City Manager Pat West released this opinion-editorial to local media outlets today, regarding the proposed 2010 budget that the City will send to City Council for approval:
are Necessary to Ensure City’s Financial Health
Just as many residents and businesses are reeling from the worst recession in decades, the City of Long Beach is facing severe budget challenges resulting from dramatically reduced income and ever-increasing costs.
We face a $38.3 million General Fund shortfall that the City must fix in its Fiscal Year 2010 budget. The City is attacking the budget deficit through a three-pronged approach: reducing costs by more than $20 million; renegotiating employee labor agreements to save $18 million; and aggressively searching for new revenue. The City is actively working to increase revenues by attracting new businesses, keeping existing businesses healthy, recovering more costs through fees, and aggressively pursuing alternative funding sources and grants while protecting the revenue we currently receive.
Creating a structurally sound budget is not going to be easy; in fact, it will be painful. Residents will experience longer wait times for library materials, building inspections and construction plan reviews, animal control requests, and the removal of trees damaged in storms. The Municipal Band will play fewer concerts and arts organizations will receive fewer grants, as will community non-profit organizations that focus on the homeless, substance abuse, after-school programs and children’s health.
While our public safety departments have made many operational and staffing reductions during the past six years, our deteriorating financial situation warrants that the City must now take additional actions, including reductions to sworn personnel, to cut costs while protecting core emergency response capability – our highest priority.
The City is in the sixth year of major cost-cutting, which resulted in the elimination of 527 positions and $111 million in permanent budget reductions through a dedicated effort by the Mayor, City Council and City employees. Many of these cuts were invisible to the public and through it all, our streamlined, reorganized City was still able to revamp our animal control operations, fix more potholes, remove graffiti faster, increase code enforcement to improve our neighborhoods, and even hire 70 police officers and 12 firefighters. However, this won’t be the case this year.
Eliminating services, raising fees, cutting management and administrative support costs and other bold moves are necessary steps to match our expenses with our revenues, thereby ensuring our long-term financial health in the midst of an uncertain economy. I guarantee you that these cuts were not taken lightly at all, and they represent countless hours of examining every part of the City organization and determining what needs to be done to keep the City financially strong. But more must be done. We must continue to operate even more efficiently in light of increasing costs, reduced tax revenue from a weak economy, and uncertain future State budgets. The goal is to emerge in a stronger position in the years ahead, and I feel very strongly that we can achieve that goal.
If you’d like to learn more, you can review the budget summary and full budget document at www.longbeach.gov. The City Council will hold budget workshops and hearings over the next several weeks where you can ask questions and provide input; a full schedule is available at www.longbeach.gov. You may also email questions and comments to [email protected].
Pat West
City Manager