City Mgr's Proposed FY16 City Hall Budget Released By Mayor Garcia With His Recommendations; See Details, Links To Official Docs
Some noteworthy additions but mainly status quo; Mayor's recommendations make scant mention of approaching FY17 projected deficit (spending exceeding expected revenue one year from today; proposed spending cuts? proposed changes in how LB delivers services? proposed tax increase ballot measure in 2016?
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(July 28, 2015) -- As streamed LIVE in its entirety by Joe Mello and now available ON-DEMAND in full below, Long Beach city management's budget was released by Mayor Robert Garcia with his recommendations earlier today (July 28.)
Below is LBREPORT.com's VIDEO as streamed LIVE by Mr. Mello and now available on-demand.
Management's budget and the Mayor recommendations basically proposes to maintain the spending status quo (with some additions)...and with scant mention by the Mayor of FY17 -- one year from today -- although city management acknowledged it expects a roughly $7.5 million deficit in FY17 (spending exceeding revenue) and another $7.8 million deficit in FY18 the year after.
Mayor Garcia and City Manager West gave no indication publicly of how they plan to deal the upcoming deficits. With deep spending cuts? More "proportional reductons?" Proposed changes in how City provides services in certain areas? Proposed tax increases? Possible tax hike ballot measure timed for high turnout 2016 election?
Among points LBREPORT.com found significant at the budget release press event:
[Scroll down for further.]
Mayor said proposed FY16 budget is "balanced," "fiscally responsible" and includes "innovations."
Proposed budget will restore some Sunday library hours at three libraries (includes current Sun hours at Bay Shore branch.)
Proposed budget includes "clean team" to spot and clean up areas needing it (incl. dumped items, trash, clearing weeds, cleaning up neighborhoods, says Mayor's recommendations.)
Budget proposes to fund police and fire academies to replenish officers retiring/exiting.
Manager recommends and Mayor supports allocating $2.2 in one time funds "for preventing and responding to violent crimes" and Mayor recommends adding $100k in one time support for increased crime analysis. [Unclear if this is for annual overtime, a routine item, or something additional; information coming.] "These resources would be available to the Chief of Police to address gang activity and other sources of violent crime as well as property crime," Mayor's recommendations say.
$150k proposed in one-time funding allocated "for training in community engagement strategies, de-escalation techniques, mental health and additional training..."
Mayor will ask Council to fund "Be SAFE" programs ("structured activities fo our young people in our parks during the summer" ($186k)
Budget doesn't propose restoring any portion of LBPD former field anti-gang unit (but see above re $2.2 mil in one time funds re violent crimes.)
Budgeted sworn officers proposed to remain at current level -- 806 -- BUT roughly 65 [exact figure pending] are "contracted" officers -- not paid by City General Fund and not available for citywide deployment (handling policing/security at Port, Airport, LBCC, LBUSD, LBTransit.) This is not a change from current budgeting practice. LB's citywide deployable budgeted sworn officers are proposed to remain at 806 - roughly 65 = roughly 741.
[LBREPORT.com editor's note/comment: 741 budgeted sworn citywide deployable officers, divided by 472,779 [latest LB population per latest CA Demographic Research Unit Report E-1] = roughly 1.57 budgeted sworn officers per thousand residents. This is roughly the per capita level at which the City contracted with LASD to have Sheriff Deputies handle policing in parts of NLB and ELB in the early 1990s. Under exiting Mayor Kell and entering Mayor O'Neill, Councils slowly began restoring police levels. Those officers added over roughly a dozen years (some using federal police hiring grants) are now basically entirely gone, eliminated by Council majorities in budgets from 2009-2014 under the Foster administration's "proportional budget reductions." By our reckoning, LB taxpayers receive roughly 200 fewer budgeted sworn officers than the 961 budgeted sworn deployable citywide that LB taxpayers had at its height in 2008-09...and even at that level, LB City Hall barely provided 2.0 officers/thousand residents. By comparison, Signal Hill today budgets over 3.0 officers per thousand residents for its taxpayers; Los Angeles roughly 2.4-2.5 officers per thousand residents.
No restorations proposed for fire engines at three stations from which the engines were removed (under "proportional budget reductions." The three stations currently without any fire engines capable of extinguishing fires: 8, 17 and 18. A second engine (101) downtown, which was previously staffed due to downtown density and the need to handle possible high rise blazes.
Budget proposes roghly $1 mil to re-route some street sweeping to shorten neighborhood-disruptive "no parking" time window and change sweeping streets in parking impacted areas to later in the day.
Proposes one city-service number, similar to 311, for residents, businesses and visitors to use to access or inquire about city services ($100k to initiate)
Below are links to a full library of FY16 proposed budget documents:
To view the City Manager's FY16 budget transmittal and executive summary, click here.
To view Mayor Garcia's FY16 budget recommendations, click here.
To view City Mgm't Power Point slides presented, click here.
To view the complete city management FY16 proposed budget, click here.
To view City of Long Beach press release on proposed FY16 budget, click here.
In a mass emailing sent via his privately operated "RobertGarcia.com" domain, the Mayor told recipients:
Dear Friend --
Today I was proud to present the City's 2016 budget to the City Council. The budget is prudent and responsible, with a $630,000 surplus, and includes additional money for crime analysis and combating gangs and violence; maximized enrollment in our police and fire academies; support for small businesses; enhancements to streets, sidewalks, parks and the City’s entrances; and our first changes to street sweeping times and routes in 30 years, which will reduce parking restrictions and make parking easier and more convenient for residents in impacted areas.
The budget also includes significant funding for infrastructure repairs, support for youth and parks programming, grants to the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Arts Council for Long Beach, and many other important expenditures.
You can read all the City’s budget documents, including my recommendations to Council, here.
I want to thank the City Council, City Manager, all Department Heads, and every member of the City’s staff for keeping spending within our means and showing great fiscal restraint. Thanks to those efforts, even with the drop in the price of oil that reduced our revenues significantly, we are in a strong place fiscally, and I am confident we will continue to show the prudence necessary to keep our budget balanced without reducing services.
Go Long Beach!
Mayor Robert Garcia
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Between now and September 15, the City Council -- which ultimately decides budget spending priorities -- will hold at least one Council study session (afternoon Aug. 4); the Council's Budget Oversight Committee (Lowenthal, Price, Mungo) will hold meetings (unclear on what budget areas; public testimony invited, but only reaches 3 of 9 Councilmembers); city staff will also hold community budget meetings in various Council districts to explain its proposed budget (public input taken but Councilmembers not always present to hear it,)
In the first half of September, a City Council majority will hold two hearings (with public testimony) and ultimately decide whether to tweak or make major changes in the proposed budget and adopt a FY16 budget subject to a Mayoral veto that six Councilmembers can override.
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Watch for continuing, detailed coverage on LBREPORT.com
