LongBeachReport.com | LBReport.com | City Mgr/Mayor Foster Propose Two FY11 Budget Scenarios: "Plan A" With Dept. & Service Cuts (Incl. Police & Fire) With City Employee Wage And Pension Concessions OR Plan B Without City Employee Wage/Pension Concessions With Even Worse Cuts; Mayor Foster Calls Current Pensions and PERS Increases Unsustainable

(July 23, 2010, with updated text and video) -- Mayor Bob Foster and City Mgr. Pat West today (July 23) unveiled a proposed FY2011 budget with two scenarios: with proportional reductions (proposed across the board cuts) in Departments (including police and fire) if city employees agree to wage and pension concessions not yet negotiated OR with deeper cuts if city employees don't agree to wage/pension concessions.

The decision is now ultimately up to a Council majority...with a decisional deadline of mid-September.

Flanked by senior city management in the City Manager's 13th floor conference room, Mayor Foster and Manager West unveiled their proposals which are available online on City Hall's website via the following link: click here.

Plan A: $7.2 million in multiple Departmental cuts + $11.3 million in not yet negotiated city employee pension and pay concessions. Plan A would cut 19 sworn police officers, civilianize 4 current sworn police positions and eliminate 12 firefighters. In addition, four more sworn officers (motor officers) and three firefighters are proposed to be eliminated from Prop H funds.
On public safety: sworn police officers proposed to be cut = 27; firefighters proposed to be cut: 15.
Plan B (which isn't management recommended and is a worst case) would occur in the absence of city employee concessions. It would produce all of Plan A's cuts PLUS eliminate 44 patrol officers and vehicles + 5 Sgts. reduced fire staffing at Stn 12 + FD "rolling brownouts."

Among those present at the midafternoon briefing were Councilmembers Steven Neal and James Johnson as well as Chiefs of Staff for other Councilmembers.

On-Demand Video

Mayor Foster's presentation includes an extended discussion of LB pension costs resulting from previously negotiated/Council-majority agreed City Hall contracts with city employee unions as well as city costs from investment losses incurred by the statewide Public Employee Retirement System (PERS).

For video coverage of Mayor Foster's presentation, click image to the right. This will launch a Windows Media Video file (.wmv) which most computer should be able to reproduce (including Macs).

For video coverage of City Manager West's presentation, click image to the right. The Manager delivered a Power Point presentation that opened with eleven minutes of descriptions of the City of LB's accomplishments despite previous tight budgets. In that discussion, City Manager West credits budget reductions in previous years (explicitly citing those under the final four years of the O'Neill administration) as putting LB in a better position fiscally than other cities including Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose.

City Manager West's discussion of management's proposed FY11 budget begins at 11:00 (eleven minutes) into the 24:35 video clip.

The Manager/Mayor budget proposes to freeze city employee pay and make pension changes that haven't yet been negotiated and agreed to -- or yet presented to -- city employee unions involved. City employee unions agreed to management-sought give-backs, delays, deferrals and other concessions from previously negotiated agreements sought by city management last year.

Mayor Foster cited generous pensions and costs imposed by the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) to stem its investment losses as large parts of LB City Hall's budget problems.

A City Council majority has the last word on City Hall spending and the ultimately-adopted FY11 budget.

Stay with LBReport.com for complete coverage of the city management/Mayor proposed FY11 spending plan..including your comments below.