City councilwoman questions health of coffers

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle called on city officials this week to eyeball local fallout from the national economic meltdown.

Daigle has asked Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau to prepare reports on city data that may function as a barometer on how the community is faring in the face of a nasty recession.

The councilwoman hopes the reports will give the council a better idea of how to deal with the problem.

“This economic downturn eclipses anything we have seen in a generation,” Daigle said Tuesday at a Newport Beach City Council meeting. “By implementing the right strategies, we will get through this.”

City staff will look in to things like if there are a growing number of empty storefronts in Newport Beach and if the number of building permits and business licenses are down in the city.

Daigle is especially concerned about the down economy’s effect on senior citizens in Newport, she said.

— Brianna Bailey