A City Hall release this afternoon (July 22) quotes Mayor Bob Foster as saying, "Prudent fiscal management and pension reforms have positioned us to hire police officers again." The release says "due to prior budget challenges, the City had to forego police hiring from 2009 to 2013" and continues in pertinent part:

The Police Academy will allow the City of Long Beach to replenish officers lost through retirement. The FY 14 Proposed Budget will include funding for this academy through a combination of position savings in the Police Department and one-time resources if necessary...

As many as 50 recruits will be hired to attend Academy Class 87, which is scheduled to begin in 2014 and last 27 weeks...

Once recruits graduate, they will begin a field-training program, which lasts 12 months. It is during this second phase of their training, they will partner with a field-training officer to increase their knowledge base and gain valuable field experience.

The remainder of city management's proposed FY14 budget, with the Mayor's recommendations, is still under wraps...and will be until Mayor Foster chooses to release on or before Aug. 1. Then it's the City Council's turn to amend, adjust, tweak what management and the Mayor propose, and ultimately approve some type of FY14 spending plan. The Mayor has a line-item veto which six Council votes can override (and most budget items within the Council's control can be amended during the fiscal year "on any Tuesday" with a Council majority vote)

Developing with further to follow on LBREPORT.com