $7.8 million to $8.5 million.

In 1987-88, Cable said, Orange will be “concentrating heavily on capital outlay.” The budget is loaded with $8.3 million--$1 million over the current year’s amount--in capital projects such as street improvements, traffic signals and major equipment purchases.

At $29.6 million, salaries and benefits for city employees make up the greatest portion of the budget. That’s 55% of the budget, with “a major increase” in store when salary negotiations are complete, Cable added.

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Marcida Dodson, La Mont Jones Jr., Lanie Jones, Ray Perez, Mark I. Pinsky, David Reyes, Bob Schwartz, Nancy Wride and Jonathan Weisman.