Mayor Garcia Quietly Renames Measure A (Blank Check) Sales Tax Hike Committee To (Blank Check) "Utility Transfer Committee," Collects $50k From Firefighters Union PAC + $50k From Police Officers Union PAC

' Mayor Garcia Quietly Renames Measure A (Blank Check) Sales Tax Hike Committee To (Blank Check) "Utility Transfer Committee," Collects $50k From Firefighters Union PAC + $50k From Police Officers Union PAC

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(March 27, 2018, 11:45 a.m.) -- Mayor Robert Garcia has quietly changed the name of the campaign fundraising committee he used to generate over $600,000 to fund the campaign for City Hall's June 2016 Measure A ("blank check") sales tax increase to a committee that will urge LB voters to approve a June 2017 ballot measure that would replace water and gas department pipeline fees (created by City Council actions without voter approval in 2003 and 2006) that for years provided blank check revenue to fund general fund spending of the Council's choice...and replace them with an annual transfer of up to 12% of each LB utility's gross revenue (if deemed "surplus" for that year.)

On March 12, 2018, Garcia filed paperwork changing the name of the "Mayor Garcia, Foster and O'Neill Committee to Support Measures A & B To Protect Fire & Police And Repair Infrastructure in Long Beach, Major Funding by Long Beach Police Officers Ass'n PAC and Long Beach Firefighters Ass'n PAC" to the "Mayor Robert Garcia Committee to Support Utility Transfer Measure."

Within two days on March 14, the committee received $50,000 from the LB Firefighters Ass'n PAC, and less than a week thereafter on March 20 received $50,000 from the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC.

(As of Feb. 24, 2018, the Committee reported outstanding debts of $21,672, of which $11,500 was owed to a public opinion/polling firm used in the Measure A sales tax hike campaign.)

[Scroll down for further.]

LB's police and firefighter union PACs were the two largest contributors to the Measure A sales tax increase under which LB consumers now pay the highest sales tax rate in CA [tied with only a few other cities.]

Although Measure A now brings City Hall $40+ million annually, the City Council [in budgets recommended by Mayor Garcia] has restored only 17 police officers for taxpayers out of 208 citywide deployable officers that taxpayers previously received. The Council also hasn't restored Fire Engine 17 (Stearns Park) or Fire Engine 18 (Palo Verde/Wardlow) and Fire Engine 101 (second engine at Station 1 for downtown density.)
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In 2017, the Council used Measure A funds to restore Engine 8 (Belmont Shore), Rescue 12 (NLB) and various infrastructure items including street repairs...but with no legally enforceable guarantee (or even non-binding verbal pledges by any Council incumbents) to restore the remaining erased police officers and firefighing resources for LB taxpayers. Measure A's $40+ million annual revenue infusion effectively freed up other General Fund sums, which the Council used to approve raises for nearly all city employee unions, including police and firefighers as well as city management (some with annual salaries in the "$100,000" and $200,000" clubs.)

Leaders of the LB Police Officers Ass'n and Fire Firefighters Ass'n haven't publicly insisted that Councilmembers restore any specific number of officers or firefighting resources for taxpayers by any date certain, but have through their PACs supported the re-election of multiple Council incumbents and Mayor Garcia.

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The pipeline fees, challenged as illegal for failing to seek voter approval under Prop 218, were adopted by Councils under Mayor O'Neill and Mayor Foster in 2003 and 2006 [with only then-Councilwoman Schipske raising questions when elected in 2006.] In a recent Council proceeding, Mayor Garcia defensively stated that neither he nor any current Council members were involved in how the fees began. [Until the lawsuit brought by LB taxpayer Diana Lejins, all of LB's current Council members (including Garcia on the Council since 2009, Mayor since 2014) continued to spend the "blank check" pipeline revenue as they pleased.]

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The ballot arguments in favor of the utility transfer measure will be signed by Mayor Garcia and the presidents of the LB Police and Firefighters Unions. The ballot arguments in opposition will be co-signed by Tom Stout (LB Taxpayers Ass'n), Joe Weinstein (Citizens About Responsible Planning), Diana Lejins (LB taxpayer who brought the lawsuit challenging the pipeline fees under Prop 218) and Ms. Schipske (co-counsel on the lawsuit that won a settlement for Ms. Lejins and reduced monthly rates for LB water department users.)

City staff has said that unless LB voters approve the utility revenue transfer, City Hall will face a deficit (current City Hall spending exceeding expected revenue) in FY19 of roughly $8 million, in which case the Council would have to reduce current spending in ways that, city management says, would likely have to include reductions to police and firefighter staffing.

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