(May 6, 2008) -- In an emailed release received by us at virtually the same moment as the City Council began publicly discussing two proposed five-year contracts for LB's Firefighters and non-public-safety employees, City Auditor Doud issued a statement (full text below) cautioning:

"Any time you increase expenditures you must find a way to pay for it -- either with increased revenues or by cutting other expenditures. In order to be in compliance with the City's financial policies, we should identify the revenue or the budget cuts appropriate to fund these contracts. This way the Mayor and City Council can weigh the trade-offs and appropriately allocate the funds according to their priorities."

LBReport.com provides City Auditor Doud's statement in full below.

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Statement by City Auditor Laura Doud regarding City of Long Beach Public Employee Contracts.

I am very supportive of all Long Beach City employees and I appreciate the services they perform on behalf of our City. All of our City employees should be compensated appropriately for their efforts.

I am aware that our Firefighters and other City employees are being compensated near the bottom of the pay scale comparable to positions in other Cities in the region. This is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed and I am pleased that the City Council is considering new contracts.

As the City Auditor, however, it is my duty to the taxpayers to ensure that we have the funds available to pay all of our commitments, including these important contracts.

Because of the budget challenges caused by the current economic downturn, all City departments are considering cost cuts to ensure that we have sufficient funding for services. The police department, for example, is to be commended for implementing many of the recommendations included in the audit our office performed last year. This has led to greater efficiencies within the department, including the reduction of overtime expenditures. This will help to reduce the City’s projected budget deficit and potentially create some availability of revenue for the City during this budget year.

Any time you increase expenditures you must find a way to pay for it -- either with increased revenues or by cutting other expenditures. In order to be in compliance with the City’s financial policies, we should identify the revenue or the budget cuts appropriate to fund these contracts. This way the Mayor and City Council can weigh the trade-offs and appropriately allocate the funds according to their priorities.

City Auditor Doud didn't publicly testify on the proposed contracts at May 6 Council meeting.