Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Monday, May 18. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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City news and meetings
One year after a vacancy crisis prompted a voter referendum to dramatically overhaul the city’s hiring process, things are moving in the right direction.
Last week, City Manager Tom Modica reported that as of late March, the city’s vacancy rate had fallen from 22% to 16.4% — the difference of about 368 new workers.
It’s a stark contrast to just a few years ago, when nearly a quarter of city jobs were empty and new hires took an average of seven months to process (some took as long as two years). The labor shortage left departments hamstrung in their ability to provide services.
That meant fewer workers to collect trash — or compost — drive street sweepers, inspect businesses or respond to illegal dumping. The city has struggled for years with staffing shortages in law enforcement, ambulance operators and traffic engineers, among other roles.
The city drafted — and voters approved — a November 2024 ballot measure that merged two agencies tasked with hiring and prioritizing candidates. The goal was to streamline the process and hire an average worker in 90 business days. As of March, Modica says the average time to hire is 90.29 business days.
In an email to city staff recently, Modica hailed the achievement, saying it was a “critical priority for me as your City Manager, to help get vacant positions filled, provide promotional opportunities to City staff, and bring top talent to Long Beach to provide services to our community.”
Yet there’s a new threat looming before the city is even close to fully staffed: an estimated $61 million budget shortfall that Modica has said will almost certainly necessitate cuts.
And with substantially less money saved from positions staying empty, City Council members and staff will be forced to make tough choices this summer, including whether to once again pump the brakes on new hires.
You can read more about the city’s hiring gains in this memo.
Here’s what else you should know about this week:
- The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday has a fairly stacked agenda. One item of note: whether to approve $14.8 million for repaving on 40 streets and walkways citywide in the next fiscal year. For a full list of the proposed locations, click here.
- The City Council’s Housing and Public Health Committee on Thursday will hear a presentation of Long Beach’s policies on evictions. The presentation will explain the city’s current rules on just-cause evictions, relocation assistance and removal through substantial remodel. It will also provide a list of comparable cities. To review the presentation, visit here.
- Another housing item. The California Coastal Commission is requesting some changes to the city’s expanded inclusionary housing ordinance that, if accepted, would allow Long Beach to fully implement it in the city’s coastal neighborhoods. The commission’s changes would, among other examples, add safeguards to ensure future administrations cannot circumvent the baseline rules and reduce the number of affordable units per project. To read our past coverage of the new ordinance, visit here.
- Yes, the 2026 World Cup is on everyone’s mind, including the City Council on Tuesday. The body will hear out a presentation with updates on preparations citywide for the 2028 Olympics, and how the summer soccer tournament will be a testing ground for the Games.
Business events and information
- Have you filled out your ballot for the June 2 primary yet? It’s a lot, isn’t it? Especially when you’re bombarded with information from political campaigns that you aren’t sure whether to trust. We have an antidote to that. For a couple of months now, our team has worked hard on a nonpartisan, fact-based voter guide. It won’t tell you who to vote for, but it will arm you with the information you need to feel confident in your decision. Bookmark it at LBPost.com/elections.
- Cargo volumes at the Port of Long Beach in April dipped 5.7% from the same month last year, officials reported Friday. Dockworkers handled 390,000 TEUs last month in imports — a 7.1% decline — but moved a record 119,000 TEUs in exports, a 26.7% jump from the year before.
- The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday is hosting the IBA State of Trade & Transportation Luncheon at the Marriott Long Beach Downtown (111 E. Ocean Blvd.) The two-hour event starts at 11:30 a.m. and comes with complimentary parking provided by the venue. For more information, click here.
ICYMI — Long Beach and California news
- One Long Beach fireworks show was blocked by environmental regulators. Why is another bigger than ever? (Long Beach Post)
- Long Beach, Wonderful Company want a zero-emission truck route between the port and Central Valley (Long Beach Post)
- Free World Cup watch parties in downtown Long Beach: Here’s the schedule (Long Beach Post)
- Mercedes-Benz to close Long Beach design facility as it consolidates operations in Atlanta (Long Beach Post)