Faced with an upswell of public opposition to the city’s proposed $1.4 million cuts to libraries, City Councilmember Megan Kerr has proposed diverting money from Long Beach’s new “Vibe City” marketing campaign to at least soften the blow.
Under her plan, the city would take some of the $150,000 set aside for the campaign’s promotion and add it to a small account — currently proposed at $50,000 in the budget — used to pay for the library’s cultural programs, like author talks, bilingual storytimes and hands-on workshops.
The move could save events and classes that might otherwise be lost as part of the city’s plan to close a $58 million deficit. More than 260 city employees are expected to be laid off in the plan, including 11 in the city’s library department. It would also end Monday hours at the five library branches still open that day.
While the diverted Vibe City money wouldn’t be enough to rehire people, Kerr said she hopes to ease the transition for those employees tasked with taking on a heavier workload once cuts take effect in October.
“Taking even a small amount of money and moving it over to support cultural programming, which we know the libraries have done for generations and decades, can be an enhancement,” Kerr said on Tuesday.
So far, the city hasn’t said whether they think this move is possible. In a memo Tuesday, Financial Management Director Kevin Riper explained the $150,000 budgeted for Vibe City is part of the city’s $4.6 million Special Advertising and Promotions Fund, used specifically for promoting the city to curious travelers (especially with the Olympics in two years), or businesses looking to better their station.
The only way to change the ordinance dictating how the money can be spent, according to city municipal code, is through a City Council vote.
Where did Vibe City come from?
Long Beach has already heavily invested in the Vibe City brand. It was created by the city’s longtime visitor’s bureau, which now goes by Visit Long Beach or Meet Long Beach, and holds a $4.6 million contract to sell the city to tourists, conventioners and other visitors. The City Council has stood firmly by the bureau despite whistleblowers in 2023 accusing its CEO of reckless spending and raising concerns over his $500,000 salary.
At the mayor’s request, council members voted last year to give the organization another $500,000 specifically to reshape Long Beach’s international image. The Long Beach Airport is also contributing $300,000 to bolster the Vibe City campaign and 2028 Olympics marketing.
“Vibe City is alive and well,” the organization’s CEO, Steve Goodling, said, showing a presentation on the marketing campaign and its early responses from mayors across the country who visited the Amphitheater during a recent conference and a video of Snoop Dogg walking his French bulldog in front of “Vibe City” branding.
Several city officials, including Mayor Rex Richardson, heavily back the marketing push, saying ventures like these will generate tourism revenue needed to cover losses from declining oil yields.
Separately, Richardson called the move in 2023 to add Monday hours to the branches “irresponsible,” because it relied on one-time, pandemic-relief money rather than ongoing city revenue.
“Adding services when you don’t have a structural surplus to pay for those services over time means when those federal monies go away, you now are confronted with a takeaway from the community,” Richardson said. ” … Our residents, our patrons and our employees deserve fiscal stability.”
Backlash to library cuts
Cathy De Leon, director of the library department, called cutting staff and Monday hours painful and regrettable but also necessary to avoid a grim alternative like closing two branches or restructuring the branches into a regional model.
She chose Monday hours considering it had the lowest visitation of the week among the participating five branches — about 1,100 Monday visitors, compared to the more than 1,300 patrons on a typical Thursday, their busiest day of the week.
But public frustration has proven to be an effective counterpunch, forcing local lawmakers, including Richardson, to at least remain open to alternatives for the libraries, conceding their popularity makes the department a good candidate for saving from the chopping block.
Residents this month have poured into City Hall and written in comments ahead of council meetings. Kristen Hernandez of the Long Beach Public Library Foundation said the nonprofit had collected more than 6,200 signatures on a petition opposing the reductions.
At meetings, speakers pointed out that libraries have increasingly become the community catch-all, complete with adjunct education on everything from the English language to job training to summer camps. For many, especially those in poorer neighborhoods, libraries are a lifeline, and at an increasing rate — 8% more patrons since last year and 50% more programming to accommodate the more than 1,000 new adult participants.
Other public speakers blasted the city at Tuesday’s council meeting, mocking the Vibe City brand and ridiculing council members for not offering better ways to raise local revenues.
“Is the vibe of Vibe City illiteracy?” asked resident Sage McGee. “Where are the bright ideas, where are the proposals, Mister Mayor? Where are the ideas, Council? Where is your fight? I have not heard any revenue-raising ideas out of any of you in the face of these devastating job losses and library cuts.”
Library workers noted the irony of proposed cuts to library hours being presented during a week in which branches were kept open for extra hours to serve as cooling centers amid a regional heatwave.
“The city is recognizing that libraries are essential places for residents to go when they need safety, air conditioning and support,” said Elizabeth Cespuglio, a librarian at the Billie Jean King Main Library. “You cannot cut the proverbial fat when we are already skin and bones.”
City Council members have roughly a month left to cajole, debate and compromise on the proposed $4 billion budget for 2027. Officials said proposals for the library programming, as well as efforts to reverse cuts to Fire Engine 14, may likely be seen in proposed alternatives before the final vote is taken.
“This is the process,” Richardson said. “The decisions aren’t final or made. You go through the process to find out what’s important to people and force choices, and the council will have to make decisions.”