Council Prepares To Enact FY17 Budget, Alamitos Beach Residents Seek Professionally Prepared Parking Plan, Several Taxpayers Blast $100+ Mil Belmont Pool Rebuild
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(Sept. 6, 2016) -- As seen LIVE on Sept. 6, the City Council voted to follow a recommendation from its Budget Overnight Committee (Mungo, Price, Austin), advised by city staff, to approve only some parts of the proposed FY17 budget: Harbor Budget, Master Fee & Charges (but future discussion of Proactive Rental Housing Inspection Program (PRHIP); Housing Development Co., Harbor Revenue Fund Transfer and Gann Appropriations Limit [effectively leaving other budget decisions [on big ticket items including police and fire] to the Sept. 13 Council meeting.]
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Earlier in the day, the Budget Oversight Committee heard a presentation from city staff on the results of a Community Budget Survey (unscientific public comments) which indicated that public respondents listed public safety issues as the most important to them among several city spending issues.
In public testimony:
Alamitos Beach area residents urged Councilmembers to budget a sum to conduct a comprehensive, professionally prepared parking plan and said City's current lack of such a plan. They said part of the 2012 Council-approved, high-rise density promoting "Downtown Plan" that was supposed to deal with parking hadn't been implemented, leaving residents forced to cruise city streets for lengthy periods just to find a parking space at the end of their work day. The residents said this made the City less desirable for development and less competitive than it could and should be. [The residents delivered similar testimony earlier in the afternoon to the Council's Budget Oversight Committee.]
In the Budget Oversight Committee meeting, three reps from the animal advocacy group Fix Long Beach urged the Council to budget additional sums for LB Animal Care Services. LB Park/Open Space/Enviro advocate Ann Cantrell said money that the Mayor/Mgm't budget proposes to take from a General Fund surplus to help fund the $100+ million Belmont Plaza Pool rebuild should be spent instead on items like Animal Care Services and other citywide needs.
Also speaking against the $100+ million Belmont Pool reuild at its currently planned SE LB location was taxpayer advocate Larry Boland, saying the money could be spent on two or three other pools for the westside. He said the SE LB pool location was from an earlier age and recommended a more inclusive location. Diana Lejins said budgets are a matter of choices, called $103+ million pool "obscene" next to the beach instead of a neighborhood pool on the westside.
