The recent discussions about a closed council session and “learning” how to privatize Long Beach airport by city officials should send a chill down the spine of every citizen in our city who is concerned about Long Beach and its financial future, and what this first move means to all of our other city assets. I find it also a bit disingenuous to hear that the City Manager and staff were the only ones looking to learn about this. Nothing on any council agenda or calling for a closed session happens without the Mayor’s office.
Our city’s founding fathers must be shaking in their graves to think that all the historical efforts made to create a nearly self-sufficient city could now start peeling away because our political leaders are in dire need of cash to balance a city budget.
My first thought in “leasing out” (another word for privatizing), was that the airport would have to stand the test of profitability for any group of investors… so, for example, if our fire fighters and police couldn’t stand up to the competition and cost, what then? Add to this, the potential of inviting airport flight expansion. We call ourselves the International City—don’t think for a minute that international flights out of our Long Beach Airport would be out of the question.
For the moment at least, the City Council did the right thing and called for open discussions regarding this idea. In my opinion, this whole notion of airport privatization has already had its day in the sun and should be scuttled. Why waste time on this when the alarm is ringing throughout our State that cities need to understand that fiscal constraint and is the new order of the day?