Within the span of last week, two monumental things occurred in Long Beach politics. 

 

First, the Long Beach Press Telegram ran with a headline following Mayor Foster’s State of the City Speech that its state was “Crumbling”.  Second, three incumbent City Councilmembers went unopposed for re-election.

 

Wait a minute.  The state of the city is crumbling, and three City Councilmembers are unopposed for re-election?  How does that make sense?

 

It makes sense in the fact that these negative developments usually take a full 2 year cycle to impact City electoral politics in any meaningful way.  This means that for good or ill, the developments that have the city in disrepair will likely come down on the candidates for office in 2010.  Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 will be up for reelection, and only two of those (3 & 5) will have incumbents.

 

Which makes sense that Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has taken the lead this week on proposing new ways to keep the city in the black without burdening taxpayers with new taxes.

 

Below is a summary of her proposals:

 

City Management Salaries

 

Instead of handing out individual salaries based on merit, the salaries of the City Management level employees would be based on a “cost of living” or Consumer Price Index, except in those instances when such agreements have been “collectively bargained”.  Collective bargaining?  CPI?  Management usually doesn’t factor into those things, right? 

 

The answer is not this time…especially when the City Management staff decided to create their own union several years ago.  Oops.

 

Street Sweeper Payment

 

The city pays for street sweepers out of the general fund.  The agenda item would have street sweepers paid out of the city’s refuse collection funds instead.

 

Bunker Fuel Tax

 

“Bunker fuel” is a very dirty, unhealthy fuel used to propel ships and is created from the back end of the oil refining process.

 

This agenda item would support state legislation reinstating the sales and user tax on bunker fuel, and designate the proceeds be used for public health programs.

 

Harbor Income and Tidelands Fund

 

Lastly, Schipske has placed an item, to be placed for voter approval on the June 2008 ballot, that 15% of the Harbor Department (ie. the Port of LB) go to the City of Long Beach, and that 5% of that be designated for the General Fund. 

 

The City Council meeting starts at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.