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The city’s newly approved plan to raise parking citations and charge higher cannabis taxes seemed to come together very suddenly last week as a last-minute addition to next year’s budget. Even a City Council member was surprised, saying she had only a few hours’ notice before having to vote on the proposal.

The average citizen likely had virtually no chance to weigh in on this, something that will directly affect their wallet. (Under the plan, 18 different citations — including double parking and blocking bike lanes, hydrants or crosswalks — will rise to $100. Street sweeping tickets will go from $75 to $80.)

So how does that happen? Let’s start at the beginning.

Each year, Long Beach’s city manager proposes an initial budget — typically around the end of July. The mayor then gets the first shot to recommend adjustments. After that, there’s a series of hearings and meetings where the public and City Council get to weigh in.

Over the course of several weeks, changes requested in writing by council members and from the public have been slowly formulated into the recommendations that the chair of the City Council’s Budget Oversight Committee, Joni Ricks-Oddie, presented Tuesday — the same day the City Council was asked to approve them.

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City staff and the mayor’s office said this is the process of budgeting under pressure: Revenue projections shift late, priorities get negotiated down to the wire, and a final package has to come together fast if the city is going to keep libraries open and firefighters on payroll. To them, last-minute adjustments are a sign the process is working, not breaking down.

Not everyone agreed. Councilmember Cindy Allen called the final changes a rush job that shut out the scrutiny the public was owed. In the days since the vote, Allen has taken to social media to rail against the pricier parking citations in particular, calling them “outrageous fees on the public.” She called the process “slapdash” and argued people deserved more than a same-day heads-up that it was under consideration.

Ricks-Oddie took offense at Allen’s characterization. She said she took input from the public and other City Council members up until the last minute, as she was “trying to give people as much ability and as much bandwidth in order to get their suggestions, their comments, their questions in.” (The heftier parking citations, she said, will let the city keep libraries open on Mondays, something the public demanded.)

A council majority ultimately sided with her, approving the budget 7 to 2. It will officially take effect on Oct. 1. 

Over the coming weeks, the city will roll out the changes: They will consolidate or expand departments, bring new programs online as they turn the key on others, initiate cost-of-living raises and let about 180 people know they’re out of a job.

On Tuesday, the City Council will take more votes to implement this plan, codifying the raise (or repeal the reduction, rather) on the local cannabis tax, shifting money between departments and giving a final OK to the budget. Then they’ll put the whole thing to bed until next year, when the city is supposed to have the first structural surplus in years. 

Let’s see how well that ages. 

If you’d like to voice your opinion on the process, you can show up to Tuesday’s City Council meeting, email in a public comment or call in. There are instructions on how to do that here.

Quick sips of the latest news

  • Mayor vetoes some spending: Mayor Rex Richardson issued some line-item vetoes to the budget on Friday. They cut $660,768 in spending, including $363,000 in unspent cannabis audit funding, $145,299 in merger consulting funds, $20,500 in association memberships and $131,969 from the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department. With that money now available, he asked the City Council to redirect it toward an additional paramedic assessment unit on Engine 1 at Fire Station 1 in downtown Long Beach.
  • The road to ‘Beverly O’Neill Way’: The Long Beach City Council will consider renaming a portion of E. Lew Davis Street, between Clark Avenue and Faculty Avenue outside Long Beach City College, to “Beverly O’Neill Way” in honor of the former mayor. O’Neill, a lifelong Long Beach resident, spent more than 30 years at LBCC before serving as mayor from 1994 to 2006, a tenure during which she strengthened tourism and trade, revitalized downtown and became a household name. The renaming and new signage are expected to cost about $3,000. 
  • How many people went to Long Beach’s World Cup watch parties? Long Beach officials say the six-week programming of watch parties for the 2026 World Cup was a good practice run for the 2028 Olympics. The city hosted 56 match viewings, which they say drew upwards of 130,000 people. This gave them a chance to practice multi-week street closures, establish security perimeters and run disease surveillance — a fine tradeoff, officials say, for the $800,000 the city spent to have the experience. 
  • California’s 2027 budget brought some wins, some losses for Long Beach: The state’s approved budget in June includes $4 million for health facility improvements, disability technology training, a police de-escalation training center and marine safety equipment, plus eligibility for $30 million in Olympics-related security and transportation. The city will be able to claim some of the $900 million in statewide Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention money, though funds now require a 35% to 70% local match for large cities. On the downside, a new tax on electronically delivered software will apply to city governments with no exemption starting in January, and steep cuts to state climate programs will shrink funding for local transit and affordable housing efforts. A $10 million request to help fund the city’s marine debris and trash capture project was left out of the budget entirely.
  • The Port of Long Beach keeps the hot streak alive in August: The port handled 919,992 cargo containers in August — 2% more than the same month last year and the busiest August in the port’s 115-year history. Imports rose 3.6% to 456,100 TEUs and exports increased 4% to 99,754 TEUs, while empty containers dipped 0.39% to 364,138 TEUs. Through the first eight months of 2026, the port has moved 6,678,078 TEUs, up 1.3% compared with the same period last year.
  • Here’s Tuesday’s City Council agenda — and a Zoom link to attend virtually. It starts at 5 p.m.
  • The Port of Long Beach will hold a virtual quarterly meeting Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to update the public on some ongoing projects to reduce emissions. The meeting will be held via Zoom or by phone at 669-900-6833. Spanish translation will be available.