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Council Votes (8-0, Andrews Absent) To Ask City Mgt. To Evaluate New Revenue From June/Nov. Voter-Approved Tax Hikes And "Make Necessary Preparations To Restore Rescue 12" (NLB)

  • Lead Agendizer Richardson Resists Specifying Restoration Of Engine 17 (Supernaw) and Engine 101 (Pearce), Says His Agenda Item Seeks Restoration Of Multiple Public Safety Items As Mgm't Deems Able
  • Richardson Mentions Police Restorations But No Specific Number, Seeks Mgm't Report Within 90 Days On Short And Long Term Plan For Public Safety Restorations
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    (Nov. 23, 2016) -- As seen LIVE on LBREPORT.com, the City Council voted 8-0 (Andrews absent) at its Nov. 22 meeting to approve the item agendized by Vice Mayor Rex Richardson (joined by co-agendizers Councilmembers Gonzalez, Mungo and Andrews) that asks the City Manager "to evaluate new and ongoing revenue sources" and make "necessry preparations to restore paramedic Rescue 12 in Jan. 2017" and within 90 days provide the Council with a report on the feasibility of a short and long term plan for additional public safety restorations. In presenting his item at the Council meeting, Vice Mayor Richardson also indicated that he wants management's forthcoming report to discuss restoring police.

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    Councilman Daryl Supernaw (who took office May 2015) made multiple attempts to persuade Vice Mayor Richardson to accept a friendly amendment that would explicitly support restoring Engine 17 (after Rescue 12.) Councilwoman Pearce (took office mid-July 2016) cited a need to restore Engine 101 (after restoring Engine 17) and added that she wants management's report on restoring police to go beyond numbers and address "equity" and "type of policing."

    At one point, Supernaw (whose father retired as an honored LBFD firefighter after 28 years of service) signaled that if Richardson didn't accept Supernaw's friendly amendment re restoring Engine 17, he (Supernaw) would have to take a different course (that Supernaw didn't detail publicly.)

    Vice Mayor Richardson stuck with his originally agendized verbiage, but said that his motion intends to have have management "evaluate that if we have the ability restore [Engines] 17 as well as 101, then put us in the position to do that immediately...[and] if we have the ability to do further [public safety] restorations, put us in the position for the Council to do so." Richardson asked Supernaw and Pearce if that satisifed them; neither of them publicly objected...and Richardson's item carried 8-0 (Andrews absent.)

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    The Council action effectively follows-up on a pledge by Vice Mayor Richardson to pursue restoration of Rescue 12, made to his NLB constituents at an August community budget meeting, and a verbal promise he subsequently extracted from Mayor Robert Garcia during September Council discussion of City Hall's FY17 budget, in which Garcia indicated the City would find a way to restore Rescue 12 during FY17 after the outcome of November 2016 revenue/tax ballot measures.

    Previous Council actions under Mayor Foster (and not opposed by the Council's Public Safety Committee, chaired by Foster-appointed chair Robert Garcia) eliminated funding for Engine 101, Engine 17, Rescue 12 and Engine 8, and erased roughly 200 LBPD officers that LB taxpayers had for citywide deployment prior to FY10. In Sept. 2016, the Council approved a FY17 budget that restored 10 police officers and Engine 8...with no publicly stated plan by Councilmembers or the Mayor for further restorations.

    During Council discussion, Councilwoman Price mentioned that the Public Safety Committee (which Mayor Garcia chose her to chair) plans to discuss in early December possibly allocating greater amounts of Measure A (sales tax increase) funds to police and public safety issues. [Ed. note: Dec. 6 Public Safety Committee agenda item: "[A]n overview of Measure A spending plan for public safety projects 2017-19, including public safety resources already committed using Measure A."]

    Mayor Garcia responded by stating that Measure A is a temporary tax (which self-reduces to half in six years) and said he would oppose any police or fire restorations now if they could mean layoffs in the future...and said the Council's his FY17 budget action (prioritizing infrastructure not public safety staffing) a wise choice to start.

    The Measure A ballot title and text -- as approved by all Councilmembers (prior to Pearce) and shown to voters as they marked their ballots -- stated in pertinent part: [All caps in original] "CITY OF LONG BEACH PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES MEASURE. To maintain 911 emergency response services; increase police, firefighter/paramedic staffing; repair potholes/streets; improve water supplies; and maintain general services..."

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    In their agendizing memo, co-agendizers Richardson, Gonzalez, Mungo and Andrews wrote that it was now appropriate to address the issue because LB's General Fund "stands to benefit" from voter-approval of a LB sales tax increase (June Measure A), LB's marijuana tax (November Measure MA), an L.A. County sales tax increase (November Measure M/Metro transportation projects), an L.A. County property parcel tax (November Measure A/park-open space projects) and a LB Council imposed first responder fee (July, 2015). The Councilmembers stated in their agendizing memo:

    "Now is the time that we can and must provide the level of public safety services that Long Beach residents need and deserve by adding an additional Paramedic Rescue into the system. Additionally, evaluating the feasibility of'a long and short-term plan for further public safety restorations will ensure a path to a safer Long Beach."

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    Measure A, placed on the ballot by Council without dissent, was a "blank check" general tax increase, enabling a Council majority to decide on what general fund items it will or won't be spent. Following a roughly $700,000 campaign by a committee whose named officeholder was Mayor Garcia [and whose largest contributors were LB's Police and Firefighter Unions], Measure A passed (with no similarly funded opposition) in June 2016 by a roughly 60%-40% margin (citywide tally.)

    Measure A approved raising LB's sales tax to 10% (when it's 9% in Signal Hill and Lakewood and 8% in most OC cities) and takes effect in Long Beach on Jan. 1, 2017. In addition, in November 2016, L.A. County voters voted to raise the County sales tax by a half cent (to pay for Metro transportation projects), meaning LB's sales tax -- which was 9% as 2016 began -- will be 10.5% as 2017 begins.

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