(April 10, 2009, initial report) -- 3rd dist. Councilman Gary DeLong commented and fielded Q & A on multiple issues during his monthly meeting with 3rd dist. neighborhood groups on April 9.

Addressing a crowd of roughly fifty people at La Strada on 2nd St., Councilman DeLong said he didn't see any way City Hall could balance its budget in the next couple of years "without significant contributions from labor." He said that "if that doesn't happen, then I think you'll see massive layoffs."

Councilman DeLong continued: "[W]e don't want to put a lot employees out of work and we also don't want to reduce the amount of services we provide to residents, but if labor does not come to the table, you'll see draconian actions...but I'm confident they will. I think that we have an outstanding employee group and I think we will work together [and] we'll come up with solutions that work for everybody."

The scheduled topic was City Hall's deficit (spending exceeding expected revenue), but much of the audience Q & A dealt with the SE LB wetlands and associated issues. Among those present were Tom Marchese (University Park Estates Homeowners/Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust) and Mike Ruehle (Belmont Shore Residents Ass'n).

One of the first audience questions dealt with the Loynes-south property (between the Los Cerritos Channel and mobile home park), recently acquired by Sean Hitchcock from an entity involving Tom Dean. Councilman DeLong announced that at the urging of LB city staff, the CA Coastal Commission has issued a permit for capping (re-capping) the former landfill area which had been cleared of vegetation by bulldozing...which pierced the cap (releasing methane, AQMD inspections indicated). Work is scheduled to begin on the site on Monday, April 13, Councilman DeLong said.

When asked about penalties that LB City Hall might impose for what had been done, Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick said penalties for those actions aren't within the City's legal purview...and are within the jurisdiction of other agencies.

In opening comments, Councilman DeLong told the audience:

• 2nd/PCH project: He'd met earlier in the week with the developers who'll be making a proposal on the 2nd St/PCH project "that they're going to be presenting to the city in the next few weeks...I think it's very important that we do the right thing there and we'll all work together to figure out what that is."

• JetBlue: After noting that the City Council [on April 7] had asked the City Manager to come back in a few weeks with the timeline for moving forward on the Airport parking garage and the "terminal modernization," Councilman DeLong said: "It's a project that has been long overdue. We've been working on it for years. I'm not going to say that there aren't any good reasons why it's taken so long but regardless, we need to move forward. We need to deliver on the promises that we made to JetBlue before they came here. [inaudible] our half of the commitment. JetBlue is not only a great corporate citizen but [inaudible] they provide a high quality service and they're certainly not an airline that we can replace easily and expect the same kind of result...We all believe in the noise ordinance. We're not going to do anything that could negatively impact that but as far as operating underneath it, we need to get those terminal improvements moving, probably sooner rather than later."

• Election of Robert Garcia to City Council: "I supported him in his campaign. I think he's going to be a great Councilmember...He came from the 3rd district and he worked with Frank Colonna on his staff, he resided in this district before he moved into the 1st a few years ago...There's a lot of changes that need to be made in the 1st district and he can certainly count on me to support those endeavors as he figures out which priorities are and how to take that first district in a different direction. I really believe that we are one city so help with the first district in changing that, and making it more viable, and successful for everybody in the 1st district, we all benefit when we have stronger districts around the city.

Councilman DeLong's scheduled guests, Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick and Budget & Performance Mgr. Dave Wodynski, discussed City Hall's deficit (spending exceeding revenue) and fielded Q & A.

LBReport.com asked if city mgm't is renegotiating/reopening city employee contracts and seeking give-backs; Ass't City Mgr. Frick replied that management is starting discussions with employee groups [unions] she expects "collaborative" approach. We asked a second time about give backs, and Ms. Frick said management will establishing targets it expects from the employees.

Councilman DeLong then volunteered the following comment:

I don't see any way that we will balance our budget in the next couple of years without significant contributions from labor. And if that doesn't happen, then I think you'll see massive layoffs...Obviously, we don't want to put a lot employees out of work and we also don't want to reduce the amount of services we provide to residents, but if labor does not come to the table, you'll see draconian actions...but I'm confident they will. I think that we have an outstanding employee group and I think we will work together and we'll all benefit, including the residents, we'll come up with solutions that work for everybody. I firmly believe that.

Budget chief Wodynski said management has begun implementing a 2% spending reductions in public safety, 6% for other departments and, as announced earlier this year, a 40-hour city employee furlough [or equivalent savings] will begin in May.

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