Budget Increased by $1.17 Million to Allow for Pending Annexation

With North Laguna Hills set to join the city July 1, the City Council approved a $1.17-million increase to its biannual budget this week.

The first detailed list of costs and revenues for the soon-to-be annexed community shows that North Laguna Hills is expected to bring in about $1.27 million more than it will cost the city next year.

Most of that money will be held in the general fund while the city researches and decides what kind of capital improvements are needed in North Laguna Hills.

“The first year we’ll assess the infrastructure deficiencies, then spend the money to correct them,” said Assistant City Manager Don White. “It’s similar to what we did with the city.”

Covering about 755 acres, the unincorporated community is home to about 5,000 people and dozens of businesses.

The greatest annexation expense is providing additional police services, which adds $499,925 to the budget.

The next most expensive service is street maintenance, at $110,000.

The budget reflects the wealth of retail shops in North Laguna Hills and shows that the community will have no problems paying for itself.

Sales tax revenue is expected to mean an additional $1.4 million to the city. Because the city agreed to give the county 82%--about $460,000--of all property taxes in return for permission to annex North Laguna Hills, that source of revenue only increased by $95,000.

However, the new community does include three hotel/motel complexes that city officials estimate will bring in $424,000 in room taxes.