A Financial Management spokesperson tells LBREPORT.com:

[Scroll down for further.]

"A significant amount of the design was developed in-house to keep expenses low, with design support and printing done by a local Long Beach business ($15,225). The balance went to postage costs ($27,658). All told, [the City] printed 181,170 pieces, which roughly equates to $0.24 per piece. The brochure was sent to Long Beach residential addresses. As part of Measure A, the City has a small administration budget to help manage the funds and communicate with the public on the status of Measure A funded projects; and this mailer was paid for with those funds. The Measure A Citizens' Advisory Committee regularly receives updates on the implementation of Measure A projects and the overall communications strategy for keeping the public informed. At the next Committee meeting, the mailer will be shared with them."

LBREPORT.com's perspective/comments follow:

No, the City didn't send a mailer like this showing LB residents then-planned City Hall-desired Land Use Element density increases.

Yes, the mailer landed in residents' mailboxes just as a Mayor-fronted campaign begins seeking to convince voters to approve a second City Hall written "blank check" ballot measure in June 2018 (Measure M) that would let City Hall impose without future voter approval increased LB water and sewer fees to "maintain" -- i.e. not change or reform -- current City Hall spending practices.

Yes, the two largest campaign funders to June 2018 "blank check" Measure M are the same as for the June 2016 "blank check" Measure A: LB's police and firefighter union PACs ($100,000, split between the two) The union's members received raises after passage of Measure A but their union leadership remained silent as the Mayor/Councilmembers (including those they endorsed) failed to restore 191 citywide deployable police officers and Fire Engines at Station 17 and Station 1 (second engine as protection for downtown density) that LB taxpayers had and no longer have. That's despite City Hall now receiving $40+ million annually in annual new revenue from Measure A.

No, Mayor Garcia and the Council have no publicly stated plan or legal commitment to restore any of the 191 remaining police officers or fire engines for LB taxpayers by any date certain...despite the Council's approval with the Mayor's support of new development and planned density increases.

Yes, the Mayor/Council used Measure A's new revenue to restore only 17 citywide deployable police officers (out of 208 erased, including LBPD's former 22-member field anti-gang unit), failed to fund the "ShotSpotter" gunfire location system and failed to restore any LB Park Rangers.

Yes, Measure A did restore Fire Engine 8 (Belmont Shore), Rescue 12 (NLB), all of which LB taxpayers had before Measure A. Yes, Measure A proivides funding for a number of street and infrastructure projects, but other cities manage to provide such items without imposing the highest sales tax rate in CA [tied with only a few other cities.])

Yes, Measure A also effectively freed up other General Fund money that enabled the Council to give unbudgeted raises to LB City Management, including members of LB's $100,000 and $200,000 Club."

Yes, elections matter.

Opinions expressed by LBREPORT.com, our contributors and/or our readers are not necessarily those of our advertisers. We welcome our readers' comments/opinions 24/7 via Disqus, Facebook and moderate length letters and longer-form op-ed pieces submitted to us at mail@LBReport.com.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Sponsor

Sponsor

Sponsor

Sponsor