[00:00:01]
LATER, WHILE WE DO HAVE TO MAKE SOME REDUCTIONS IN POLICE, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW DO WE HELP THEM DO THEIR JOB WITH FEWER OFFICERS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND FACILITIES.THIS IS NOT ONLY TO HELP NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT ALSO TO PREPARE US FOR, YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF VISITORS DURING THE OLYMPICS.
AND SO, ONE, WE'RE GOING TO FUND OUR NEXT POLICE RECRUIT ACADEMY.
THAT'S A $7 MILLION INVESTMENT THAT'LL HELP US GET, UH, BY THE OLYMPICS, ESSENTIALLY FULLY STAFFED, UH, AND A 70 PERSON ROUGHLY, UH, ACADEMY.
UH, AND THAT COMES OUTTA MEASURE A, UH, UH, WE HAVE, UH, HELICOPTERS IN THE CITY, ONE OF THE FEW CITIES THAT HAVE THEIR OWN HELICOPTER.
THEY ALLOW US TO BE ON SCENE WITHIN ONE MINUTE WHEN THEY'RE UP AND RUNNING.
UH, AND SO THAT HELICOPTER THAT WE HAVE IS 23 YEARS OLD.
AND SO, UH, USING GRANT AND RESTRICTED FUNDING SOURCES, WE'LL BE REPLACING THAT.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE DOING A REAL-TIME CRIME CENTER AND HAVING, UH, ANALYSTS BE ABLE TO ACCESS DATA AND GIVE, UH, INFORMATION STRAIGHT TO OUR, UH, TO OUR EMPLOYEES ON THE GROUND.
THE HIGH CRIME FOCUS TEAM HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME IN OUR CITY.
AND, UH, OTHER CRIME IS NECESSARY THAT'S GONNA BE PERMANENTLY FUNDED AS THE CHIEF FINDS, UH, WAYS TO, TO MAKE THAT PERMANENT, UH, 12 FTE.
AND SO THESE THINGS WERE DONE PRIMARILY WITH, YOU KNOW, OTHER, UH, NON-GENERAL FUND SOURCES.
NEXT CATEGORY IS CONTRACTING OUT.
WE DO A LOT IN-HOUSE, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS WHERE WE CAN GET EFFICIENCIES IN WORKING THAT THROUGH A, A PRIVATE COMPANY AS OPPOSED TO CITY STAFF.
AND SO WE TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY.
WE LOOK AT THE COST, IT'S GOTTA HAVE A, A, A COST BENEFIT TO DO SO.
UH, AND SO THERE ARE THREE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, WE HAVE AN IN-HOUSE, UH, COLLECTION TEAM.
WE'RE LOOKING AT MOVING THAT FIVE PERSON TEAM OVER TO HELP WITH AUTOMATED SPEED ENFORCEMENT CAMERAS.
SO THEY'LL DO THAT WORK INSTEAD AND CONTRACT OUT THE WORK FOR PARKING SERVICES.
UH, WE DO OUR OWN PRINTING IN-HOUSE.
UH, ABOUT 40% OF THE WORK IS OUTSOURCED.
60% IS IN-HOUSE LOOKING TO CONTRACT THAT OUT.
AND THEN, UM, SCHOOL GUARD SERVICES CROSSING GUARDS, WE DO IN-HOUSE.
UH, BUT, UH, THOSE ARE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT POSITIONS TO FILL.
AND SO LOOKING TO SEE IF A COMPANY CAN HELP US WITH THAT.
EACH ONE OF THESE NEEDS TO GO THROUGH AN ANALYSIS WITH OUR, UH, UH, UNDER THE CHARTER AND, UH, MEET AND CONFER WITH OUR LABOR UNIONS.
SO AFTER ALL THOSE THINGS ARE DONE, NOW WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SERVICE REDUCTION.
SO THAT SOLVES ABOUT HALF THE PROBLEM.
THEN THE NEXT CATEGORY IS ABOUT 33 MILLION AND ALMOST 200 FTES IN SERVICE REDUCTIONS.
AGAIN, THESE ARE SUMMARIES, BUT WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT THOSE ARE, THAT OUR TEAMS HAVE DONE.
THIS, THIS WAS VERY, VERY HARD FOR OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS, BUT, UM, THEY, THEY LOOKED AT IT WITH A, WITH A LENS.
THEY LOOKED AT IT WITH AN EQUITY LENS, THEY LOOKED AT IT WITH A DATA LENS AND CAME UP WITH THESE REDUCTIONS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO OUR CORE, CORE SERVICES WHILE HAVING TO REDUCE IN AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE FIRE ENGINE.
UM, WE WILL BE, UH, RECOMMENDING ELIMINATING FIRE ENGINE 14.
THAT'S THE AREA THAT SERVES AROUND THE COLORADO LAGOON.
UH, IT HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST CALL VOLUMES IN THE CITY, UH, ABOUT 2000 CALLS AS OPPOSED TO SIX TO 8,000 CALLS IN OTHER AREAS.
IT HAS THE MOST SURROUNDING FIRE COVERAGE, AND 87% OF WHAT IT DOES IN, UH, FOR RESPONSE ARE MEDICAL.
AND SO THE ENG THE STATION WILL NOT CLOSE.
THE ENGINE WILL, UH, WILL BE ELIMINATED, BUT WE'LL HAVE A, UM, A BLS AMBULANCE AND A RESCUE AMBULANCE, UH, TO SERVE THOSE MEDICAL CALLS.
THE SECOND THING IS, IS, IS A GREATER IMPACT, WHICH IS A SECOND ENGINE WILL BE CLOSED ON A ROTATING BASIS, UH, AMONG SIX DIFFERENT STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
EVERY TWO WEEKS WILL BE REDUCED.
AND SO THAT, UM, UH, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF REMOVING ONE, UM, FIRE ENGINE.
THE NEXT IS CONVERTING AN ENGINE FROM PERMANENT STAFFING TO OVERTIME, UH, THAT DOES NOT HAVE A SERVICE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, BUT THAT DOES PUT A LIST LITTLE MORE, UH, STRESS ON OUR, ON OUR FIREFIGHTERS AS THEY, UH, HAVE TO PICK THOSE UP ON OVERTIME SHIFTS, RATHER THAT BEING A PERMANENT, UH, JOB.
WE'RE ELIMINATING VACANT PATROL OFFICERS.
UH, WE'RE NOT CHANGING THE BEATS.
THE BEATS WILL STAY THE SAME, BUT WE'LL HAVE 17 FEWER, UH, PATROL OFFICERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY VACANT.
THOSE ARE RIGHT NOW ARE USED TO KIND OF FILL GAPS, UM, AS WE NEEDED.
AND SO THOSE, UH, SAVE ABOUT $14 MILLION, I'M SORRY, $4 MILLION AND 17 FTE.
WE'LL BE SCALING BACK ON OUR QUALITY OF LIFE, GOING FROM EIGHT QUALITY OF LIFE OFFICERS THAT ASSIST WITH HOMELESSNESS DOWN TO TWO, UH, AND ELIMINATING SIX, UH, MOTOR DETAIL OFFICERS, WHICH ARE, UM, UH, HAVE BEEN VACANT FOR A WHILE.
UH, THOSE ARE SIX $3.8 MILLION IN THE AREA OF FINANCIAL CRIMES AND INVESTIGATIONS AND PROPERTY CRIMES IS GONNA BE CONSOLIDATING.
AND SO THERE'S ABOUT 14, 18 DIFFERENT VACANT POSITIONS, EXCUSE ME, 18 THERE.
UH, AND, UH, THOSE DIVISIONS, UH, WILL, WILL BE CONSOLIDATED, SAVING ABOUT 5.2 MILLION.
AND THEN PED WILL BE TAKING SOME OVERTIME, UM, REDUCTIONS AS WELL, UM, IN OUR LIBRARIES.
UM, THOSE WERE SOME TOUGH CHOICES.
AND INSTEAD OF CLOSING A LIBRARY OR GOING TO A MORE REGIONAL MODEL, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION THERE IS TO RETURN TO A FIVE DAY SERVICE MODEL.
SO WE DON'T LOSE SERVICE IN ANY OF OUR LIBRARIES,
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UM, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.BUT GOING FOR THOSE FIVE THAT WERE INCREASED TO FIVE DAY SERVICE, THAT'LL GO DOWN, UH, TO, UH, TO THE NOR OR SIX DAY SERVICE, THEY'LL GO DOWN TO FIVE DAY SERVICE IN PARKS AND REC.
UM, THEY REALLY HAD SOME TOUGH DECISIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INVESTING IN MAINTENANCE OF THE PARKS AND HAVING CLEAN AND SAFE PARKS VERSUS RECREATION IN THE PARKS.
AND THEY HAD TO REDUCE IN BOTH.
UH, BUT, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF RECOMME, UH, UH, RECREATION, THERE ARE SOME REDUCTIONS THERE.
BE SAFE IS RECOMMENDED TO GO FROM THREE HOURS TO TWO HOURS.
UH, UH, RECOMMENDATION TO ELIMINATE, UM, TEEN PROGRAMMING AT CHAVEZ PARK TO REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OF CLASSES AT HOME AND CULTURAL CENTER TO REDUCE IT IN LINCOLN PARK, UH, TO REDUCE IT.
STERNS PARK TO REDUCE AT NATURE CENTER MUSEUM.
UM, AND CLOSING ON TUESDAYS, UH, THERE WAS SOME, UH, FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS AT, UH, SWIM AT JORDAN AND MILLIKEN THAT HAVEN'T BEEN OPEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, BUT THAT BUDGET IS STILL THERE.
AND THEN, UH, WE HEARD ABOUT THIS IN THE NEWS RECENTLY, THE WRAP PROGRAM.
THIS IS SUPPORTING SEVEN, UM, AFTER SCHOOL AT SEVEN DIFFERENT, UH, CAMPUSES.
UH, WE WILL NO LONGER DO THAT WORK, SAVING 270, AND WE'VE HEARD FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OTHER PRIOR, UM, OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE ALREADY STEPPED IN.
THE KIDS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED FROM THEIR PROGRAMMING, BUT WE WILL NO LONGER DO IT WITH THE CITY TEAM.
AND THEN SOME REDUCED MAINTENANCE AT RANCHO LOS ALAMITOS, SAN RANCHO LOS CERRITOS.
ON SERVICE REDUCTIONS, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES WILL NEED TO SHRINK A LITTLE BIT, LOSING A NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES SPECIALIST POSITION.
AND TWO CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, UH, CITY MANAGER WILL, UH, OFF, UH, ELIMINATE AN ANALYST IN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY, UH, WHICH IS REDUCED STRUCTURAL SUPPORT FOR THE JUSTICE FUND LANGUAGE ACCESS.
AND THE HUMAN AND EQUITY RELATIONS COMMISSION HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS GONNA SEE VACANCIES.
UH, THEY HAVE ABOUT 47 FTES THAT'LL BE REDUCED, THAT ARE VACANT.
THEY'RE REDUCING IN THE AREA OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IN THE REACH HOMELESS TEAM IN, UH, MATERIAL CHILD, UH, MATERNAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH PROGRAMMING, AND THE CHILDHOOD LED PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO LOST SOME GRANT FUNDING IN THE AREA OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO, UM, UH, THERE HAD BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT LOSSES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT ALSO AT THE COUNTY LEVEL.
AND SO COUNTY MEASURE A FUNDING DROPS ABOUT 32% IN, UH, FY 27 WITH ANOTHER 43% CUT FORECASTED IN 28.
UH, WE HAD EXPECTED SOME REDUCTION IN THE STATE, UH, FUNDING, BUT THEN THAT GOT RESTORED LAST MINUTE.
AND AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, UM, WE'RE EXPECTING ABOUT A $4.8 MILLION LOSS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL BASED ON FEDERAL POLICY CHANGES, UH, AS WELL AS TERMINATING 8 480 LONG BEACH HOUSEHOLDS.
SO, UM, UH, WITH ALL THIS TOGETHER OVER THE NEXT YEAR, WE'RE EXPECTING ABOUT AN $11 MILLION LOSS IN ANNUAL FUNDING.
HAD WE NOT TAKEN ACTION, WHAT THAT WOULD'VE MEANT WAS LOSING HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF OUR SHELTER BEDS.
AND SO WE NEED TO PRESERVE THOSE, AND THOSE ARE PRESERVED IN THE BUDGET, BUT IT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REDUCE IN SOME OF OUR OUTREACH, OUR PREVENTION AND SUPPORT.
AND SO WE WILL HAVE A SHUTTLE SERVICE GO FROM TWO VEHICLES DOWN TO ONE.
WE WILL, UH, ELIMINATE WEEKEND OUTREACH UNLESS IT'S OF AN URGENT NATURE.
AND OUR MOBILE ACCESS CENTER IS REDUCED FROM TWO TO ONE.
WE'LL HAVE TO REDUCE SOME OF OUR PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND SOME OF OUR, UM, UH, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND SOME OF OUR EMERGENCY VOUCHERS.
AND SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE 40 EMERGENCY VOUCHERS AT A HOTEL A NIGHT.
WE'RE GONNA REDUCE THAT DOWN TO 15.
WE'LL HAVE LESS RAPID REHOUSING ASSISTANCE, LESS SPECIALIZED, UH, HEALTH SERVICES.
AND OVERALL, THIS REDUCES ABOUT EIGHT POSITIONS IN HOMELESS SERVICES.
UM, UH, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE MAYOR, THOUGH, AND HE'LL BE WALKING THROUGH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME RESTORATIONS.
UH, THE WAY THAT OUR PROCESS WORKS, THE MANAGER BUILDS A BUDGET, BUT THEN, UH, THE MAYOR AFTER THAT BUDGET IS DONE, HAS A CHANCE TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND OFTEN IN THIS EVER-CHANGING ENVIRONMENT, NEW RESOURCES BECOME AVAILABLE THAT WEREN'T PLANNED FOR DURING THAT.
SO YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT SOME POTENTIAL RESTORATIONS THAT ARE ALL FUNDED AND, UH, THAT I SUPPORT.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU, UH, TOM.
SO, UH, CERTAINLY A LOT TO, UH, REACT TO, BUT WE'RE NOT DONE.
THERE ARE SOME TARGETED, UM, UH, RESTORATIONS THAT WE CAN MAKE.
SO THE FISCAL REALITIES THAT TOM OUTLINED ARE CERTAINLY SERIOUS.
THERE ARE REQUIRING DIFFICULT CHOICES, DISCIPLINE, AND A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT RESIDENTS DEPEND ON MOST.
BASED ON A LENS OF DATA AND EQUITY.
WE ALSO DEMONSTRATE, DEMONSTRATE WHY PREPARATION MATTERS.
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, WE'VE BEEN INTENTIONALLY EXPANDING OUR WORK OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL BECAUSE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FACING OUR CITY, UH, CANNOT BE SOLVED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT ALONE.
WE BUILT REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, SECURED NEW FUNDING SOURCES, AND ADVOCATED FOR POLICIES THAT STRENGTHEN LONG BEACH'S LONG-TERM FINANCIAL FOUNDATION.
THE WORK IS NOW PRODUCING TANGIBLE RESULTS AND RESOURCES AT THE EXACT MOMENT.
OUR CITY NEEDS 'EM AS AN EXAMPLE, WITH A FOCUS ON HOMELESS PREVENTION.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WITH OUR ENGAGEMENT AT LA CASA, IT'S GENERATED
[00:10:01]
MORE THAN $10 MILLION ANNUALLY TO PLACE INTO PREVENTION AND, AND RAPID, UH, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND PROVIDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR VULNERABLE FAMILIES.WE ALSO SUPPORTED, MOST RECENTLY, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH SUPPORTED LA COUNTY MEASURE A ESTABLISHING A NEW FUNDING SOURCE TO PROTECT LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES.
AS FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FUNDING AND LOCAL SUPPORT TO PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS FACE UNCERTAINTY.
OUR GROWING PARTNERSHIP WITH LA METRO HAS CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL TO STRENGTHEN TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION, ADVANCE MAJOR MOBILITY, SAFETY OUTCOMES.
LAST YEAR, WE ANTICIPATE THIS WILL BE A DIFFICULT YEAR.
SO WE PUT FORWARD A TWO YEAR BACK TO BASICS PLAN FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
THOSE DOLLARS ARE AVAILABLE IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR TO SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO WE'VE BROUGHT SOME NEW DOLLARS TO THE TABLE, BUT IT DOES NOT ELIMINATE EVERY DIFFICULT DECISION.
BUT BECAUSE WE PLANNED AHEAD, WE'RE BETTER POSITIONED TO PROTECT ESSENTIAL SERVICES, PRESERVE CRITICAL JOBS, AND CONTINUE INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA FUND THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE I OUTLINE THEM.
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VOTER APPROVED MEASURE A DEDICATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH, THE RESTORATIONS THAT I'M GOING TO OUTLINE, THEY DON'T DEPEND ON A NEW, UH, SOURCE OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE.
THEY'RE FUNDED BY REDIRECTING ONE-TIME SAVINGS, IMPROVING COST RECOVERY, OR MAXIMIZING OUTSIDE FUNDING SO WE CAN PROTECT SERVICES WITHOUT PLACING MORE STRUCTURAL PRESSURE ON OUR GENERAL FUND.
FIRST ELECTION SAVINGS, BECAUSE THE LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL AND ALL THE CITY RIGHT RACES CLOSED IT OUT IN JUNE, UH, WE NOW HAVE SOME ONE TIME SAVINGS OF $1.56 MILLION THAT HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE FOR AN ELECTION THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE TO HOST.
WE CAN PLACE THOSE DOLLARS DIRECTLY INTO COMMUNITY PRIORITIES TODAY.
SO I RECOMMEND REDIRECTING THOSE ONE TIME, UH, SAVINGS TOWARD URGENT ONE-TIME COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, UH, AS OUTLINED IN THE MAYOR'S, UH, BUDGET RECOMMENDATION BOOK.
SECOND, THE LONG BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES THAT ARE DIRECTLY SUPPORTED BY PORT OPERATIONS.
AND I RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY AND THE PORT UPDATE THE FIRE SUPPRESSION, MOU TO MORE FULLY RECOVER THE COST OF THOSE SERVICES.
THAT ADJUSTMENT PROVIDE 5.9 MILLION IN ONGOING FLEXIBLE GENERAL FUND, UH, REVENUE, ALLOWING US TO RESTORE MORE ESSENTIAL SERVICES ON A STRUCTURALLY PERMANENT, UH, AND RESPONSIBLE BASIS.
I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD OF HARBOR COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS, UH, THEIR CHAIR, UH, STEVE NEIL, AND PORT CEO DR.
NO, NOAH HAS GABA FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP IN THIS EFFORT IS STEPPING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR OUR CITY.
NEXT, THROUGH OUR ADVOCACY WITH THE CALIFORNIA BIG CITY MAYOR'S COALITION, THE STATE IS RESORT HAS RESTORED THE HAP FUNDING, UH, TO 900 MILLION STATEWIDE.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED TO BE CUT TO 500 MILLION.
THAT ACTION ALLOWS LONG BEACH TO CONTINUE AND RESTORE CORE HOMELESS RESPONSE SERVICES WITHOUT PLACING ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON OUR GENERAL FUND.
WE'LL ALSO RECEIVE ABOUT 10 MILLION, UH, FROM LA CASA, AS WE MENTIONED, TO CONTINUE OUR WORK ON RENTER PROTECTIONS AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND ADDITIONAL 3.9 MILLION IN COUNTY MEASURE A FUNDING TO PRESERVE RENTAL SUBSIDIES, HOUSING NAVIGATION, HOUSING LOCATION SUB SUBSIDIES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION NOW WILL NOT BE ELIMINATED.
AND FINALLY, UH, LA COUNTY MEASURE ER IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE LONG BEACH WITH APPROXIMATELY SEVEN TO 8 MILLION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH IN OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND BECAUSE OF THIS PRECISE ALLOCATION AND FUNDING SCHEDULE ARE STILL BEING SORTED OUT AND FINALIZED BY THE COUNTY, I RECOMMEND THAT WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH A RESPONSIBLE PHASED APPROACH THAT PROTECTS EXISTING SERVICES AND EXPANDS CAPACITY AS ONGOING REVENUE BECOMES AVAILABLE OVER THE COURSE OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
TOGETHER, THESE RESOURCES ALLOW US TO MAKE TARGETED RESTORATIONS WITHOUT WALKING AWAY FROM THE MOST DIFFICULT FISCAL DISCIPLINE REQUIRED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.
SO MY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ORGANIZED AROUND FOUR PRIORITIES, PROTECTING LOCAL JOBS, ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES.
UH, PRESERVING PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE FACE OF FEDERAL CUTS, ADVANCING MOBILITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL ROAD USERS, AND INVESTING IN THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS.
TOGETHER, THESE, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS CHARTER A RESPONSIBLE PATH FORWARD THAT PROTECTS RESIDENTS TODAY WHILE CONTINUING TO PREPARE LONG BEACH FOR THE FUTURE.
LET'S GET INTO THE FIRST PRIORITY.
PROTECTING JOBS AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
EVERY RESIDENT DESERVES TO FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND CONFIDENT THAT HELP WILL BE THERE WHEN THEY NEED IT.
AND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, LONG BEACH HAS MADE REAL PROGRESS IN REBUILDING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY RESPONSE, CUTTING VACANCIES IN HALF, GRADUATING THE LARGEST POLICE ACADEMY, BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE POLICE ACADEMY COME AT THE ACADEMY THAT OUR MODERN DEPARTMENT NEEDS.
WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW A DIFFICULT BUDGET TO ERASE THE RECRUITMENT PROGRESS THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS WORKED HARD TO ACHIEVE.
THAT'S WHY THIS BUDGET CONTINUES THAT FOCUS ON HIRING $7 MILLION IN MEASURE A FOR POLICE ACADEMY 1 0 1, WHILE ALSO INVESTING IN YOUTH PROGRAMS AND PREVENTING VIOLENCE PREVENTION
[00:15:01]
BEFORE IT HAPPENS.PUBLIC SAFETY REMAINS A FOUNDATION.
SO ADDITIONALLY, I RECOMMEND RESTORING FOUR PATROL OFFICER POSITIONS, UH, ONE WITHIN EACH PATROL DIVISION ACROSS THE FOUR DIVISIONS.
I ALSO RECOMMEND RESTORING TWO ADDITIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE POSITIONS, TAKING, UH, THE AMOUNT FROM TWO UP TO FOUR, UH, SO THEY CAN CONTINUE, UH, SUPPORTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEM SOLVING AND THE OUTREACH IN OUR PERSISTENT ENCAMPMENTS.
I ALSO RECOMMEND MAINTAINING TARGETED OVERTIME RESOURCES AND HIGH CRIME CRIME FOCUSED TEAM, UH, TRAFFIC SAFETY AND COORDINATED CLEANUP OPERATIONS ALONG THE LOS ANGELES RIVER.
SO THESE FOCUS RESTORATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN VISIBLE, EFFECTIVE COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
I WANNA THANK, UH, OUR, OUR POLICE CHIEF FOR WORKING TOGETHER, WAS TO MAKE SURE WE TAKE THESE LIMITED RESOURCES AND USE 'EM IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
IN TERMS OF FIRE DEPARTMENT IN RECENT YEARS, OUR PRIORITY IS TO ADDRESS THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY WITH GREATER DEMAND FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE.
OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS MET THAT NEED BY ADDING MORE PARAMEDIC SERVICES IN OUR DEPARTMENTS THAN WE'VE EVER SEEN AT ANY TIME IN OUR CITY'S HISTORY.
SO, DESPITE THIS DIFFICULT FINANCIAL HEADWINDS WE'RE FACED, OUR BUDGET CONTINUES THAT COMMITMENT BY PRESERVING EVERY PARAMEDIC RESCUE TEAM THAT'S CURRENTLY SERVING LONG BEACH.
THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES ROTATING CLOSURES OF FIRE ENGINES.
THIS HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ACROSS OUR WHOLE CITY.
SO I RECOMMEND RESTORING THE SECOND PROPOSED FIRE ENGINE CLOSURE, RESTORING, UH, THE O THAT ONLY ONE GENERAL FUND FIRE ENGINE, WHICH THE DATA SHOWS THE NEED IN THAT SPACE IS FOR EMERGENCY PARAMEDIC RESPONSE.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA REDUCE FROM TWO TO ONE.
THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION HERE.
RESTORE, UH, THAT FIRE ENGINE TOGETHER, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS PROVOKE THEY PRESERVE BOTH MEDICAL RESPONSE AND FIRE SUPPRESSION CAPACITY WHILE CONTINUING EVALUATING DATA INFORMED INNOVATIVE DEPLOYMENT MODELS THAT MATCH THE RIGHT RESOURCES TO THE CHANGING NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND AS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BECOME AVAILABLE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SHOULD WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS, OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, AND THE COUNTY TO EVALUATE MODELS THAT BETTER MATCH THE RIGHT RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS OF EACH CALL.
COMMUNITY SAFETY CANNOT ONLY BE DEFINED BY WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SOMEONE CALLS 9 1 1.
IT ALSO DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS, SAFE ACCESS TO PARKS AND SPACES, TRUSTED ADULTS, MEANINGFUL PROGRAMMING AND PATHWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY.
INVESTING IN YOUTH WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF OUR, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY STRATEGY.
SO I RECOMMEND CONTINUING THE INVESTMENTS AND RESTORING THE CUTS TO THE BE SAFE SUMMER PROGRAM, STRENGTHENING OR RESTORING THE CUTS TO THE TEEN PROGRAMS AT CHAVEZ PARK AND THE PROGRAM AT HOMELAND CULTURAL CENTER.
THESE EVENT, THESE EFFORTS SUPPORT OUR ADVANCING PEACE AND STRONG BEACH STRATEGIES BY ADDRESSING VIOLENCE BEFORE IT COUNTS.
COMMUNITY TRUST IS ALSO AN ESSENTIAL PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY IN LONG BEACH.
WE CONTINUE TO STAND WITH OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES.
UH, I RECOMMEND RESTORING THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND TO $1 MILLION, SUSTAINING LEGAL SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES NAVIGATING INCREASINGLY UNCERTAIN, UH, FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENVIRONMENT.
UH, WE LOOKED AT 1 MILLION AS THE AMOUNT, THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS THAT WAS DRAWN ON.
UH, AND SO THIS WILL PROVIDE US THE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS IMPORTANT FUND IS AVAILABLE.
SO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS REP REPRESENT A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY, STRONG EMERGENCY RESPONSE, EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT, VIOLENCE PREVENTION, YOUTH OPPORTUNITY, AND TRUST BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND GOVERNMENT.
THOSE NEXT MOVE TO OUR NEXT PRIORITY AREA.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT PRESERVING PUBLIC HEALTH.
IN THE FACE OF FEDERAL CUTS, A STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM DOES MORE THAN RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES.
IT PROTECTS FAMILIES, IT SUPPORTS VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, AND CREATES THE FOUNDATION FOR, FOR A HEALTHIER CITY.
OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, IS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM FOR OUR CITY.
AND THAT WORK IS ONLY POSSIBLE WHEN WE HAVE THE PEOPLE AND THE RESOURCES TO DELIVER IT.
MEASURE ER GIVES LONG BEACH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND STRENGTHEN IT FOR THE FUTURE.
SO, I WANNA THANK THE VOTERS OF LONG BEACH AND THE VOTERS OF LA COUNTY FOR STEPPING UP IN THIS MOMENT, UH, WHEN THE CITY NEEDS IT.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE PROPOSING A PHASE PLAN, UH, TO RESTORE CRITICAL POSITIONS, CREATE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH JOBS, AND BUILD A HEALTH DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR THE MEET TO MEET THE CHALLENGES AHEAD.
LONG BEACH IS ONE OF A SMALL NUMBER OF CITIES, ONLY THREE CITIES IN THE STATE WITH ITS OWN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT INDEPENDENCE ALLOWS US TO RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS, BUT ALSO MEANS THAT FEDERAL GOV, FEDERAL FUNDING REDUCTIONS HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON OUR CITY AND OUR LOCAL SERVICES.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, FEDERAL CUTS HAVE ELIMINATED ABOUT 1.3 MILLION IN COMMUNITY HEALTH AND PREVENTATIVE CARE PROGRAMS IN LONG BEACH.
THE COUNTY IS PROJECT PROJECTED TO LOSE APPROXIMATELY 2.4 BILLION THAT WILL HAVE A LOCAL IMPACT
[00:20:01]
ON LONG BEACH.SO I RECOMMEND USING MEASURE ER TO LEVERAGE AROUND FOUR PRIORITIES.
FIRST, RESTORE PROPOSED REDUCTIONS, UH, RESTORE THE 12 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES POSITIONS, UH, PROPOSE FOR REDUCTION IN THE CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET.
UH, THESE POSITIONS PROVIDE FOUNDATIONAL SERVICES THAT SHOULD NOT BE LOST WHILE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDING IS BECOMING AVAILABLE.
SECOND, PROTECT PROGRAMS LOSING GRANT FUNDING.
SO I RECOMMEND SUSTAINING SERVICES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE END BECAUSE OF TEMPORARY STATE OR FEDERAL GRANTS ARE EXPIRING.
WE SHOULDN'T ALLOW SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS DISAPPEAR SIMPLY BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL FUNDING SOURCES ENDED, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE SERVICES, UH, ARE, WE'RE SHOWING THAT THERE'S URGENT HEALTH NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AS MEASURE ER REVENUES ARE CONFIRMED.
I RECOMMEND ADDING 26 POSITIONS OF PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS TO STRENGTHEN AREAS SUCH AS COMMUNICABLE, COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY CAPACITY, AND COMMUNITY HEALTH, COMMUNITY HEALTH OUTREACH.
TOGETHER, THIS PLAN WOULD RESTORE 12 POSITIONS AND ADD 26 POSITIONS, STRENGTHENING BOTH OUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE CAPACITY AND LONG-TERM FOUNDATION OF OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND FOURTH, OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT DEPENDS ON GRANTS, AND I RECOMMEND CREATING A DEDICATED GRANTS MATCH RESERVE.
LONG BEACH SHOULD NEVER LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN OUTSIDE FUNDING, BECAUSE WE MA WE LACK A RELATIVELY SMALL MATCHING AMOUNT.
AND SO THIS APPROACH ALLOWS US TO LEVERAGE THESE, THESE DOLLARS TO GROW THE PIE, BUT ALSO IT ALLOWS US TO ACT NOW WHILE REMAINING RESPONSIBLE ABOUT REVENUES THAT ARE STILL BEING FINALIZED.
LET'S MOVE TO THE NEXT SECTION.
TRANSPORTATION IS CENTRAL TO THE DAILY QUALITY OF LIFE TO ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS.
IT DETER DETERMINES WHETHER PEOPLE CAN GET TO THEIR JOBS OR SCHOOLS, THEIR APPOINTMENTS, THEIR BUSINESSES, AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS SAFELY AND RELIABLY.
AND AS YOU PREPARE FOR 2028 OLYMPIC PARALYMPIC GAMES, WE MUST ALSO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS LEAVE A LASTING BENEFIT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
EVERY RESIDENT IN OUR CITY DESERVES TO TRAVEL SAFELY ON OUR ROADS, WHETHER THEY'RE WALKING TO A LOCAL MARKET OR BIKING TO WORK, OR DRIVING THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL.
BUT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, CITIES ACROSS THE NATION HAVE SEEN A RISE IN TRAFFIC RELATED INJURIES AND FATALITIES.
IT'S TIME FOR LONG BEACH TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE WITH THE URGENCY AND THE FOCUS THAT IT DESERVES, BACKED WITH REAL RESOURCES NEEDED TO TURN INTENTION INTO ACTION.
SO TODAY, WE'RE ANNOUNCING A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN PROTECTING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET ESTABLISHES A NEW TRAFFIC SAFETY DIVISION IN PUBLIC WORKS.
I SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT STEP IN THE CREATION OF A NEW TRAFFIC SAFETY BUREAU, FOCUSED ON COLLISION REDUCTION, VISION ZERO IMPLEMENTATION, AND SAFER STREET DESIGN.
I'M GONNA ASK OUR CITY MANAGER TO COME WALK US THROUGH HOW, IN GREATER DETAIL, HOW, UH, WE'RE GONNA ADD MORE ACCOUNTABILITY AND MORE COORDINATION TO ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTENT AND PERSISTENT ISSUES IN OUR CITY.
UH, THIS IS CERTAINLY AN AREA THAT WE HEAR ABOUT.
UM, UM, IS THAT, IS THAT IT? NO, NEXT ONE.
THIS IS CERTAINLY AN AREA THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR, UM, COMING OUTTA COVID ON HOW THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH OUR STREETS AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF SPEEDING AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF, UH, PEDESTRIAN DEATHS AND, AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY.
UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL CALLED FOR A MAJOR INVESTMENT, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE IN A DEFICIT YEAR IN TRAFFIC.
AND THAT IS WHAT'S BEING DELIVERED.
AND SO, UH, WE ARE, UH, GOING TO BE ONE OF, UM, I THINK ONLY SIX CITIES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THAT WE REALLY PUSHED FOR TO HAVE AUTOMATED SPEED ENFORCEMENT CAMERAS HERE.
AND WE'VE, UH, UH, PUT OUT, WHEN THOSE, UH, PUT OUT WHERE THOSE LOCATIONS ARE GONNA BE, THEY'LL BE UP BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
THEY WILL ALSO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DOLLARS.
IT'S IN THE TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS RANGE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO FUND NEIGHBORHOOD STREET SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
AND SO THAT MONEY DOES NOT GO IN THE GENERAL FUND, IT GOES RIGHT BACK TO TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE ARE REFORMATTING A BUREAU WITHIN, UH, SIT, UH, WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS TO REALLY FOCUS JUST ON TRAFFIC.
IT WILL BE TAKING, UH, THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING FUNCTION AND ENHANCING THAT BY ABOUT SEVEN POSITIONS.
AND ALSO MERGING IN THE CREWS THAT DO THE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS INTO ONE COORDINATED BUREAU, UH, LED BY A, A, A TRAFFIC PROFESSIONAL, UH, THAT CAN, UH, BRING, UH, UH, UH, FASTER, UH, UH, MORE EFFECTIVE, UM, IMPACT, UH, TO OUR STREETS.
AND SO, UH, THAT WILL BE, UH, UNDERWAY LATER THIS YEAR.
UH, THIS INCLUDES, UH, TRAFFIC ASSOCIATES, TRAFFIC ENGINEERING TECHNICIANS, UH, A TRAFFIC, UH, UM, DIVISION ENGINEER, UH, AS WELL AS ANALYST CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ANSWER CALLS WHEN PEOPLE CALL AND, AND GIVE INPUT ONTO THOSE, UH, ONTO THOSE DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS AND WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO ABOUT IT.
[00:25:01]
THIS IS A BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MEET ONE OF THE URGENT, UH, NEEDS FACING OUR COMMUNITY.WE ALSO HAVE A SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE MOBILITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN THE UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR.
MOST RECENTLY, I WAS ELECTED TO JOIN THE REGIONAL METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR LONG BEACH.
THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE OUR MOBILITY GOALS THROUGH REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION.
AND I RECOMMEND ADDING A DEDICATED TRANSPORTATION DEPUTY TO COORDINATE THE CITY'S WORK WITH METRO.
THAT POSITION IS SUPPORTED THROUGH OUTSIDE TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES FROM METRO RATHER THAN OUR GENERAL FUND, BECAUSE LONG BEACH NEEDS A FOCUSED ADVOCATE WORKING EVERY DAY TO ENSURE OUR REGIONAL AND OUR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES MOVE FROM CONCEPT TO REAL PROJECTS.
NEXT, I RECOMMEND THAT OUR CITY FORMALLY EVALUATE, UH, A METROLINK CONNECTION, ENSURING THAT THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT AND CONNECT SERVING THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT AND CONNECTING OUR CITY MORE DIRECTLY TO THE REGIONAL RAIL SYSTEM.
AS LONG BEACH, AS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA PREPARES FOR MAJOR INVESTMENTS IN RAIL AND HIGH SPEED TRANSPORTATION, LONG BEACH MUST BE CONNECTED TO THAT FUTURE.
TOGETHER, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BUILD UPON OUR EXISTING WORK WITH ELEVATE 28 AND POSITION LONG BEACH TO COMPETE FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES THAT IMPROVE MOBILITY WELL BEYOND 2028.
LET'S MOVE TO OUR NEXT SEGMENT.
OUR FOURTH PRIORITY IS INVESTING IN OUR THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS.
A CITY IS EXPERIENCED AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL.
RESIDENTS EXPERIENCE THEIR GOVERNMENT THROUGH THEIR LIBRARIES THAT OPEN ON TIME PARKS, WHERE THEIR CHILDREN PLAY STREET LIGHTS THAT WORK BUSINESS CORRIDORS THAT FEEL ACTIVE, AND THE PUBLIC STATE, SAFE PUBLIC SPACES THAT ARE CLEAN AND SAFE AND WELCOMING, EVEN THROUGH DIFFICULT FISCAL YEARS.
WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE NEIGHBORHOOD INSTITUTIONS THAT HOLD OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER.
LIBRARIES ARE NOT JUST SIMPLY PLACES TO BORROW BOOKS, THEY'RE CENTERS FOR LEARNING, DIGITAL, DIGITAL ACCESS, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH PROGRAMMING, COMMUNITY CONNECTION.
AND WHILE WE ARE SHIFTING TO A FIVE DAY CYCLE, I'M RECOMMENDING TARGETED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING IN THOSE, UH, IN THOSE LIBRARIES.
IF WE'RE GONNA BE THERE, LET'S MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES, UH, TO PROG PROGRAM IT.
WELL ALSO RECOMMEND PROTECTING THE CRITICAL OPERATIONS, BOTH AT THE RANCHOS AND EL DORADO NATURE CENTER.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, STRUCTURAL OFFSETS FOR BOTH OF THOSE.
UM, THIS, UH, THESE INSTITUTIONS PRESERVE OUR HISTORY.
THEY CONNECT RESIDENTS TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL LIFE FOR OUR CITY.
UH, ONE RECOMMENDATION IS TO PARTNER WITH PARTNERS OF PARKS ON, UH, THE NATURE CENTER TO, UM, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE ACCESS THERE AND RAISE THE MONEY THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE, ENSURE THAT THAT IS ACCESSIBLE.
UH, ON THE WEST SIDE, I RECOMMEND CONTINUING THE WEST SIDE PO PROMISE AS A FOCUS STRATEGY TO DELIVERING INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, ENVIRONMENTAL, IMPROVE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO STRONGER AND STRONGER PUBLIC SERVICES TO WEST LONG BEACH.
IT'S AN ESSENTIAL, UH, PROGRAM.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WEST SIDE RESIDENTS CAN CONTINUE TO FULLY PARTICIPATE AND BENEFIT FROM, UH, OUR ECONOMY.
UH, BACK TO BUSINESS, I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE.
THE BACK TO BUSINESS PLAN THAT WE ADOPTED LAST YEAR, THE $8.7 MILLION TWO YEAR PLAN WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO SMALL BUSINESS BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS, ACTIVATING COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS, CONTINUE ADDRESSING HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONCERNS, STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ACROSS LONG BEACH.
SO THE BUDGET SHOULD PROTECT THAT STRATEGY AND ENSURE WE DELIVER, UH, THE INVESTMENTS WE'VE ALREADY MADE.
SO, NEXT, WE'RE GONNA, UM, TALK NOW ABOUT, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
ELEVATE 28 IS OUR LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM IN THE CITY'S HISTORY.
UH, AND WE'RE IN OUR FOURTH YEAR CURRENTLY, AND WE HAVE ONE MORE YEAR AS WE PREPARE.
AND 2028 WAS REALLY A GOAL, A DEADLINE FOR US TO INVEST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT INVESTING IN OUR CITY CANNOT END WHEN THE OLYMPIC FLAMES GO OUT.
LONG BEACH NEEDS LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS TO THE STREETS AND THE PARKS AND PUBLIC FACILITIES, UH, THAT RESIDENTS DEPEND ON EVERY DAY.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE BEGINNING THE PLANNING OF RENEW 32, OUR CITY'S NEXT FIVE YEAR INFRA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN TO CARRY THE MOMENTUM FORWARD AND BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION OF INVESTMENTS IN OUR CITY, AND LEVERAGE THE MOMENTUM FROM THE 2028 GAMES TO IMPROVE OUR STREETS, OUR MOBILITY, AND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS THROUGH 2032.
SO I'LL ASK, UH, TOM MODA TO WALK US THROUGH, UH, THE EARLY RENEW 32 FRAMEWORK.
SO, MAYBE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, UH, BEFORE MEASURE A BEFORE WE REALLY WENT OUT AND FOUND LOTS OF DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, BOTH LOCALLY AND, UH, REGIONALLY.
UH, WE USED TO DO MAYBE ONE STREET A YEAR.
UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY REAL STREET MAINTENANCE MONEY.
WE DIDN'T HAVE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT MONEY.
AND SO WE, UH, REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, THAT ALL CHANGED WITH MEASURE A.
THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE LARGEST INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD IN A GENERATION.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN, UH, DOING THAT WORK.
AND NOW WE'VE ALSO HAD ADDITIONAL STREET MONEY COME IN THAT WE'VE ADVOCATED FOR,
[00:30:01]
FROM BOTH COUNTY AND STATE, LOCAL OR RESOURCES.WE MAP EVERY STREET, AND WE USE DATA, UM, AND WE KNOW WHAT EVERY, UH, INDEX IS ON EVERY SINGLE STREET.
AND THEN WE APPLY THOSE DOLLARS, UH, THROUGH FORMULAS TO FIND WAYS TO INCREASE OUR STREETS.
AND SO, UH, EVERYTHING IS ON A MAP.
AND THEN WE RELEASE MAPS AND SAY, THIS IS OUR COMMITMENT.
UH, WE HAVE MADE ENORMOUS PROGRESS OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
THERE'LL BE AN ANALYSIS OUT LATER TODAY THAT'LL SHOW THAT BY THE END OF THE FIVE YEAR PLAN, WE'LL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, UH, I THINK SOMETHING LIKE 96, 90 7% OF WHAT WAS PROMISED.
AND THE REST WILL BE DONE IN THE NEXT YEAR.
BUT THEN WE'RE ALSO UNVEILING A NEW, UH, UH, FIVE YEAR ROADMAP FOR STREETS.
AND THEN LATER THIS YEAR, WE'LL DO ANOTHER FIVE YEAR ROADMAP FOR THE ENTIRE, UM, CITY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
AND SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAS BEEN, UH, ACCOMPLISHED OVER FY 28.
AND WHEN YOU ADD IN, UH, AND THROUGH, I'M SORRY, THROUGH 28, AND WHEN YOU ADD IN 32, OUR, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, PLAN HAS BEEN RELEASED AND IT'S, UH, WENT UP ANOTHER $152 MILLION, UH, OF ELEVATE 28, UH, COMPARED TO FY 26, UH, IT'S NOW 1.24 BILLION FOR MORE THAN 180 PROJECTS ACROSS EIGHT FUNDING CATEGORIES.
UH, SO ALL OF THESE ARE LINKED ON A WEBSITE, UM, UH, ELEVATE, UH, LB.COM.
UH, SO, UH, THE LARGEST IMPROVEMENT IS MOBILITY AND SAFETY AT OVER A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.
WE HAVE OLYMPIC LEGACY PROJECTS AT 260 MILLION GOLD MEDAL PARK REFRESH PROJECTS AT A HUNDRED MILLION, UH, UH, PUBLIC FACILITIES AT 88 MILLION, PARK IMPROVEMENTS AT 60 MILLION RIGHT OF WAY IMPROVEMENTS AT 138.
WE'RE ALSO ANNOUNCING AND RELEASING IN A, IN A SEPARATE MEMO, UH, WHAT OUR, UH, PRO PROPOSED PLAN IS FOR STREET REINVESTMENT.
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE A $250 MILLION INVESTMENT OVER FIVE YEARS, ABOUT 50 MILLION, UH, THAT, AND WE WILL OUTLINE THOSE STREETS.
THIS WILL BE CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL AS A PART OF THIS BUDGET, AND GIVE US DIRECTION ON, UH, MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, A LOT OF COLORS ON THOSE MAPS, THOSE ARE A COMBINATION OF SLURRY, OF STREET RECONSTRUCTION AND ARTERIALS.
UH, I WILL SAY IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
UH, WE DO NEED TO DO EVEN MORE THAN THAT, BUT, UH, AGAIN, THAT MAP 10 YEARS AGO LOOKED LIKE ONE STREET PER DISTRICT.
UH, UH, SO IT IS GONNA BE NOTICEABLE, BUT THERE IS MORE WORK TO DO, FOR SURE.
THAT'S A, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK WITH RENEW 32, BUT NOW IS THE TIME.
UH, WE ALSO, UH, KNOW THAT OUR COASTLINE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL RECREATION, ECONOMIC ASSETS.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO PRESENT A COORDINATED PACKAGE OF, OF, UH, INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY, RESTORE PUBLIC SPACES, STRENGTHEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC SAFETY ALONG OUR WATERFRONT, AND ENSURE OUR WATERFRONT IS READY TO WELCOME THE WORLD IN 2018.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA ASK, UH, OUR CITY MANAGER TO COME FORWARD AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE ONE TIME OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE IN OUR TIDELANDS.
UH, SO A COUPLE THINGS GOING ON IN TIDELANDS.
TIDELANDS HAS BEEN SEEING SOME FINANCIAL, UM, PRESSURES, UH, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO, UH, BOTH MANAGE COSTS IN THERE AND ALSO TO INCREASE REVENUES.
AND SO THINGS LIKE, UH, DOING THE, THE AMPHITHEATER, THINGS LIKE BRINGING BACK, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, A LOT OF CONVENTION ACTIVITY BRINGING BACK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE QUEEN MARY, ALL OF THOSE HAVE BEEN PART OF, UH, TIDELANDS.
AND SO TIDELANDS IS SEEING, UH, IS ALSO SEEING A BIG BOOST FROM THE PORT OF LONG BEACH.
UH, THEY ARE SEEING RECORD CARGO NUMBERS AND, AND ARE INCREASING THEIR TRANSFER TO THE TIDELANDS, WHICH IS HELPING.
SO WE HAVE SOME FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO INVEST IN TIDELANDS.
UH, ONE THING I DO WANNA MENTION WITH THE REDUCTION OF POLICE OFFICERS THAT WE SAW EARLIER ON, WE WILL BE MOVING FIVE OF THOSE POLICE OFFICERS INTO THE TIDELANDS TO BE FUNDED, THAT WILL RESPOND TO CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UH, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE TIDELANDS AREA, WHICH FREES UP, UM, UH, OFFICERS FROM HAVING TO RESPOND TO THOSE, THAT ALLOWS THEM TO RESPOND CITYWIDE AS WELL.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE A SERGEANT AND CHIEF, FOUR OFFICERS, FOUR, FOUR OFFICERS, UH, AS WELL AS A QUALITY OF LIFE THAT CAN HANDLE, UH, OUR TIDELANDS AREAS WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF ACTIVITY AND A LOT OF VISITORS COMING.
WHILE OUR OTHER BEAT OFFICERS WILL BE FOCUSED ON THE CITY.
THEN, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, UH, $12 MILLION WORTH OF CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE TIDELANDS.
UH, THESE WILL BE OUTLINED IN THE COMMUNITY BUDGET BOOK, UH, BUT THESE ARE ALSO GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
UH, WE'LL BE DOING, UH, INVESTMENTS IN OCEAN BOULEVARD AND RESURFACING AND MOBILITY.
UH, WE'LL BE CREATING A TRANSPORTATION HUB, UM, UH, DOWN ON SHORELINE, UH, DRIVE, UH, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE PIKE.
WE'LL BE RESURFACING THE BIKE PATH.
WE'LL BE IMPROVING HOW TO GET OVER TO THE QUEEN MARY, UH, AS WELL AS DOING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE QUEEN MARY, AND WORKING ON REMOVING THE SUBMARINE THAT'S THERE.
WE'LL BE INVESTING IN THE BELMONT PIER, UH, AND REPAIRS FOR THE BELMONT PIER.
WE'LL BE INVESTING, UH, IN NAPLES SEAWALLS CONSTRUCTION, AS WELL AS STARTING TO PLAN FOR A, UH, NEW PARKING GARAGE OVER AT
[00:35:01]
THE QUEEN MARY.UH, WE ALSO NEED TO GET READY FOR THE OLYMPICS IN TWO YEARS.
AND SO THOSE NON-GENERAL FUND RESOURCES WILL HELP US, UH, DO, UH, OLYMPIC VOLUNTEER SUPPORT AND HAVE MORE SECURITY CAMERAS AND WIFI VENUE OR VENUE WIFI, LIGHTING AND CAMERA MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS INVESTING IN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH LAB AND THEIR WATER QUALITY TESTING.
AND THEN WE'LL BE DOING ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CITY BEAUTIFICATION ALONG THE COAST AS WELL.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAVE A SEPARATE FUND THAT IS THE MARINA FUND, UH, THAT BOAT OWNERS PAY INTO.
AND SO THAT HAS ABOUT A $24 MILLION INVESTMENT.
BOAT OWNERS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR A LONG TIME AND BEEN PAYING INTO THAT FUND, UH, THAT'S LISTED IN THE BUDGET BOOK.
BUT THE, ONE OF THE BIG INVESTMENTS WILL BE REPLACING THE RESTROOMS. UH, AND THEN ALSO, UH, WE'LL BE, UH, CONSTRUCTING THE BELMONT P DOCK, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, DREDGING THE ALAMEDAS BAY CHANNEL.
AND SO ALL THOSE CAN BE FOUND, UH, IN, IN THE AREA HERE IN THE BUDGET BOOK.
AND AGAIN, THOSE ARE BIG INVESTMENTS IN AN AREA THAT HAVE RESTRICTED REVENUES THAT CAN'T BE SPENT ANYWHERE ELSE.
UH, BUT THOSE AREAS BELONG TO ALL OF US IN CALIFORNIA.
SO EVERYONE'S ALLOWED TO VISIT THE BEACH, AND WE WANT TO HAVE SOME OF THE BEST FACILITIES OF ANY CITY, UH, IN, IN, UH, IN, UH, CALIFORNIA.
SO WE NEED TO CONTINUE, UH, INVESTING THERE.
BUT ALSO, UH, WE KNOW THAT OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR, OUR CITIZENS AND OUR OUR, UH, EMPLOYEES DETER DESERVE A STABLE FINANCIAL FUTURE.
AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO DIVERSIFY OUR REVENUE, EXPAND OUR TAX BASE THROUGH ECONOMIC GROWTH.
THAT'S WHERE GROW LONG BEACH COMES IN.
WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE SEEING THE BENEFITS OF GROW LONG BEACH.
UH, 6,500 JOBS WE'VE SEEN SO FAR THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE 8,000 BY 2028.
WE'RE ANTICIPATING WE'RE ON TRACK TO, UM, UM, SEE EVEN, EVEN MORE GROWTH THERE.
UH, AS A VENUE CITY FOR 18 OLYMPIC PARALYMPIC SPORTS, WE HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO ACCELERATE OUR GROWTH.
SO THE GOAL SHOULDN'T JUST BE TO HOST A SUCCESSFUL GAME.
IT SHOULD BE TO CREATE LASTING ECONOMIC, UH, LEGACY FOR LONG BEACH.
IN TWO YEARS, UH, THE EYES OF THE WORLD WILL BE ON LONG BEACH.
AND SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACCELERATE PROJECTS, STRENGTHEN OUR WATERFRONT, CREATE AN ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE LEGACY THAT WILL BENEFIT OUR CITY FOR GENERATIONS.
SO I RECOMMEND LAUNCHING AN ACCELERATE BY 28 INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY TEAM TO FAST TRACK KEY PROJECTS AHEAD OF THE GAMES, INCLUDING MOBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, PUBLIC ART, AND CULTURAL PROJECTS, AND NEW REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES LIKE DIGITAL ADVERTISING.
I ALSO RECOMMEND ACCELERATING PLANNING AND STAKEHOLDER GET ENGAGEMENT FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF PEER H AND SHORELINE DRIVE, WITH THE GOAL OF RELEASING A PUBLIC SOLICITATION BY THE 2028 GAMES.
SO THESE ARE NOT SIMPLY OLYMPIC PROJECTS, THESE ARE INVESTMENTS IN THE FUTURE OF LONG BEACH, AND WE SHOULD LEVERAGE, UH, THESE NEXT TWO YEARS STRATEGICALLY.
THE BUDGET MARKS A TURNING POINT FOR LONG BEACH'S FISCAL RECOVERY.
WE'RE NOT JUST BALANCING ANOTHER, UH, DIFFICULT BUDGET.
WE'RE ADDRESSING THE STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE THAT HAS PERSISTED SINCE THE COVID-19 ERA HAS BEEN MADE WORSE BY AN UNCERTAIN FUNDING LANDSCAPE IN WASHINGTON, WHILE PROTECTING OUR PRIORITIES, PROTECTING SERVICES THAT RESIDENTS VALUE.
OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST SHOWS THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT CONTINUING TO NARROW OF THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS.
IF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH THESE PROJECTIONS, WITH NEW MEASURE A REVENUE APPROVED BY LONG BEACH, VOTERS EXPECTED TO SOLVE THE REMAINING SHORTFALL.
SO BY FOLLOWING THE PLAN LAID OUT TODAY, WE'LL POSITION LONG BEACH TO ACHIEVE ITS FIRST SIGNIFICANT AND SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL SURPLUS IN MORE THAN A DECADE BY 2028.
BUT ACHIEVING STRUCTURAL BALANCE IS ONLY PART OF THE WORK.
WE ALSO HAVE TO REBUILD OUR RESERVES THAT PROTECT LONG BEACH DURING RECESSIONS, EMERGENCIES, AND FUTURE PERIODS OF UNCERTAINTY.
SO I'LL ASK TOM TO WALK US THROUGH OUR PROPOSED REVERT RESERVE STRATEGY AND THE ROLE THAT RESERVE RESERVES WILL PLAY IN THE, IN THE COMING YEARS.
SO THIS IS THAT LAST PART OF THAT EIGHT POINT PLAN, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SOLVING TO THIS YEAR'S DEFICIT, BUT IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE HAD TO RELY ON SOME RESERVES.
THAT'S WHAT RESERVES ARE THERE FOR.
UM, YOU CAN USE THOSE TO, TO, TO SMOOTH OUT THOSE UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING COMING, UH, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
BUT THEY NEED TO BE REPLENISHED.
UM, AND SO, UH, I AM PROPOSING A PLAN THAT'LL PUT $9.8 MILLION BACK INTO OUR EMERGENCY RESERVES, UH, THAT IS COMING FROM A, UH, WAY THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING OUR FLEET, UH, FUND.
AND WE'RE BASICALLY GONNA BE USING SOME OF THAT CASH TO PUT IN THE, INTO THE, THE FLEET FUND, AND THEN ESSENTIALLY, UH, USE A LEASE FINANCE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO, TO FUND OUR FLEET.
SO OUR FLEET IS GONNA BE MADE, MAINTAIN WHOLE, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THE RESOURCES WE NEED THERE, BUT THIS ALSO PUTS, UH, MONEY BACK INTO THE EMERGENCY RESERVES.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THAT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, UH,
[00:40:01]
TO BUILD UP OUR EMERGENCY RESERVE AND THEN TO ALSO REBUILD OUR OPERATING RESERVE.SO THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
UH, I REALLY URGE, UH, UH, OUR MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO CONTINUE WITH THAT.
IT IS HARD THING TO DO WHEN THERE'S GONNA BE REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BUT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET BACK TO THOSE COUNCIL FINANCIAL POLICIES, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THE COUNCIL HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY, VERY STRONG ON.
SO, WE, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THAT DISCUSSION, AND I'LL TURN IT BACK TO THE MAYOR.
SO, UH, I RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE THIS INITIAL INVESTMENT AND WE ADD 200,000 ADDITIONAL TO PROPOSED RESERVE ALLOCATION, BRINGING, UH, THE TOTAL FY 27 REPLENISHMENT TO A CLEAN 10 MILLION.
ALSO RECOMMEND THAT WE DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO PRIORITIZE ADDITIONAL RESERVE REPLENISHMENT IN FUTURE YEARS, WHEREVER YEAR END PERFORMANCE PRODUCES A GENERAL FUND SURPLUS, A SINGLE ALLOCATION WILL NOT RESTORE OUR SERVICES.
IT MEANS, UH, MAINTAINING THE FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND DIRECTION NECESSARY TO REBUILD THEM OVER TIME.
SO, TAKEN TOGETHER MY FY 27 RECOMMENDATIONS, RESTORE ABOUT 70 CRITICAL POSITIONS.
UH, THESE ARE PEOPLE, AND BETWEEN MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND CITY MAN, CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET, WE'RE ADDING NEW POSITIONS FOR CRITICAL NEW PRIORITIES THROUGH MEASURE ER AND TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCES.
THIS WORK HELPS TO PROTECT, PROTECT PATROL EMERGENCY RESPONSE COVERAGE.
IT HELPS PRESERVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND INVEST IN SAFER STREETS, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, STRONGER NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THEY DO SO WHILE KEEPING LONG BEACH ON A PATH TOWARDS STRUCTURAL BALANCE.
BUT EVEN WITH THOSE EFFORTS, WE KNOW REDUCTIONS WILL AFFECT DEDICATED PUBLIC, PUBLIC SERVANTS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND THE DEPARTMENTS THAT RELY ON THEIR WORK.
SO NOW IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE NET IMPACTS.
SO I'M GONNA ASK, UH, TOM TO COME IN AND LET'S TALK ABOUT NOW THE WORKFORCE IMPACTS AND THE PROCESS AHEAD.
SO WE'VE LAID OUT KIND OF WHERE THOSE, UM, REDUCTIONS ARE GONNA BE, AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.
ONE, UH, WHEN YOU PUT TOGETHER BUDGETS, YOU CALCULATE THE VALUE OF A POSITION, AND WE CALL THAT A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT, FTE.
UH, AND SO WE ARE REDUCING 227 FTES AS A WHOLE IN THE ENTIRE CITY, EVEN AFTER ADS IN NON-GENERAL FUNDS AREAS.
UH, WE THEN THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS PUTS BACK ABOUT 39 FTE, UH, ALMOST, ALMOST 40.
AND SO THE NET TOTAL, UH, IS 187 POINT F FIVE TWO FTE.
BUT, UM, FTE IS A BUDGET TERM.
UH, IN THE END, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE TALK ABOUT 80% OF OUR BUDGET GOES TO PEOPLE.
THESE ARE PEOPLE, THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL JOBS AND REAL LIVES, UH, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THEIR EMPLOYMENT TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES AND SUPPORT, UH, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THEIR KIDS.
AND WE TAKE THAT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
UH, WHILE THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, AND WE NEED TO DO IT FROM A, FROM A FISCAL PERSPECTIVE, UH, I'D LIKE US ALL TO REMEMBER JUST THE HUMAN IMPACT, UH, OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY.
AND SO, UH, ESSENTIALLY WE, UM, HAVE, UM, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE BY THE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE HAVE SHOWN AN FTE, BUT I ALSO WANNA SHOW IT BY POSITION AND BY POSITION OVERALL, WHAT, UH, WAS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET WAS 483 POSITIONS, UH, IN THE CITY THAT ARE IMPACTED.
UH, AND SO 220 OF THOSE WERE VACANT.
UM, AND SO 263, UH, ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO BE FILLED.
THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS PUTS BACK ABOUT 70.
AND SO SOME ARE FILLED, SOME ARE NOT FILLED.
UH, BUT ALL OF THOSE REPRESENT OPPORTUNITY.
BUT WHEN YOU TAKE OUT THOSE, UH, THOSE VACANT POSITIONS, WE'RE PROBABLY TALKING ABOUT 200 EMPLOYEES THAT ARE CURRENTLY FILLED, THAT ARE IMPACTED.
UH, SO WE TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY.
UM, WE HAVE SPENT, UH, TODAY EXPLAINING, UH, TO AS MANY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES AS WE CAN IN PERSON, UH, WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHY THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WHILE DIFFICULT ARE BEING MADE.
AND NOW WE GO THROUGH A PROCESS, UH, WHERE WE TRY TO HELP AS MANY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES, UH, FIND OTHER EMPLOYMENT, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE CITY, UH, BUT IF NOT WITHIN, WITH ALL THE OTHER RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE RULES, UH, IN OUR CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM THAT ALLOW US TO MOVE CERTAIN EMPLOYEES CERTAIN PLACES.
UH, AND, BUT, UH, WE ARE COMMITTED TO THIS WORK TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO FIND AS MANY PEOPLE EMPLOYMENT AS POSSIBLE.
THAT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE IN EVERY SITUATION, UH, BUT WE'RE COMMITTED TO TALK, UH, INDIVIDUALLY TO EMPLOYEES AND WITH OUR LABOR UNIONS, UH, TO TRY TO MAKE ALL THIS HAPPEN.
AND ALSO TO MAKE IT HAPPEN BY OCTOBER 1ST.
UH, IN THE PAST, UH, WE COULD SOMETIMES TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WORK BECAUSE OUR, OUR ONE-TIME DOLLARS ARE BASICALLY THE EMERGENCY RESERVE.
UH, WE'LL BE WAITING FOR THE FINAL DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL, UH, ON IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES TO THIS PLAN AND RESTORATIONS,
[00:45:01]
AND THEN WORK WITH THE EMPLOYEES, UH, TO, TO TRANSITION AND, AND DO ALL THIS WORK BEFORE OCTOBER 1ST.ALRIGHT, SO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET AS A CITY MANAGER OUTLINE THIS PROPOSAL ELIMINATES ONCE IT CAST DOWN FROM FTE TO PROPOSED TO ACTUAL POSITIONS, YOU REMOVE THE UNFILLED, YOU REMOVE THE 70 THAT ARE, UH, POT POTENTIALLY RESTORED THROUGH THE MANAGER'S BUDGET.
IT'S ABOUT 180 FIELD POSITIONS IS WHAT, WHAT IS REMAINING.
SO THESE AREN'T JUST POSITIONS ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.
THESE ARE PEOPLE, COLLEAGUES, THESE ARE PEOPLE WHOSE FAMILIES, UM, HAVE DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND WHO COUNT ON THEM AS BREADWINNERS HERE IN LONG BEACH.
SO THESE ARE, UH, INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT DECISIONS, AND THEY'RE NOT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE TAKE LIGHTLY.
UH, IN TERMS OF THAT 180, I WILL NOTE, UH, BECAUSE OF THIS IS A MATTER OF, OF PUBLIC INTEREST, UH, ABOUT 80 OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE WRAP PROGRAM.
SO THE LONG CITY OF LONG BEACH WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE THAT PROGRAM, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THE PROGRAM WILL NOT HAPPEN.
WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UH, NEW PROVIDERS ARE COMING ONLINE WHO NEED TO STAFF UP.
SO WE'LL BE, WE ARE, UH, CURRENTLY ENGAGING AND ASKING OUR WORKFORCE AGENCY, OUR CITY MANAGER, TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND NEW PROVIDERS TO HELP A TRANSITION PATH PROCESS FOR THE WORKFORCE.
THE INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN WRAP LAST SCHOOL YEAR HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE WITH THE NEW PROVIDERS.
SO ABOUT 80 OF THOSE 180, UH, WILL BE TARGETING AND FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE THEY CONNECT.
UH, BECAUSE THE PROGRAM AFTER SCHOOL SERVICES WILL CERTAINLY CONTINUE.
SO OUR RESPONSIBILITY TODAY IS NOT ONLY TO TODAY'S BUDGET, IT'S TO THE LONG-TERM FINANCIAL HEALTH OF OUR CITY, AND TO THE THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES WHO DEPEND ON A STABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATION.
OUR EMPLOYEES DESERVE TO BE DESERVE MORE THAN TEMPORARY FIXES THAT SIMPLY POSTPONE DIFFICULT DECISIONS.
THEY DESERVE A CITY WITH A STABLE FINANCIAL FUTURE.
THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO STAY THE COURSE BY ADOPTING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE CAN ELIMINATE THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT, BEGIN REBUILDING OUR RESERVES, AND PUT LONG BEACH ON A PATH TO ITS FIRST SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL SURPLUS IN MORE THAN A DECADE.
THAT IS THE STABILITY THAT OUR WORKFORCE, OUR RESIDENTS, AND OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES.
LONG BEACH ENTERED THIS BUDGET YEAR FACING RISING COSTS, SLOWING REVENUE, BUT WE DID NOT ENTER IT UNPREPARED FOR YEARS.
WE'VE PLANNED AHEAD, BUILT REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, SECURED NEW FUNDING.
WE'VE GONE TO THE VOTERS, WE'VE MADE DISCIPLINED DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO STRENGTHEN OUR FINANCIAL FOUNDATION.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT PREPARATION, LONG BEACH IS PROTECTING CRITICAL SERVICES AND JOBS.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN OUR PRIORITIES IN OUR FUTURE.
AND AS THE CITY COUNCIL BEGINS, ITS BUDGET DELIBERATIONS, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES AND PROPOSALS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION.
SO I'VE SET ASIDE A ONE-TIME RESERVE FOR THIS.
I'M COMMITTED TO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO ADDRESS THOSE PRIORITIES.
BUT OUR DELIBERATIONS MUST REMAIN WITHIN A CLEAR AND RESPONSIBLE FRAMEWORK.
ANY NEW EXPENDITURE SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED WITH AN IDENTIFIED SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITY EQUITABLE ONGOING FUNDING SOURCE.
ONETIME REVENUE SHOULD NOT SUPPORT ONETIME, SHOULD ONLY SUPPORT ONETIME COSTS.
STRUCTURAL RESOURCES SHOULD SUPPORT STRUCTURAL COMMITMENTS AND AMENDMENTS SHOULD NOT REOPEN THE DEFICIT THAT WE WORK SO HARD TO CLOSE.
THIS IS NOT SIMPLY AN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE, IT'S HOW WE PROTECT ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
IT'S HOW WE PRESERVE THE CONFIDENCE OF OUR WORKFORCE AND OUR RESIDENTS, AND HOW WE AVOID PASSING TODAY'S FINANCIAL DECISIONS ONTO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
SO TO THE PUBLIC NOW, IT'S SHORT TERM, THERE ARE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AND STAY INFORMED.
ATTEND ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD, TO FIND MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO TAP IN.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE, LONG BEACH.GOV/BUDGET.
I KNOW THAT WE'RE DEF WE'RE NAVIGATING A DIFFICULT PERIOD, BUT LONG BEACH HAS CONFRONTED DIFFICULT MOMENTS BEFORE.
IF WE REMAIN DISCIPLINED, IF WE STAY FOCUSED ON OUR STRATEGY AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER, WE'LL DO MORE THAN BALANCE THE FY 27 BUDGET.
WE'LL PROTECT THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE, WE'LL STRENGTHEN THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AND DELIVER OUR FIRST SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL SURPLUS IN MORE THAN A DECADE.
WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO MEDIA Q AND A.
[00:50:01]
I KNOW THAT WAS LONG.IT WAS PROBABLY OUR LONGEST, BUT WE HAD A LOT TO COVER.
THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA.
WHY? I DON'T THINK IT WAS EVER 39.
IN OUR, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SAYS, I THINK YOU CAN HEAR ME.
UH, IN OUR FISCAL YEAR 26 ADOPT BUDGET, WE WERE PROJECTING A $39.3 MILLION SHORTFALL, BUT WITH VARIOUS FACTORS INCLUDING, UH, REDUCED PERFORMANCE IN OUR REVENUES AND RISING COSTS OF EXISTING SERVICES.
THAT CHANGED BACK EARLIER THIS YEAR TO 60 TO 80 RANGE.
AND THEN IN APRIL, WE PROJECTED A $61.3 MILLION SHORTFALL, AND NOW WE'RE AT THE 58.2.
SO IT'S CHANGED A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY FROM WHEN WE ADOPTED THE BOOK IN, UH, SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
SO OCTOBER ONE START FOR FISCAL YEAR.
AND THAT'S KIND OF THE JOURNEY TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
AND YOU SAID THE DIFFERENCE IS REVENUE, REVENUE SHORTFALL, RISING COSTS, UM, HIRING IN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO THERE'S BEEN VARIOUS COST, UM, CHANGES SINCE THEN.
THE MAJORITY'S BEEN IN REVENUE.
SO WE'VE SEEN SOME OF THE LARGEST REVENUE DROPS THAT WE'VE SEEN SINCE COVID, UH, WITH ALL OF THE FLUCTUATIONS HAPPENING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UH, WE'VE HAD REDUCTIONS IN HUGE REDUCTIONS IN, IN UTILITY TAXES, IN, UH, UH, PROPERTY TAXES, NOT COMING IN AS PROJECTED SALES TAX, NOT COMING IN AS PROJECTED, AND ALSO INTEREST EARNINGS.
SO WITH THE, THE CHANGES ON THE INTEREST LEVEL AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IMPACTS THERE AS WELL GOING FORWARD.
MORE THAN 10 YEARS ABOUT THAT.
I'M GONNA ASK FOR A CITY MANAGER'S PERSPECTIVE, BUT I CAN REMEMBER, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME INTO OFFICE AS MAYOR IN 20 23, 1 THING LONG BEACH DOES IS LOOK AHEAD FIVE YEARS.
WE DO THESE FIVE YEAR PROJECTIONS, AND OVER FIVE YEARS WE SAW AN 80, I THINK IT WAS A $91 MILLION FIVE YEAR STRUCTURAL DEFICIT WAS WHAT WE PROJECTED FIVE YEARS AGO.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE DO IS LOOK AT HOW LONG BEACH COMPARES TO OTHER BIG CITIES ACROSS CALIFORNIA TO SEE IF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ARE AFFECTING THEM AS WELL.
OF THE TOP 10 CITIES IN CALIFORNIA, EIGHT ARE DEALING WITH SOME DEGREE OF A DEFICIT IN FACING THE SAME CHALLENGES.
SO EIGHT OF THE TOP 10 CITIES IN CALIFORNIA.
SO WE'VE SEEN IT AND WE'VE PREPARED MUCH OF WHAT WE'VE DONE TODAY WAS LOOK AT OUR STRATEGY OF LEVERAGING, YOU KNOW, THE FUNDS THAT ARE NOT IN THE GENERAL FUND AND NOT DISTRESSED TO HELP PROVIDE MORE SUPPORT TO THE GENERAL FUND AND ALSO GET AHEAD OF IT BY DIVERSIFYING OUR REVENUE SOURCES THROUGH GROW LONG BEACH.
THAT'S WHERE TOURISM COMES IN.
WE'RE SEEING THINGS HAPPEN THAT ARE IMPROVING.
SAP WAS UP THIS YEAR THAT'S DIRECTLY RELATED TO TOURISM.
UH, UH, OUR TLT, OUR BED TAX DIRECTLY RELATED TO TOURISM.
UH, THE WAY WE'RE INVESTING IN TITLES TO CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GENERAL FUND.
ALL OF THOSE, UH, STEPS ARE HELPING TAKE PRESSURE OFF THE GENERAL FUND.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, TOM, YOU GOT ANY PERSPECTIVE ON THAT? YEAH, I WILL.
UM, YOU CAN ALWAYS DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
UH, ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT WE HAD IS COMING OUT OF COVID.
UM, WE COULD HAVE JUST SAID, EVERY YEAR WE'RE NOT GONNA USE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RESOURCES TO HELP, YOU KNOW, SHORE UP SOME SMALLER GAPS.
WE HAD MAYBE 5 MILLION, 10 MILLION A YEAR.
UH, WE COULD HAVE JUST BEEN CUTTING, UM, DURING A RECOVERY.
SO AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUR BUSINESSES BACK ON THEIR FEET THAT ARE, WERE HELPING OUR RESIDENTS, WE COULD HAVE BEEN MAKING CUTS EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
[00:55:01]
NOT TO DO THAT 'CAUSE WE HAD RESOURCES THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO DO EXACTLY THAT TO HELP US RECOVER.AND SO, UH, WE MADE THOSE CHOICES.
WE USED THOSE DOLLARS TO INVEST IN REVENUES IN OUR BUSINESSES TO HAVE THEM HELP RECOVER.
AND, AND THAT HAS LARGELY HAPPENED.
AND, UH, BUT NOW THERE SOME OF THOSE COSTS THAT YOU DIDN'T, UH, DIDN'T ADDRESS, UM, FOR A YEAR OR TWO, THOSE ARE THERE, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE LAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, WITH HUGE AMOUNTS OF INFLATION, HUGE AMOUNTS OF FEDERAL, UH, UM, UH, TURBULENCE, UH, IN THE ECONOMY.
UH, AND THAT'S REALLY, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPACTING US TODAY.
YOU COULD CHOOSE TO CUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC WHILE OUR, YOU KNOW, FOLKS ARE STRUGGLING AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING IMPACTS TO BUSINESSES AND THE RESIDENTS AND THE FAMILIES, BUT WE STRATEGICALLY LEVERAGED THE ONE TIME RESERVES INSTEAD OF CUTTING.
WE LEVERAGE THOSE TO GET THROUGH.
OUR CHARTER SAYS WE HAVE TO PASS A BALANCE BUDGET EVERY YEAR.
SO YOU EITHER BALANCE IT BY LEVERAGING ONE-TIME RESERVES OR BY MAKING CUTS OR IDENTIFYING NEW REVENUE.
WELL, IN THIS YEAR, THERE'S NO MORE FEDERAL ONE-TIME RESERVES.
WE DON'T WANT TO PASS IT ON WITH A ONE-TIME SOLUTION.
WE WANT TO ADDRESS IT STRUCTURALLY SO THAT NEXT YEAR, IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, WE HAVE THAT STABILITY THAT FRANKLY, GOVERNMENTS HAVE HAVEN'T HAD IN MANY YEARS SINCE COVID.
SO WE ACTUALLY ANTICIPATE IF WE STICK WITH THIS PLAN THAT'S COME TOGETHER.
AND CITY MANAGERS DONE A LOT OF INNOVATIVE THINGS BEFORE LOOKING AT CUTTING.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, BUT IT STABILIZES OUR BUDGET.
SO IT'S REALLY POLICY CHOICES.
I WOULDN'T, I, I COULD, I, YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL YOU IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS SINCE, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS AS MAYOR, WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT WE HAVE TO DIVERSIFY OUR REVENUE, THAT WE CAN'T BET ON, UH, VOLATILE COMMODITIES LIKE OIL ANYMORE.
AND WE HAVE TO DIVERSIFY TIGHTS AND WE HAVE TO FIND ALTERNATIVE SOURCES.
AND WE'VE GOTTEN BUSY JOINING REGIONAL BOARDS, BRINGING HOME MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO FOCUS ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO.
DIVERSIFY, EXPAND OUR TAX BASE.
UM, SO, UH, IN TERMS OF REVENUE, A LOT OF THAT WAS IN THOSE AREAS WE TALKED ABOUT.
THOSE ARE INTEREST EARNINGS THAT ARE LOWER.
UM, THAT IS, UM, PROPERTY TAXES COMING IN, LOWER SALES TAX COMING IN LOWER AND REVENUE COMING IN LOWER.
UH, WE HAVE ABOUT AN $800 MILLION, UM, UH, REVENUE BUDGET.
AND, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, IS A $21 MILLION KIND OF OFF, UM, WHICH IS, UH, WHICH IS A VERY, VERY SMALL PERCENT.
UH, AND THOSE ARE THINGS YOU HAVE TO ADJUST TO.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, YOU MAKE ESTIMATES ON ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND WHEN THE ECONOMY SHIFTS AND MOVES, YOU HAVE TO THEN COME UP WITH, UH, SOLUTIONS, UH, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
UM, YEAH, SOME OF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT YOU CAN'T PLAN FOR.
SOME OF THOSE ARE, ARE INFLATION RELATED COSTS.
UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE, ARE COSTS THAT, YOU KNOW, HIT US FROM, YOU KNOW, UM, UNEXPECTED, UH, PURCHASES THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE.
BUT SOME OF THAT ALSO ARE THE THINGS THAT WE HAD TO MAKE AS A PUBLIC POLICY CHOICE TO INVEST IN OUR POLICE FORCE TO INVEST IN FIREFIGHTERS.
UM, AND WE HAVE LOWERED OUR, OUR HIRING.
WE HEAR THAT FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WANNA HAVE, UH, LOWERED OUR VACANCY RATE.
WE WANNA HAVE MORE POLICE OFFICERS ON THE STREET AND FIREFIGHTER, AND WE DID EXACTLY THAT, LOWERED EXPENSES BY 50 PER OR LOWERED OUR VACANCY RATE IN PD BY 50%.
AND SO, UH, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE, UH, WHAT WE'VE, UH, LAID OUT AND KNOWING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIX THAT STRUCTURALLY, HIRING, HIRING, POLICE, CONTINUING ACADEMIES WAS, WAS INTENTIONALLY A DECISION.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, WE'VE HAD VACANCIES TO FILL, WE HAVE FEWER VACANCIES NOW.
WE'RE CLOSING OUT MANY OF THOSE VACANCIES.
UH, WE'RE CONTINUING TO FOCUS ON HIRING BECAUSE THERE'S CERTAINLY NEED, AND WE HAVE TIME TO GET ANOTHER ACADEMY IN BETWEEN NOW AND 2028.
SO THAT IS A POLICY CHOICE THAT, AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAKES UP 50% OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
HOW SO? ALL OF THAT IS, THIS WAS A SUMMARY.
ALL OF THE MAYOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET IS BEING RELEASED WITH THE, WHAT TIME WAS THAT? FOUR O'CLOCK.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE COMPLETE RESTORATIONS AND HOW EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS PAID FOR, BUT THERE WERE SOME, SOME BIG WINNERS THAT CAME IN FOR US IN, IN, IN THAT WILL LIFT UP LA COUNTY MEASURE, ER CAME IN AT THE RIGHT TIME.
IT'S, UH, POTENTIALLY SEVEN TO $8 MILLION APPROVED BY VOTERS FOR THIS SPECIFIC PURPOSE.
WE KNOW THAT, UH, INSTA INSTABILITY AND UNCERTAINTY IN WASHINGTON DC IS CREATING, UH, AN IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH JURISDICTIONS.
[01:00:01]
LONG BEACH IS ONE OF ONLY THREE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, SO WE'RE SEEING IT IN REAL TIME.THAT IS $8 MILLION DIRECTLY TO PUBLIC HEALTH TO HELP STABILIZE DEPARTMENTS LIKE THIS OVER FIVE YEARS.
SO YOU'RE SEEING EVERY DOLLAR OF THAT RECOMMENDED OUT AND PHASED IN OVER TIME AS THAT, THAT MONEY COMES IN.
THE SECOND BIG THING THAT WE SEE IN THE BUDGET, UH, IS, UH, THE PORT OF LONG BEACH IS HAVING A BANNER YEAR.
AND WE'VE NEGO RE RENEGOTIATED SOME OF THE, THE, THE COSTS, SOME OF THE, UH, FULL COST RECOVERY THROUGH OUR MOU FOR SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES, UH, THERE.
AND THAT'S FREED UP AND TAKEN PRESSURE OFF THE GENERAL FUND BY THE TUNE OF ABOUT $5.7 MILLION.
WE'VE TARGETED MOST OF THAT MONEY TO PUBLIC SAFETY RESTORATIONS.
THAT'S HOW WE'RE RESTORING, UH, THE ROLLING BLACKOUT OF THE FIRE FIRE ENGINE OF THE, THE, UH, ROTATING FIRE ENGINE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN VERY IMPACTFUL ON THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE LEVERAGING THAT NEW, THOSE NEW GENERAL FUND DOLLARS TO DO THAT AND TO RESTORE PATROL POSITIONS IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND TO FOCUS ON BROADER SORT OF, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITIES LIKE SUMMER PROGRAMS, INVESTING IN YOUTH CHAVEZ PARK.
SO THAT HAS ALLOWED US TO REALLY FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY RESTORATIONS.
I MEAN, LOOK, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THE PRIORITIES AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVEN'T ALIGNED WITH THE VALUES IN LONG BEACH.
IT'S PUT PLACE MORE STRAIN ON THE LIMITED RESOURCES WE HAVE, AND WE KNOW THAT THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN CHANGING.
WE USED TO BE A FRONT DOOR FOR SERVICES.
NOW WE'RE FIGURING HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FUND THEM LOCALLY.
AND SO, UH, WASHINGTON, OUR LEADERS, OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN WASHINGTON SHOULD KNOW THAT WE'RE HAVING REAL IMPACTS FROM DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE IN WASHINGTON, DC.
UH, WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE'RE A PORT TOWN.
WE PAY ATTENTION TO TARIFFS AND ALL OF THESE THINGS, THEY DO SHOW UP AND IMPACT, UM, INFLATION, TARIFFS, ALL THAT, THAT INFL IMPACTS US IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE IN OUR LOCAL ECONOMY.
UH, THE COUNTY, MANY OF THESE REDUCTIONS ARE ACTUALLY LOCAL.
SO WE DO WANT TO HAVE, WANNA SEE MORE, UH, RESTORATIONS FROM THE COUNTY, MORE FOCUS ON, UH, HOMELESS DOLLARS, MAKE, ACTUALLY MAKING IT TO LONG BEACH BECAUSE WE ARE OUR OWN CONTINUUM OF CARE.
WE'RE OUR OWN HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE NEED THOSE DOLLARS TO FLOW THROUGH FROM LA COUNTY, MEASURE A AT THE LEVELS.
THEY USED TO BE BACK TO OUR CITY, AND WITH THE STATE.
WE GOT A NEW GOVERNOR COMING IN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WON'T GET INTO POLITICS, BUT I HOPE THAT IT'S A GOVERNOR WHO, WHO IS PRIORITIZING HAP FUNDING, WHO'S PRIORITIZING HELPING US THROUGH OUR TRANSITION.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE COUNTED ON OIL MONEY FOR TOO LONG.
THIS HAS BEEN A OPEN, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY PUBLIC, UM, UH, CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE WITH THE STATE.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A PARTNER THERE AND HELPING US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR TRANSITION LOOKS LIKE.
LIKE WE GET IT, WE'RE GONNA MOVE AWAY RIGHT AWAY FROM IT, AND WE'RE GONNA STOP BUDGETING BASED ON IT.
WE'VE ALREADY TAKEN THOSE STEPS, UH, TO DO SO, BUT WE NEED PARTNER.
WE NEED A PARTNER IN THE STATE IN HELPING FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
WELL, THERE'S, HERE'S WHAT I WOULD SAY.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S REDUCTIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION, UM, INCLUDING MANAGEMENT POSITIONS, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
SO THERE ARE REDUCTIONS, BUT IT WASN'T CUT ACROSS, YOU KNOW, PROPORTIONAL CUTS.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A PROCESS WHERE TOM AND HIS DEPARTMENTS WERE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHAT HAD THE MOST IMPACT.
AND THERE'S ALWAYS A LENS OF EQUITY ON WHAT WE DO.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU WITH MY RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN WE DE, WHEN WE DISCUSS PUBLIC SAFETY, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE BROADER SENSE OF PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY CONTINUUM.
SO IT'S SURE, IT'S, IT'S EN IT'S ENFORCEMENT AND SUPPRESSION AND POLICE, IT'S FIRE AND THOSE THINGS, BUT IT'S ALSO MAKING SURE KIDS HAVE A PLACE TO GO DURING THE SUMMER, MAKING SURE THAT PROGRAMS ARE IN OUR LIBRARIES, MAKING SURE WE HAVE TEAM PROGRAMS. SO YOU SEE THAT BALANCED ACROSS THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT THE RESTORATIONS WERE, UM, UH, TOO SLANTED, TOO MUCH TOWARD ONE DEPARTMENT.
IT REALLY, WE HAVE REALLY LOOKED AT HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, UH, THAT RESIDENTS, UM, DEPEND ON.
LAST THING I'LL SAY ON THIS IS WE, OUR, WE'VE BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH OUR PRIORITIES AND
[01:05:01]
OUR FOCUS WITH PD.IT'S BEEN HIRING, WE'RE CONTINUING THAT, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A CERTAIN LEVEL WE WANTED TO GET TO, AND IT REQUIRES US TO CONTINUE HIRING AND FIRE.
IT WAS THE, THE EVOLUTION FROM FIRE SUPPRESSION AND FIRE PRE PREVENTION AS A MAIN FOCUS TO MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE THAT'S HAPPENING HERE.
WE PRESERVED ALL THE RESCUES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE THROUGH THIS BUDGET.
WE'RE NOT ALLOWING ONE DIFFICULT YEAR, POTENTIALLY ONE AND A HALF STOP OUR LONG-TERM FOCUS ON WHAT OUR PRIORITIES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY OUR CITY COUNCIL AND OUR MAYOR AND OUR PUBLIC.
YOU WANT, YOU WANT, THAT'S CLEAR.
WHAT YOU GOT, REBECCA? YOU IN THERE? SLIDE 20? THAT'S NOT, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE FOLLOWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
SLIDE 20 IS THE ONE THAT, THAT SAYS IT'S A $58 MILLION DEFICIT.
IS THERE THE ONE THAT YOU MEAN, WHAT'S THE NUMBER ON THE BOTTOM? BOTTOM RIGHT, BECAUSE THERE ARE SLIDE NUMBERS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN YOURS.
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT? YEAH, IT'S DEFINITELY, BUT WHAT IS THE NUMBER ON THE PAGE, ON THE ACTUAL PAGE CRITICAL NEEDS SET ASIDE? OH, HERE.
OH, THEN I JUST FOUND, WE FOUND IT.
UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GONNA HAVE TO CHECK MY NOTES REALLY QUICK.
WELL, WHILE SHE CHECKS HER NOTES, ANYTHING ELSE, GO AHEAD AND CALL RESIDENT YOUR, UH, INFORMATION RANK.
UH, THIS BUDGET CUT ALL YOUR LIFE BELIEFS.
I'M NOT SURE, UH, BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE, PEOPLE INTO ABLE TO HELP BECAUSE, WELL, QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, PROVIDE LIKE NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEM SOLVING, SOME LEVEL OF SUPPORT AS THE OUTREACH WORKERS DO THEIR JOBS.
UH, AND SO WE ARE RESTORING IT BACK TO BACK TO FOUR.
WE'RE ALSO ADDING ON A, ON A ONE TIME AND OVERTIME BASIS RESOURCES FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN TERMS OF, UH, SOME OF THE RIVER CLEANUP AND SOME OF THOSE AREAS.
BUT MORE BROADLY IN GENERAL, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OUR FOCUS ON HOMELESSNESS AND, AND HOUSING DESPITE UNCERTAIN, UM, CIRCUMSTANCE, FUNDING ENVIRONMENT IN WASHINGTON AND FROM THE COUNTY.
OUR STRATEGY HAS BEEN GET PEOPLE INTO SHELTERS.
WE'VE FOUND A WAY TO KEEP THEM OPEN, AND WE'RE FINDING WAYS LOCALLY TO CONTINUE TO DO THE OUTREACH AND SUPPORT IMPORTANT PROGRAMS LIKE QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE DOING OUR JOB.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE HOPE THAT IT GETS MORE STABLE.
WE HOPE WE GET MORE STABLE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE FEDS AND, UH, FROM THE STATE, BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH.
WHATEVER RESOURCES WE HAVE, WE'RE CITY EFFECTIVE RETAILER RESERVES AND WE'LL LET ACTUALLY ULTIMATELY
YEAH, SO IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
SO, UM, UH, ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, UH, WE HAD SOME MAJOR PROBLEMS IN OUR FLEET AREA.
UH, WE WEREN'T FUNDING IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
UH, WE WERE BASICALLY WAITING TILL THE VEHICLE WOULD NEED TO COME UP AND THEN TRY TO FIND ONE TIME DOLLARS TO DO VEHICLE REPLACEMENT.
WE CHANGED THAT MODEL ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AND PUT STRUCTURAL RESOURCES EVERY SINGLE YEAR WE SET ASIDE MONEY AND WE PUT IT ON A FIVE YEAR, UM, SCHEDULE.
SO EVERY YEAR WE PUT ASIDE ONE FIFTH OF THE CASH INTO A SEPARATE FUND.
THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HELPED OUR FLEET.
UH, OUR MAINTENANCE COSTS HAVE DROPPED.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS THAT THAT FUND OF FLEET HAS NOW MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN IT, IN CASH.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO USE THAT CASH TO IMMEDIATELY PUT IT IN THE EMERGENCY RESERVE.
AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO, UH, LEASE FINANCE AT VERY LOW INTEREST RATES SINCE WE'RE A GOVERNMENT, UH, THAT SAME AMOUNT THAT WE PUT ASIDE EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AND SO THE COST SHOULD NOT REALLY INCREASE TO, UM, TO, UH, THE FLEET.
BUT YES, UM, YOU ARE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF INTEREST COST THERE AS WELL.
UH, BUT WE'RE STILL GONNA BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE FLEET.
SO, UH, DIFFERENT THAN BORROWING, IT'S KIND OF LIKE IF YOU HAD A, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL CAR THAT YOU NEEDED TO BUY, DO YOU SAVE UP, YOU KNOW, 40, $50,000 TO BUY THAT CAR? OR DO YOU TAKE OUT A FIVE YEAR AUTO LOAN? UH, EVEN IF YOU HAD $50,000 SITTING AROUND, YOU MIGHT NOT CHOOSE TO USE
[01:10:01]
ALL YOUR CASH.YOU MIGHT CHOOSE TO FINANCE IT, UM, UH, BASED ON INTEREST RATES.
HOW, HOW MANY
SO, UH, WE ARE RESTRICTED BY STATE LAW AND HOW MANY WE CAN ACTUALLY PUT UP.
SO WE'RE PUTTING UP 18 TWO PER DISTRICT, ROUGHLY.
UH, UM, UH, AND THEY'RE ALL BASED ON, ON HIGH TRAFFIC NEED, UH, ENVIRONMENTS.
UH, THE, UH, PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT THEY WILL PAY FOR THEMSELVES.
SO THE, UH, THE, UH, THE FINES THAT COME THROUGH THAT WILL PAY FOR THE SYSTEM.
I THINK IT'S TWO AND A HALF, $3 MILLION, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.
UM, AND IN THESE FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS, THERE'LL BE ENOUGH DOLLARS TO PAY FOR THE SYSTEM AND TO GENERATE SURPLUS THAT CAN BE PUT RIGHT BACK INTO HIRING THE STAFF AND DOING THE PROJECTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, DID YOU WANNA RESPOND NOW, REBECCA, TO THE OTHER QUESTION? YES.
DID YOU FIND YOUR RESPONSE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, SO THE IMPACTS WERE OFFSET BY, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACTS IN THIS SLIDE.
SO THE, THE 61.3 WERE OFFSET, AGAIN, LARGELY BY, UH, DRIVEN BY THE REDUCTION CRITICAL NEEDS SET ASIDE.
SO THEY'RE PLANNED, UH, SETA ASIDES, UH, FOR UNFORESEEN NEEDS.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO RELEASE THOSE TO SUPPORT IN, UH, UPDATING OUR PROJECTION.
SO DURING, YOU KNOW, BUDGET MANAGEMENT, SO WE, WE TRY TO LOOK AHEAD AND SEE WHAT KIND OF EXPENSES WE MIGHT HAVE.
SO IF YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LITIGATION EXPENSE OR IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LARGER PURCHASE, AT TIMES WE'LL SET ASIDE DOLLARS TO SAY, WE KNOW WE ARE GONNA HAVE THAT COME IN ONE OR TWO YEARS.
AND THEN YOU RELEASE THAT BACK, UM, WHEN THAT EXPENSE ACTUALLY OCCURS.
AND SO, UH, IT'S KIND OF LIKE PUTTING IT IN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR A LITTLE BIT AND THEN, UH, BUT WITH THE IDEA THAT THAT IS GONNA FUND THAT SPECIFIC, UH, LIABILITY THAT COMES FORWARD.
SO, NEXT YEAR, UH, AND THIS IS A, A POLICY DECISION FOR THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
SO NEXT YEAR, UH, WE RECEIVE ABOUT 26 MILLION STRUCTURAL FROM MEASURE A LA COUNTY MEASURE A 24 TO 26 MILLION.
WE'LL, WE'LL FIND OUT WHAT, WHAT COMES IN.
RIGHT NOW WE ONLY RECEIVE ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF WHAT WE'RE, WE SHOULD RECEIVE UNDER, UH, OUR LOCAL MEASURE A, UH, UH, REVENUE.
AND THE REST COMES IN, IN 20 FY, 2020, THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE BE ABLE TO BUDGET ON BUDGET BASED ON THAT.
IF WE CHOOSE THAT, CHOOSE TO USE THAT TO OFFSET THE DEFICIT, THEN YOU SOLVE THE DEFICIT.
THE CITY COUNCIL COULD MAKE A DIFFERENT CHOICE.
CITY COUNCIL COULD SAY, I WANNA PUT IT ALL IN THE STREETS.
THEY COULD SAY, I WANT TO TAKE A BOND TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THEY COULD SAY, I WANT IT ALL TO GO TO POLICE AND FIRE CITY COUNCIL HAS SOME CHOICES AND NEEDS TO REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH THE USE OF THE REVENUE.
BUT OUR STRATEGY NEXT YEAR WILL LARGELY BE TO CONTINUE OUR FOCUS RIGHT NOW ON NOT EXPANDING, UH, THE DEFICIT GROWING REVENUE AND LEVERAGING THE NEW MEASURE A DOLLARS.
IF WE STICK TO THAT STRATEGY, WE WILL NOT HAVE A BIG SUR BIG DEFICIT NEXT YEAR.
SO, MEASURE A VERY CLEAR, IT'S, IT MATCHES, IT ALIGNS VERY WELL.
THERE'S ABOUT 20, LET'S CALL IT 25 MILLION, AND WE'RE PROJECTING A $27 MILLION DEFICIT.
BUT AT THIS TIME, LAST YEAR, WE PROJECTED 60 TO $80 MILLION DEFICIT.
SO, AND IT'S IMPROVED TO 57 OR WHATEVER IT IS TODAY.
SO THAT NUMBER WILL CHANGE OVER TIME.
WE DO TYPICALLY DO UPDATES, BUT WE DO KNOW WE HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE THAT LARGELY MATCHES THAT, THAT'S COMING IN.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR, FOR PARTICIPATING, UH, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
IS THAT MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL? YEAH.
LONGEST BUDGET PRESS CONFERENCE EVER.
YOU HAD A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, A LOT TO TALK ABOUT
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THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ALL TUNING IN, RIGHT? ALRIGHT.