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.

Fullerton Capital Projects Take Big Chunk of Spending

Capital projects make up a big chunk of Fullerton’s $58-million proposed budget, and street construction, maintenance and repair are “the lion’s share” of those projects, according to Barbara Henderson, director of finance and city treasurer.

The City Council gave the budget preliminary approval on June 17, but the resolution won’t be up for final adoption until July 7, Henderson said.

“There was discussion on some items, but I wouldn’t say anything was really controversial,” she noted. “It’s possible (the City Council) may have some minor changes, but I wouldn’t anticipate any changes from what they approved in preliminary form.”

The budget is $2 million less than the current budget because sales tax revenues are not growing as rapidly as they once were.

Sales tax revenues are expected to increase from the current fiscal year’s $11.7 million to $12.6 million in 1987-88. Property tax revenues are expected to total about $10.3 million, up 10% from $9.4 million this year.

The decreased growth in tax revenues has prompted a 33% decrease in funding for projects such as street maintenance; $8 million will be spent on such projects in 1987-88. “But I think if you compare that to other cities, we’re still devoting a lot of money to capital projects,” Henderson said.

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.