2:40pm | The Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday to set a base commitment of roughly $180,000 to continue supporting the Long Beach Municipal Band.
The funding, which supports 27 band concerts during the year and a 12-concert summer series, is one of many city expenditures facing the chopping block as City Hall struggles to overcome persistent budget shortfalls.
The funding commitment, approved during a City Council budget hearing, fell well short of the more than $430,000 provided in the past.
Last week, Councilmember Rae Gabelich proposed putting together about $346,000 in city funding from existing sources and several additional city funds. Another $40,000 would come from private donations.
Councilmember Gabelich’s proposal, which would have funded 20 concerts a year, was in response to an earlier proposal by the City Manager’s office.
The original City Manager’s proposal, Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick said Tuesday, was to “equalize the concerts so that there will be five concerts in each council district,” saving the city about $300,000. This would mean that in lieu of the 27 Municipal Band concerts and 12 park concerts there would be 45 musical events throughout the year–five in each of the nine Council districts. This proposal was to be funded by about $180,000 from city departments, $40,000 from private donations, and about $120,000 from the Tidelands Fund.
“Given that that has met with serious opposition and concern there was a proposal that was presented last week by Councilmember Gabelich,” Frick said.
Two key components of Councilmember Gabelich’s alternative proposal from last week were increasing the funding from the LBGO and the city refuse department.
Frick said that because the LBGO funds in essence go to the General Fund, transferring any of these funds to the band would be depleting the General Fund. This solution is not something City Hall staff would recommend, Frick told the Council.
Frick also pointed out that funds available in the refuse fund are directly related the level of service provided by the department. The refuse department already contributes $75,000 to the band concerts because city litter abatement advocacy programs are promoted at the venues.
“To increase that amount, we think, is somewhat questionable, and not something we would recommend at this point in time,” Frick said.
Councilmember Gerrie Schipske said it was her understanding that 350,000 calendars are sent out by the Gas Department each year to residents and that she receives complaints from constituents about that expenditure.
“Couldn’t that money be shifted somewhere else,” Councilmember Schipske suggested.
LBGO Director Chris Garner said that the department is required by law to provide certain information to the public, and after exploring different outreach strategies, the calendars were decided upon as the most effective. Garner said the cost of the calendars had been cut last year–down to a cost of about $50,000, including printing and mailing costs.
Councilmember Schipske asked if this could not be cut further, or replaced with a Christmas card, postcard or even e-mail.
“When we are talking about eliminating community parades and band concerts, we can figure out a better way to send out notices to people and get perhaps $50,000 for these purposes,” Councilmember Schipske said.
Councilmember Gabelich said that 4,500 signatures of people wishing to help save the band had already been collected. She said while she found Frick’s statement about additional LBGO funds for the band impacting the General Fund, she would “retreat” on the issue of further LBGO transfers. She also pointed out that $18,000 in donations had been raised since last week to help save the band schedule.
“Looking at the $100,000 from those two funds (LBGO and refuse) and the $119,000 from the Tidelands Fund, the anticipated $40,000 from the (donation) buckets, and allowing the Friends of the Band to have the time to organize themselves, to make themselves a legal entity, and to be able to go out and start to go out and start to raise funds… so that we can continue with the band and increase it back to at least the seven-week series that allows it to travel throughout the city.”
Councilmember James Johnson, who does not currently have any concerts in his district, said that “in the spirit of one city we have to come together and support activities throughout the districts, whether it’s parades in my district, parades in someone else’s district, or a Municipal Band in Councilmember Gabelich’s district.”
“Part of being in a city like Long Beach is having a 100-plus year heritage,” he said. “I do want to find a way to keep the band going. I don’t think any of us came to Council wanting to cut any of these programs and we are just trying to figure out how to keep these things that make Long Beach so special.”
After several remarks from the Council about a “prestigious” local law firm that came forward to help with setting up the Friends of the Municipal Band organization, City Attorney Bob Shannon identified the law firm as Keesel, Young & Logan.
“I can’t say enough about them,” said Shannon. “They are more than ready to provide all the pro bono work necessary to [set-up] the 501(c)3.”
Councilmember Gary DeLong said that he was confident that a solution would be reached, though it may not be one as yet proposed.
“I will tell you that I have concerns about City Hall dictating a solution,” DeLong said. “This is something that is embraced and loved by the community, so while I think that looking at a Friends of the Municipal Band and doing a 501(c)3 is an appropriate course of action, I would like the community to come back and tell the Council what you would like to have.”
DeLong said he has received both support for a multitude of differing solutions from members of the community. “So, before we dictate a solution, I would like to see us get that committee of community citizens together and come back in 30 to 45 days,” DeLong said.
“We’ll figure out the money here, that’s our jobs, but I would like the community to come back and say ‘Hey, we have looked at the pros and cons of each option and this is the one we think is best.’ Not only for this year, but also to make sure that we build and guarantee the success of the Municipal band over the next ten, 15, or 20 years.”
Councilmember Gabelich responded that while many groups have come forward with support, she felt that the solution was with a single entity such as the Friends of the Municipal Band.
“We have the momentum built, right now, to drive this thing forward to create an organization that can stand on its own two feet,” Councilmember Gabelich said of the Friends of the Municipal Band. “It has the ability to stand on its own two feet and to raise money specifically for the Long Beach Municipal Band.”
Councilmember Gabelich put forth a motion that called for the city to commit $75,000 from LBGO, $75,000 from refuse, and $119,000 from the Tideland Fund, for a total of $269,000 to be used towards the 20 Municipal Band concerts for a five-week series. Her proposal, seconded by Councilmember Schipske, also included $48,000 for the 12-concert summer series. This remaining $77,000 gap in the budget was to be raised from private donation through the Friends of the Municipal Band.
The motion, after some discussion, was replaced with a substitute motion by Councilmember DeLong.
Councilmember DeLong said that he had concerns about being so specific on funding sources for the band without further discussion about the full impacts on those sources. He added that the Port of Long Beach was virtually certain to approve $50,000 in port funds to the band.
Councilmembers DeLong’s substitute motion called for the City Council to support funding the 5-week Municipal Band concert series and summer series through a variety of funding sources, with a commitment to use the City Manager’s original proposals on funding as a base starting point.
The Council approved the motion 8-1, with Councilmember Gabelich dissenting.
The Council has until Sept. 15 to approve the fiscal year 20011 budget.
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