By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, May 24. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here: https://newportbeachca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/68240/72.
A special joint meeting of the City Council and Finance Committee will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A review of the proposed annual operating budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23. The $331 million proposed operating budget is balanced with a strong projected surplus of revenues over expenses. The proposed General Fund budget of $276 million reflects a full rebound from the pandemic and a return to the City’s historical trendline of revenue growth.
A study session will begin at 4:30 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A review of the proposed Fiscal Year 2022-23 Capital Improvement Program budget. The CIP budget proposes $71 million in spending for projects, a figure that includes $26 million from the Fiscal Year 2020-21 year-end surplus and $10 million of America Rescue Plan Act funds from the Federal Government. These funds will be utilized to fully fund several significant projects, including the Library Lecture Hall, Junior Lifeguard Building, and phase one of the Balboa Island drainage improvement project.
The regular session begins at 6 p.m. Agenda items include:
- A lease agreement with the Newport Ridge Community Association to develop, operate, and maintain pickleball courts at Newport Ridge Park. The proposed 30-year lease would permit the City to use a portion of Newport Ridge Park to develop eight pickleball courts. Six courts would be maintained and operated by the City for use by the general public, and two courts would be maintained and operated by the association for use by its members.
- An ordinance amending the Newport Beach Municipal Code 14.15, Water Conservation and Water Supply Shortage Program. The amendment would update the municipal code to include, among other changes, compliance with current State requirements, a procedure for declaring local water shortages, and establish requirements within each shortage level. This amendment anticipates further water conservation needs in the City given the increased severity of statewide drought conditions.
City Council Meeting Information
The Newport Beach City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months (the exceptions are August and December). Typically, there is a Study Session that starts at 4 p.m. Study sessions are times for the Council to take a deeper look at a specific issue, or hear a presentation, that might eventually lead to a specific and more formal action. A closed session often follows the Study Session. Closed sessions are typically to address legal, personnel, and other matters where additional confidentiality is important.
The Regular (evening) Session typically starts at 6 p.m., and often has a specific listing of different items ready for formal votes. Items on the “Consent Calendar” are heard all at once, unless a Council member has removed (aka “pulled”) an item from the Consent Calendar for specific discussion and separate vote. If an item on the agenda is recommended to be “continued”, it means that the item won’t be heard nor voted on that evening, but will be pushed forward to another noticed meeting.
Public Comment is welcomed at both the Study Session and the Regular Session. The public can comment on any item on the agenda. If you want to comment on a Consent Calendar item that was not pulled from the Consent Calendar by a Council Member, you will want to do so at the time listed on the agenda – right before the Council votes on the entire Consent Calendar (it’s Roman Numeral XIII on the posted agenda).
If an item is pulled, the Mayor will offer that members of the public can comment as that specific item is heard separately. Additionally, there is a specific section of Public Comment for items not on the agenda, but on a subject of some relationship to the city government.
If you cannot attend a meeting and/or want to communicate with the City Council directly, this e-mail gets to all of them: [email protected].
The City Manager also get’s a copy of the email, because in almost all cases it’s something that the City Manager follows-up on.
The Council meets in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive, off of Avocado between San Miguel and East Coast Highway. There is plenty of parking in the parking structure. You are always welcome to attend in person, but you can also watch on TV, Spectrum channel 30 and Cox channel 852 or stream it on your computer.
This Insider’s Guide is not an attempt to summarize every item on the Agenda – just the ones that seem of specific interest to the City Manager. You are encouraged to read the full agenda if you wish.
