Our Version 2.0 Of Public Safety Budget Alternative

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On Aug. 23, Gabelich, Neal and Schipske proposed using a portion of upland oil revenue -- already accrued (not speculated) to City Hall -- to avert roughly $12 million of the Mayor/Manager's proposed cuts in FY12. At that night's Council meeting, Mayor Foster claimed this would invite a FY13 deficit if the price of oil falls in the coming year.

Fine. LBReport.com proposes "Version 2.0" that would cut the Gabelich-Neal-Schipske proposal in half in FY12, using only roughly $6 million (instead of $12 million) of the oil revenue in FY12 and sequestering -- putting aside, reserving, protecting -- the remaining roughly $6 million where it will remain safe and prudently available if necessary in FY13.

That means, even if there were NO available uplands oil revenue in FY13, there'd be money available in FY13. This would provide a bridge to maintain core services -- police, fire, parks, libraries -- in 2012 and 2013 until pension reforms (now being negotiated) take effect.

Specifically, LBReport.com favors updating the Gabelich-Neal-Schipske proposal as follows (rough figures below):

Maintain a $2 million fund balance in the account, which is twice the amount that the Gas Department Manager has stated is a prudent reserve balance for the Fund;

Utilize $12 million $6 million in funds to restore cuts in the City’s General Fund in FY 12, as detailed below:

a) Police Department: $6.2 $3.1 million

• Restore 14 police officers from Patrol Divisions - $1,654,968
• Restore positions to Gang Enforcement Detail Team - $517,924
• Restore Violent Crimes Detail positions - $271,867
• Restore positions in Homeland Security Section - $579,884
• Chief’s priorities for additional restorations - $3,175,357

b) Fire Department: $4.3 million

• Maintain four-person staffing on engines - $3,243,198
• Restore engine at Station 18 - $262,388
• Restore Rescue 12 -- approx. $800,000

c) Library Services: $750,000 $375,000

Maintain existing services at Neighborhood Libraries - $703,727 $350,000

Restore supplies, services & staffing, including City Source - $35,438 $17,500

d) Parks, Recreation & Marine: $750,000

• Restore program and service cuts - $750,000
• Utilize about $4 million $2 million for one-time expenditures, that may include:

  
  a) Implementation of automated payroll system
  b) Support strategies for Layoff Aversion and Business Outreach through Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network
  c) Support for the Long Beach Municipal Band
  d) Additional citywide infrastructure projects
  e) Add to the current $9 million Budget Stabilization Fund balance
  f) Reserve funds to smooth the projected budget shortfall in FY 13

The biggest threat to Version 2.0 are transparent attempts by some of the Mayor's allies, including Councilman Robert Garcia, to seize oil revenue after they approve the FY12 budget (so it can't be used for public safety, parks or libraries).

LBReport.com sandpaperd former Public Safety Committee chair/now former Councilman Val Lerch for failing to respond more strongly to Mayor/Management proposed police cuts (including failing to run replenishment Police Academy classes) and the public safety record of Mayor Foster's choice to chair the Public Safety Committee now, Councilman Robert Garcia, is at least as bad if not worse.

In running for office in 2009, Garcia pledged to make public safety his top priority, but since taking office, he's voted to cut 140 budgeted sworn officers. That decline, the largest two year decline in the history of the City of Long Beach, has left Long Beach taxpayers with a per capita police strength roughly equivalent to L.A. City Hall balancing its budget by cutting over 25% of L.A.P.D.'s officers.

In 2010, Mayor Foster chose Councilman Garcia to chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee, and (big surprise) Councilman Garcia didn't bother to hold an hearings on the Mayor/Manager's proposed FY12 budget and its public safety impacts. That proposed FY12 budget now threatens to cut LBPD patrol, anti-gang, violent crime and homeland security allocations.

Councilman Garcia resides in some virtual reality in proposing to use one-time monies to fund what he spins as an "investment" but is a vanity extravagance: a City Hall website upgrade (Garcia's cost estimate: $500,000). .

Just days ago, LBReport.com reported that a bicycle rider was shot in front of the Willore City area house that Garcia used as a prop photo op for his campaign photos. Garcia's 1st Council district, and Councilman Dee Andrews' 6th district, collectively accounted for over half of LB's murders in 2010 [when LBPD said, accurately, that crime was down citywide.]

Among the other FY12 public safety impacts that Garcia didn't consider hearing-worthy: the Mayor/Manager proposal to cut staffing on responding Fire Engines from four to three persons. That means first responders would have to watch and wait -- while a building burns -- for a second unit to arrive before firefighters can enter enter the burning building to extinguish the fire. Lakewood and Signal Hill deliver four person fire units for their taxpayers, and LBFD's Fire Chief has had the intellectual honesty to say that he favors four person staffing in Long Beach (size and urban challenges).

The Mayor/Management proposed budget would also eliminate of LBPD's Homeland Security Section -- three Detectives and Sergeant -- whose work would be taken over by Patrol. But the budget also cuts Patrol by 14 officers.

Police Chief McDonnell says this won't affect LBPD's [separate] Counter-Terrorism office...but he also acknowledges that the proposed FY12 budget would cut two sworn officers, one non person person from that Counter-Terrorism office.

Yes, some police officers, separately contracted to and paid for to handle security tasks at the Port, Airport, LB Transit (not by the Council controlled General Fund) aren't being cut but LB will not be safer because of the cuts LB City Hall is proposing to make.

In our opinion, it is an outrage and an embarrassment that some Long Beach Council incumbents -- whose first duty is to protect the public's health and safety -- would put their names to a budget that would put residents and businesses at greater risk than we already are because they can't prioritize spending properly...putting a website upgrade above public safety.

The sad truth is, Long Beach taxpayers are facing cuts today in large part because Mayor Foster smugly advocated, and City Council majorities unwisely rubberstamped, unsustainable city employee contracts. In 2007, Foster supported a "reopener" with the Police Officers Ass'n (which endorsed Foster's 2006 Mayoral run) which has grown into a 2009 five year contract.

In May 2008, Foster advocated and Council majorities supported five year (instead of the usual three year) contracts with the Firefighters Ass'n (8-1, Gabelich dissenting) and IAM (non public safety workers, 7-2, Gabelich and DeLong dissenting)

Those contracts advocated by Mayor Foster and rubberstamped by his Council allies now account for OVER HALF (rougly %25 million) of the projected three year deficit (roughly $40 million).

As of today, no full Council meetings are scheduled between now and September 6...when the Council could vote to rubberstamp the Mayor/Management proposed budget.

We urge Councilmembers Gabelich, Schipske and Neal to use their right to seek to agendize a special meeting of the City Council -- which they can do on as little as 24 hours notice on any day (including Saturday or Sunday) if they have the approval of just two other Councilmembers. At that special meeting, which could be continued for as long as it takes to get the job done, a Council majority could discuss and vote on Version 2.0 (or 3.0 or 4.0) or other ways (if they have them) to maintain public safety levels that the Mayor has proposed to cut.

If they encounter resistance from their Council colleagues, we urge them to let us know who they are. LB taxpayers have a right to know which Council incumbents -- especially going into an election cycle -- aren't willing to do the jobs they were elected to do and prefer to rubberstamp what the incumbent Mayor wants.