11:00am | The Long Beach City Council settled one hot-issue topic and began the first chapter of another on Tuesday night, unanimously electing 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal as its Vice Mayor while opening discussions on the city management’s proposed plan to deal with an $18.5 million deficit for the upcoming 2011 budget.
A presentation from City Manager Pat West outlined his approach to tackling the deficit, one contingent on renegotiating with City employee unions to freeze pay raises and address future promises that will balloon in the next few years if they are not reformed. Whether those deals can be reached or not, the City faces cuts to services such as Police, Fire, arts, parades and the Independence Day fireworks show.
If pension reform deals with unions cannot be reached, the City may resort to cuts that the Press-Telegram today called “draconian” and would lead directly to layoffs within the Police Department, brownouts at Fire stations and reduced hours at libraries, teen centers and parks.
Tuesday night’s opening discussions centered around crossing guards, which may be contracted out. According to P-T reporter Paul Eakins:
One of the biggest proposed cuts to the Police Department isn’t officers but school crossing guards. The budget calls for outsourcing all of the city’s school crossing guards, the equivalent of 51 full-time positions. The move is expected to save $907,884.
Some questioned that amount and several councilmembers said they would prefer to keep control over crossing guards by keeping their services rather than contracting them out.
The Council also barraged Police Chief Jim McDonnell with questions about the officer staff and what is needed, and what is sustainable to control crime in the city. The Chief remained vague and said there is no definitive number of officers that would be acceptable. The budget will be the main focus of most future discussions and Council meetings from now until September 15, when the Council needs to approve a balanced budget.
Before the budget discussions, the Council must have set some kind of record by electing a Vice Mayor unanimously in under two minutes. After weeks of warring words between supporters of Suja Lowenthal and Patrick O’Donnell, the Council came in, sat down, and elected Lowenthal the next Vice Mayor with an 8-0 vote (Garcia absent). There was no discussion, nor any indication of exactly what changed that made councilmembers unify on the issue.
Lowenthal will assume the position that typically runs Council meetings when the Mayor is absent and also attends functions or signs documents and agreeements in his absence. Is the position simply a figurehead? First we said yes, then we said no. What do you think?
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