Newport eyes 5-year social services contract to help the homeless

The Newport Beach City Council will consider investing more than $1 million in homeless services Tuesday when it votes on a contract that aims to help get and keep people off the streets.

If the council agrees, the city will partner with Long Beach-based nonprofit City Net to enhance social services provided by the police department, which already partners with Orange County Health Care Agency to assist homeless people with social, health and housing needs.

The $1.1 million, five-year contract — a three-year base term with the option for two, one-year extensions — would provide the city with the equivalent of two full-time employees and on-call service.

City Net would coordinate and provide street-level outreach to transition people into an initial shelter, help them find and stay in longer-term housing and assist the city with community outreach.

Newport currently dedicates one sworn police officer to work as a full-time liaison to the homeless.

If approved, City Net would immediately begin providing services.

Council to review pension debt

In other agenda items Tuesday, the council will consider restructuring the city’s unfunded pension liability again in a bid to save about $45 million in interest.

Under the plan, Newport would commit to a fixed payment schedule to pay off about $320 million in unfunded pension obligations within 15 years.

The commitment, similar to one the city made in 2013, does not directly affect the discretionary payments of about $9 million a year the city started making last year on top of its compulsory payments to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Nor does it affect pension debt racked up going forward — only the $320 million the city currently owes.

The city would pay $35 million per year for 14 years, then $22.8 million in the 15th year — a total of nearly $513 million, including the $320 million principal and an additional $193 million in interest.

Without a locked interest rate, the city could end up paying $558 million overall on the $320-million liability, officials said.

Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 5 p.m. with a study session, followed by the regular session at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.