District 6,7 Budget Summit Summary & Central Long Beach

According to a budget summit held for Long Beach's District Six and Seven on 08/10/2015, Long Beach currently faces the last of three years of budget peace. The surplus we currently have is expected to turn into a $7.5 million deficit over the next two years. The reason the city cited for less revenue was a decrease in revenue from utility taxes and parking citations. The parking citations will probably become significantly less as the city is planning to narrow the no parking times for street sweeping. Another reason for the deficit will be the pensions as city workers retire.

Most information was broad and about Mayor Garcia's budget overall. Of all available funds, only the destination of the general fund is being debated. That general fund is $412 million out of Long Beach's entire $2.7 million budget. Almost two thirds of those funds are going to fund the police and fire departments. Despite those numbers, there is an overall reduction in the amount of policemen and firemen currently on staff. About 9 percent has been allocated for Public Works and 8 percent to parks and recreation. The city has also prioritized some capital improvement projects including transportation, public facilities, storm drains, beaches, the marina and the airport.

---

Want to make your own budget: The Long Beach City Budget Challenge

---

While it does not appear in the budget, the City did recently approve the creation of the Cambodia Town Business Improvement District. The City Council approved a resolution to turn the business corridor into a business improvement district this Tuesday night after 79.53-percent of property owners voted in favor of the proposal. This move came after three town hall meetings convened to help the community give those business owners some feedback about how those improvements should be implemented; one of the biggest challenges was incorporating everyone's suggestions in a neighborhood that is incredibly diverse. Those meetings, dubbed the Anaheim Corridor Re-visioning Project, concluded on July 25th, 2015.

Marry Simmons from AOC7 asked Parks and Rec if there would be money left over to repair the bathrooms at MacArthur Park after the playground, library and community center were done. While a spokesperson from Parks and Recreation did say yes, there have been different answers in the past. Also the amount being staked on MacArthur Park is entirely being put up by the state, so far the City has pledged no support. Also that repair of the bathroom will not be ground up and will not involve changing any plumbing. Though it was not discussed at the meeting, according to Sixth District City Councilman Dee Andrews the Night Market will commence early next year after the construction at MacArthur Park has been completed. I received this email from Tonya Martin, the Legislative Analyst for the office of Dee Andrews, "After careful consideration, it has been rescheduled due to the construction at MacArthur Park that will start in August and lead into the fall." Later emails implied a target date of around March, 2016.

A vast majority of the budget is going to build a new two tower Civic Center that will house City Hall. It will also go to building a new world class library in North Long Beach. Sometime afterwards, the City also plans to either replace or renovate the main branch on Pacific. While there is no plan to resurrect the Field Anti-Gang Unit, $2.2 million has been set aside for crime prevention. That Crime Prevention does include detectives focused on gang activity who use officers on patrol in place of the former field Anti-Gang Unit. Commander Robert Luna said making that $2.2 million flexible allows the police department to more easily direct the funds where they are needed most. We also apparently only have the funds for two park rangers, and they tend to focus exclusively on El Dorado Park, due to its size. Mayor Garcia is also pushing to change all the old street lights into more energy efficient LED.

* Note, I have asked the office of Dee Andrews for the slide from the re-visioning project that shows how much the city has invested in each neighborhood. I want to share it because it will show the incredible lack of attention that Central Long Beach has received over the years. I will publish that slide as soon as I find it buried in my old emails. In a nut shell, it says that if you own any house in Central Long Beach, you've invested more in your neighborhood than the City of Long Beach has. Also, as several people have pointed out, it's ridiculous that MacArthur Park would have to fight to upgrade to a safe/ crime free bathroom in a single park, when the city somehow finds $1 billion for a pool in Belmont Plaza.