These Nine Bad Bills are rushing through the legislature with no Sacramento media left to WARN the public.
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On November 3, 2020, the City of Long Beach will hold a Consolidated Municipal Election with the Los Angeles General Municipal Election at which voters will consider a ballot measure relating to the Long Beach Community Services General Purpose Oil Production Tax Increase Measure. To make sure there is adequate time for those interested in writing arguments for or against the measure, the Interest Form for Argument Writers is available today on the Office of the City Clerk webpage www.longbeach.gov/cityclerk/elections/ballot-measures/. All interest forms must be received by the City Clerk at 411 West Ocean Boulevard, Lobby Level, Window #12, Long Beach, CA 90802, no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2020. The Mayor will announce his nominees for argument writers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, August 10, 2020. The City Council will vote on those nominations at the City Council meeting on August 11, 2020. Arguments FOR or AGAINST the ballot measure are due to the City Clerk by Friday, August 14, 2020 at 4:30 p.m., while rebuttal arguments are due by Monday, August 24, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. Arguments must not exceed 300 words and rebuttal arguments must not exceed 250 words. For more information, please contact the Office of the City Clerk, at (562) 570-6101. |
(August 3, 2020, 8:35 p.m.) -- In a proposed FY 21 budget document circulated to City Councilmembers on Aug. 2 but withheld from the public (see LBREPORT.com coverage alleging violation of the Brown Act) until midafternoon Aug. 3, Long Beach city management has proposed, and Mayor Robert Garcia has recommended, defunding 54 Long Beach sworn police officers. 34 would be replaced with civilians. 20 others would be eliminated outright.
Tbe management-Garcia police defunding proposes to erase in a single budget more than twice the number of officers (22) incrementally restored for LB taxpayers after LB voters approved the 2016 Measure A sales tax increase. City management says the proposed officer reductions would save roughly $5.2 million.. As one example (details below) of the 34 civilians proposed to replace sworn officers, 16 sworn police officer positions would be eliminated that previously helped respond to the public's Priority 3 (low priority) Report calls. Instead, 16 Community Services Assistant -- non sworn positions -- will be added, that management says will be trained to work as uniformed, unarmed civilians to investigate and officially document specific property-based crimes, respond to radio calls for nonviolent crimes and assist community members with police reports. Of the 54 defundeed positions being eliminated, three are "contracted" positions (meaning they're not paid for by City Cuuncil budget decisions but by outside entities that independently choose to reduce those contracted officers.) One reduced position was assigned to the LBUSD School Resource Officer program at LBUSD’s request; Metro has requested reducing 2 positions assigned to its Blue Line. The botttom line: city management and Mayor Garcia propose that a City Council majority defund 51 (54-3) previously budgeted sworn officers, replacing 34 with civilians and eliminating 20 entirely. [Scroll down for further.] |
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In a statement published in full below, Rich Chambers, president of the LB Police Officers Ass'n (union) states: "Allowing unarmed civilians to respond to 911 calls is a recipe for disaster. There is a role for civilians in policing, but placing unarmed civilians in harm's way should not be one of them. Low priority, non-violent calls can become high priority emergencies in a matter of seconds, and answering calls for service requires training and screening. When the public calls 911 for help, they expect and deserve a police officer to come. These significant cuts to our staffing will make it harder for us to do that. Replacing our first responders with unarmed civilians is not an acceptable alternative." But the police officers union stopped short of oposing the prooposed officer reductions outright: "We understand that the City is facing serious budget challenges and most departments will experience cuts on some level. These are tough decisions and we are in the midst of tough times. We believe that the safety and security of our community is the highest priority. The City must carefully assess and understand the potential impact on public safety before the proposed cuts to the police department are finalized." The City's Joint Information Center tells LBREPORT.com that the proposed FY 21 budget includes 797 total sworn positions of which 91.25 are contracted positions (paid by outside entities to handle policing at LB's Port, LGB, LBTransit, LBCC, Metro and LA County Carmelitos housing.) If a Council majority were to approve (by mid-September) the management/Mayor proposed defunding of 50+ officers, it would leave L.A. County's second largest city with 705 sworn officers (797-91.25) available for citywide deployment. (Entering 2008, the City of LB provided its taxpayers with nearly 1,000 officers (nearly 2.0 officers per thousand residents.) The level proposed by the management/Garcia proposed budget would leave LB with a little less than 1.5 officers per thousand residents, a level significantly thinner than budgeted by City Councils in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and LB-adjacent Signal Hill.
The most recent City of Los Angeles budget (supported by LA Mayor Garcetti) while generating controversy made only a relatively small reductions in LA's per capita police level, reducing it from roughly 2.5 per thousand to about 2.43 officers per thousand residents. LB's Police Officers Association (union) has issued a statement in response to the proposed budget reductions. KBREPORT.com publishes it in full below.
The management/Mayor proposed 50+ officer reduction comes on top of several years of Council approved budgets that, despite over $60 million in additional revenue annually (prior to COVID-19) from the Measure A sales tax increase, failed to restore over 180 officers for taxpayers. (The officers were erased by a former Council that included then-Councilman Garcia; During the 2009-2015 economic downturn, the former Council under Mayor Bob Foster erased roughly 20% of LB's police level (something other area cities didn't do.) Among officers not restored is LBPD's former field anti-gang unit (20 officers plus two sergeants) previously deployed in LB neighborhoods impacted by shootings and homicides (disproportionately impacting LB working class areas, a chronic inequity LBREPORT.com has editorially deplored as a "tale of two cities."].
The management/Garcia FY 21 budget proposes "Re-envisioning Public Safety" in pertinent part as follows:
Fire Engine 17 (Argonne Ave.) In an action impacting Los Altos residents and ELB areas beyond, and a de facto snub to 4th district Councilman Daryl Supernaw, city management (without Mayor Garcia's objection) proposes to end funding for Engine 17 (Argonne Ave.). For several years, Councilman Supernaw tried without success to restore funding for Engine 17, which management and the Council agreed to temporarily restore using grant funding in 2019 (coincided with Supernaw approaching his 2020 re-election cycle; Supernaw ultimately faced no opposition.) City management now says that to qualify for the grant would require additional costs and continuing commitments making use of the grant funds for Engine 17 inadvisable. Unless a Council majority changes the management/Garcia proposed budget on this item, funding for Engine 17 will disappear (again.) Aug. 4, 8:13 p.m. Text added clarifying Engine 17 grant funding.
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