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.

Garden Grove The Real Problems Are Not Due Until Next Year

A status quo budget is what the staff will recommend to the City Council for adoption next month. But City Manager Delbert L. Powers has forecast that the city will have budget problems next year as the economy continues to slow while demand for services increase.

Mike Fenderson, assistant city manager, said the staff has not totaled final figures of the proposed budget that it will present to the City Council on July 7, but he said it should not exceed the $66-million budget adopted last year by much.

“It pretty much retains all the current services. There are no new major programs in the budget,” Fenderson said. “We’re going to have a balanced budget with no reserves.”

Fenderson said no reduction in city personnel is planned and that some part-time positions probably will be converted to full-time jobs, swelling the city’s payroll slightly. A few more police officers will added, he said.

But Fenderson also cautioned that this probably will be the last year the City Council will have a relatively easy task in approving a new budget.

“We see the economy weakening, and we will have some long-term problems,” he said. “I see where serious problems will have to be addressed in the future . . . probably beginning next year.”

Fenderson said problems will arise because city revenue is not expected to increase substantially in the future while operating expenses will continue to escalate. He said city tax revenue was up only 4% this fiscal year over 1985-86.

The July 7 meeting of the council will be a working session. Public hearings will be held on July 13 and July 20 if needed.

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.