Mayor Garcia's 2017 "State of the City" Message: What He Did and Didn't Say
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(January 11, 2017, 7:15 a.m.) -- As carried LIVE on LBREPORT.com (audio link to complete address here with on-demand video here
Speaking at the Terrace Theater via a wireless mike standing on an open stage (not behind a podium) using teleprompters as illustrative Power Point slides were projected behind him, Mayor Garcia said the state of city is strong in part because "for the first time in more than 50 years, local voters invested in the future of our city" with the Measure A LB sales tax increase, which Garcia repeatedly called an "investment." (The June 2016 measure gave LB (effective Jan. 1, 2017) the highest sales tax of any neighboring city and one of the highest in CA. It passed after a $700,000+ campaign plus the following Council-approved ballot title and text that Councilmembers can legally spend on any general fund items [All caps in original] "CITY OF LONG BEACH PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES MEASURE. To maintain 911 emergency response services; increase police, firefighter/paramedic staffing; repair potholes/streets; improve water supplies; and maintain general services...")
Mayor Garcia said Measure A will fund a Council-adopted a "$150 million plan" for "the next three to four years" [the first time we've heard "four" years instead of three years] for street repairs, sidewalks and fix LB's worst alleys, plus improvements at parks (incl. Houghton Park Community Center), El Dorado Park, LB's Ranchos and city libraries, after which City Hall will still have $50 million left that he said could fund other public infrastructure. [Council majorities can legally spend Measure A's revenue for any General Fund purposes they wish.]
Mayor Garcia asked the Council to approve restoring paramedic Rescue 12 in NLB (an action for which the Council already directed preparations in Nov. 2016, LBREPORT.com coverage here) and to add nine new dedicated police officers to staff a Police Academy unit to train new recruits. Adding an Police Academy training unit is operationally significant because it will alleviate the current need to pull off officers off patrol and other assignments to train recruits. (Chief Luna mentioned these benefits during a late summer 2016 Los Altos community meeting.) Mayor Garcia didn't give a timeline for either action. [Adding nine officers would bring the total number of police officers restored since voters enacted the Measure A sales tax increase to 17 officers out of roughly 200 erased by Council budget votes (including Garcia's) starting in FY10.]
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Mayor Garcia didn't mention restoring Engine 17 (at Station 17 on Argonne Ave. near Stearns Park), an action repeatedly sought by 4th dist. Councilman Daryl Supernaw, which is the next unit on LBFD Chief DuRee's list of prioritized restorations after restoring Rescue 12. The Council's FY17 budget (adopted in Sept. 2016) restored Engine 8 in Belmont Shore and restored LBPD's South Division that had been temporarily combined with West Division in a cost saving move.
Mayor Garcia declared that the police and fire restorations made to date are "the first time we actually increased our public safety departments in over ten years." [LBREPORT.com considers this statement highly misleading and will discuss it separately.]
Mayor Garcia said that as a newly chosen Metro Transportation Authority board member, "One of my top priorities, along with bringing new revenues to the region, is improving safety on the Blue Line. The Metro Board is a county-wide agency that governs the Metro rail system, the County bus system, and invests in freeways, highways and bike infrastructure. And as you may know, the Long Beach Police Department does not patrol the Metro Blue Line which runs all the way through our city. Currently Long Beach has no jurisdictional power to keep the line safe. However, in February, I plan to fight to ensure that the Metro Board of Directors contracts with the Long Beach Police Department to patrol the eight Metro stops in Long Beach. [applause] Absolutely. And if we can convince Metro to contract with our police department, that could add up to an additional 30 police officers to the Long Beach police department paid for by Metro. [applause]
Adding up to 30 Metro-contracted LBPD officers would increase the number of LBPD officers on LBPD's payroll, but won't boost LBPD's current thin officer-per-thousand ratio for taxpayers citywide; Metro-contracted LBPD officers won't be available to handle neighborhood policing elsewhere as they'll be contracted to handle Metro tasks (similar to more than 60 LBPD officers currently contracted to handle policing tasks the Port, LGB, LBCC, LBUSD, LBTransit, Carmelitos.) Increasing LBPD ranks, regardless of where officers are deployed, is traditionally welcomed by LB's police union by providing up to 30 new LBPOA dues-paying members.
Garcia noted that while other large U.S. cities had experienced increases in violent crime, LB had an 8.3% decrease in homicides from 2016 to 2015 (33 in 2016 vs. 36 in 2015.) [As of Jan. 10, the Mayor's office hasn't yet released LBPD's 2016 annual citywide crime stats and LBPD hasn't posted annual crime data details on its website.]
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Garcia said the Douglas Park commercial development [site of the former Douglas/Boeing plant] in ELB is now largest private commercial development in Long Beach, bringing more than 5,000 jobs in Long Beach. (Douglas Park's development is privately economically driven economic, not government directed beyond the City zoning the area to allow the planned private development.] Garcia noted new development at 2nd/PCH (which fits within current Coastal Act zoning although he was among three Councilmembers who voted a previous polarizing proposal that would have exceeded current Coastal Act height limits.) He also noted (to applause) the newly opened Steelcraft "container" commercial development in Bixby Knolls (which is also privately driven.)
Mayor Garcia didn't refer to two pending controversial City Hall-staff advancing land use matters: the SE LB SEASP re-zoning plan or the Land Use Element (affecting land uses citywide. Both items are controversial in proposing greater business and residential densities.
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Garcia cited LB Airport as winning awards for its convenience but didn't mention the now-advancing proposal, sought by JetBlue with city staff support, to change LB Airport to an international facility that could accommodate international passenger and cargo operations beyond JetBlue. (The issue is currently set for a Jan. 24 Council vote as a result of a non-agendized Dec. 6 motion made by Councilwoman Mungo seconded by Price, approved by the Council 6-3 (Austin, Supernaw, Uranga dissenting.)
Garcia urged audience applause for the City Council (including both private commercial development and the Airport item) that he said "would not be possible with [sic] their relentless leadership and support..."
Garcia said "we're going to be building a new homeless gathering place" next to the existing WLB Homeless Services Center and called on the city to operate a year-round homeless shelter [but didn't indicate where or when.]
Garcia said a long-advancing federal Breakwater Study would advance later this year when the Army Corps of Engineers (as previously announced publicly) will present options and models for public review. Mayor Garcia said: "You have my commitment to fund efforts that will enhance our eco system, bring cleaner water to our shoreline and bring more people to our beaches, while of course protecting our coastal homes and the Port of Long Beach." Garcia's verbal formulation is the accurate recitation of the officially stated purpose the plan, which (as LBREPORT.com has repeatedly noted) doesn't explicitly mention restoring wave activity.
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Mayor Garcia didn't mention looming -- and now likely increased -- PERS pension payments (that the City, as the largest PERS participant statewide) will now face as a result of the PERS board's recent decision to reduce its estimated rate of return on its investments, thereby requiring greater sums from Long Beach.
At the opening of his speech, Mayor Garcia took a swipe at President-elect Donald Trump by stating, "I believe what makes our country great is not fear, is not divisiveness or anger, but kindness, respect and love of country and constitution. [applause]...And no matter what happens elsewhere, I plan to defend our values and our civil rights of our people here in Long Beach."
In introducing Mayor Garcia, Vice Mayor Rex Richardson also took a swipe at President-elect Trump without mentioning his name, saying while nation faces discord, Mayor Garcia knows how to bring people together.
Jan. 11, 6:52 p.m.: Added verbatim text as delivered of Mayor Garcia's statement re LBPD patroling Metro Blue Line.blog comments powered by Disqus
