Councilmembers Signal Acceptance (With Possible Tweaks) Of Mgm't/Mayor Proposed FY21 Police Defunding/Reductions (50+ Sworn Would Be Erased/Replaced By 34 Civilians); Chief Luna Acknowledges Mayor/Mgm't Budget Will Worsen Non-Emergency Response Times
Price says she won't support all proposed PD cuts, cites constituents' concerns; Richardson makes no motions seeking deeper cuts for now, seeks future "deeper dive" into issues
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(Aug. 20, 2020) -- At its Aug. 18 discussion of LBPD's FY 21 budget, no Councilmembers made motions to change the management-proposed/Mayor recommended defunding of 50+ sworn officers (proposed for replacement by 34 civilians.)
During Council discussion, LBPD Chief Robert Luna candidly told the Council that Council approval of the management proposed budget will result in increased (worsened) response times for non-life threatening PD responses.
In colloquy responding to those contending civilian replacements alone might suffice, Chief Luna indicated that civilian social workers who enter homeless encampments frequently decline to do so unless accompanied by a sworn officer. Chief Luna said bluntly that conditions in some encampments aren't safe.
Councilmembers' tacit acceptance of the management/Mayor proposed police reductions (with possible tweaks) came one week after the Council voted 9-0 (Aug. 11) o approve Racial Equity and Reconciliation policies that include significant changes to policing and how City Hall defines public safety in Long Beach.
One day later on Aug. 12 (approaching the Aug. 18 Council budget session on LBPD's FY 21 budget), the LB Police Officers Association issued an unusual public "Call to Action."
We understand that the City is facing significant budget challenges. These are tough decisions and we are in the midst of tough times, but the safety and secutiy of our community should be the highest priority. The City must assess and understand the impact of the cuts before final decisions are made. The City Council will hold public budget hearings between now and September 15, 2020. To prevent the City from falling into a deeper public safety crisis, we need to ensure our officers remain in their positions...
In its "Call to Action," LBPOA suggested raising the following points in advocacy:
The proposed cuts to the Police Department are drastic and will affect public safety.
There have been no detailed studies or discussions about how the cuts will make residents safer or services more efficient.
Crime continues to occur, and these cuts could jeopardize the safety and security of our communities and businesses.
I am concerned that less patrol cars on the street will mean longer response times to emergency calls.
I am afraid the City has not properly planned for civilians to resond to active 911 calls. This is a knee jerk reaction and is too risky.
I/we strongly encourage the City to assess and understand the potential impact on public safety before the proposed cuts are finalized.
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LBPOA's "Call to Action" acknowledged that "during the 2009 recession, staffing was cut by roughly 20%, with only a small number of those positions restored. However it didn't mention that LBPOA's didn't publicly oppose that defunding. It contributed sums to re-elect and advance then-incumbents (including then Councilman, now Mayor, Robert Garcia) who voted for the 2009-2015 defunding and also voted for pay raises in LBPOA contracts.
At the Aug. 18 Council budget session, Councilwoman Suzie Price said she is not prepared to support cuts as presently proposed. She acknowledged calls for deeper LBPD reductions from some in the community (including the Richardson-led process) but stated that her constituents consistently voiced concerns about reductions. She indicated she's open to discussing new models that more efficiently use police resources but raised issues including increased response times.
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Councilman Rex Richardson didn't seek reductions beyond the management/Mayor recommended reductions. Richardson, who previously called for defunding/police reductions that would enable allocating funds elsewhere, made no motions to do so...for now. He indicated he supports a "deeper dive" into issues raised by community members (who've called for deeper police reductions.) City Manager Tom Modica said management could provide that deeper dive but not until after Oct. (after FY 21 budget is adopted but could be tweaked); City Manager Modica said now is the time for Council members to speak up if they wish
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Mayor recommended/Council approved budgets from FY 17 forward didn't allocate sufficient Measure A sums to restore roughly 180+ officers erased during the 2009-2015 defunding, The result has left LB with a significantly lower per capita police level for taxpayers than Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Signal Hill. The Council restored 22 sworn starting in FY17 but the Mayor/management proposed FY 21 budget would erase all of those officers and more (eliminating 50+ sworn with 34 civilian replacements.).
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The Council can make changes/tweaks/amendments to the management/Mayor proposed budget prior to formal budget adoption votes in the first half of September. (The Council can also do so, with somewhat increased difficulty, during FY 21 after budget adoption.) Nayor Garcia, presiding at the Council budget session, didn't speak pro or con on the issue (already on record as recommending management's reductions.)
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