City Mgm't Provides Mayor/Council Incumbents With This Memo As <i>LB Business Journal</i> Publishes Its Annual List Of "$100,000 Club" (Now "$200,000 Club") City Hall Salaies ("Since You May Be Asked To Comment On The Matter")

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City Mgm't Provides Mayor/Council Incumbents With This Memo As LB Business Journal Publishes Its Annual List Of "$100,000 Club" (Now "$200,000 Club") City Hall Salaies ("Since You May Be Asked To Comment On The Matter")

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(August 28, 2019, 8:20 a.m.) -- On August 26, 2019, the Long Beach Business Journal published its annual "$100,000 Club" article on LB City Hall salaries. This year, the Business Journal headlines its story: "As $100,000 Club Balloons, A More Elite Circle Of City Employees Emerges: The $200,000 Club." It can be viewed in full at this link.

On August 27, 2019, LB City Manager Pat West furnished the Mayor and City Councilmembers with a memo containing information and charts that the electeds can offer "since you may be asked to comment on the matter." Management's memo to the Mayor/Councilmembers can viewed at this link.

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LBREPORT.com notes that City Hall salaries are ultimately approved by voted actons of the Long Beach City Council. LB's police and firefighter unions, through their political action committees, are active in supporting the election/re-election of City Councilmembers/candidates who vote on their salaries. LB's police/firefighter unions were also the two largest financial supporters of the 2016 Measure A General Fund ("blank check") sales tax increase.

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Under Measure A, the City Council has restored 22 of 208 police officers erased since 2009. City management and Mayor Garcia have proposed a FY20 budget that doesn't restore any further citywide deployable police officers for taxpayers. A Council majority will decide whether to approve this or restore additional officers in their upcoming FY20 budget vote scheduled shortly after Labor Day.

The Council has since FY17 restored funding for Fire Engine 8 (Belmont Shore) and Rescue 12 (NLB) and in recent weeks management has said the Council could use "one-time" Measure A funding to "temporarily" restore in FYs 20 and 21 Engine 17 (Argonne Ave.) and fund six bike patrol officers (the latter included by Mayor Garcia in his FY19 budget recommendations but not provided in FY19.)

Although city officials cite their use of Measure A's roughly $60 million in additional annual revenue for infrastructure and public safety, it also effectively freed up millions in other General Fund sums for other spending including pay raises (now visible on the $100,000-$200,000 club list.)

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In July 2019, the Council voted without dissent to call a special citywide election in March 2020 to make the 2016 "temporary" Measure A "temporary" tax permanent. The City is now entering negotiations with city employee unions on new contracts (presumably including pay raises.)

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Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.