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Some Useful Facts Before Today's (Sept. 8) Council Budget Votes


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(Sept. 8, 2015, updated 12:45 p.m. from 8:40 a.m.) -- Below are some useful facts about today's (Sept. 8) Long Beach City Council's upcoming budget votes, among the most important actions Councilmembers take all year.

  • Councilmember(s) legally had opportunities on August 4, August 11, August 18 and Sept. 1 to make motions and seek voted action(s) regarding any aspects of the managment proposed, Mayor recommended FY16 budget. Unlike previous years (under Mayor Foster), the August Council budget sessions weren't just study sessions; they were formally agendized hearings at which motions and voted actions were allowed, although the Council in the past generally hasn't taken voted budget actions until September.

  • Councilmembers have had management proposed FY16 budget text with Mayor Garcia's recommendations in hand since July 28. Council budget presentations in August by various departments basically mirrored the substance of the written budget text.
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    • Council Committees (with only one exception not pertinent here) are comprised of three members named by the Mayor but has no independent enactment powers; it can only make recommendations to the full Council. Mayor Garcia chose Vice Mayor Lowenthal as Budget Oversight Committee chair, with Councilmembers Mungo and Price as Vice Chair and Member respectively. The Mayor chose Councilwoman Price as Public Safety Committee chair, with [update] Councilmembers Supernaw and Austin (Supernaw replaced Mungo) as Vice Chair and Member respectively.

    • Neither the Council's Budget Oversight Committee nor Public Safety Committee agendized items to discuss in detail the LBPD and LBFD proposed budgets, which collectively comprise the largest share of the proposed FY16 budget.

    • On August 18, the full Council heard LBPD and LBFD FY16 management budget presentations. At that time, no Councilmembers made any motions or indicated publicly any intentions to make changes to the LBPD and LBFD management proposed budgets, but Councilmembers are free to do so later today on any portions of the proposed FY16 General Fund budget.

    • Councilwoman Price held no hearings of the Public Safety Committee she chairs to address public safety aspects of the police and fire budgets recommended by Mayor Garcia who appointed her chair, the same practice Garcia followed when he chaired the Public Safety Committee under Mayor Foster who appointed him chair. Councilwoman Price wasn't present at the Aug. 18 Council meeting when public safety budgets were agendized for discussion, having previously scheduled a family vacation.

    • The Council's Public Safety Committee last met on April 17, 2015, at which time chair Price invited LBPD and LBFD management to discuss "projected deficits in Fiscal Year 2016 and beyond, with alternate funding sources for public safety and efforts the City is undertaking to come up with innovative ways to address our public safety needs." LBFD management did so, with Chief DuRee indicating his intention to recommend a "first responder fee"...which the full Council subsequently enacted in July. Public Safety Committee chair Price has scheduled a meeting of the Public Safety Committee for Sept. 22 (after the Council's budget votes) on items not yet disclosed publicly.

    • The Council has until Sept. 15 to finalize a FY16 budget, but last year (Sept. 2, 2014) voted to approve with relatively few changes what management proposed and the Mayor recommended.

      The voting City Council, not the non-elected City Manager or non-voting Mayor, has the last word on the budget. The Mayor has a veto over Council-budgeted line items, which the Council can override with six votes.

    • The Council's "drop-dead" deadline for enacting a FY16 budget is Sept. 15 BUT a Council majority (subject to a Mayoral veto that six Councilmembers can override) can make changes to most General Fund items in the adopted budget thereafter "on any Tuesday" (and sometimes does so.)

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