[0:01] If there are any members of the public in zoom that would like to speak on items not listed
[0:05] on the agenda, please use the ra raise hand feature. If dialing
[0:09] in, please press star nine. Now. First public comment is limited to
[0:14] a total of 10 speakers, combining both in person and zoom participants.
[14:34] if there are any members of the public in zoom that would like to speak on the consent calendar,
[14:38] items on the agenda or second public comment, please use a raise hand
[14:42] feature. If dialing in, please press star nine now.
[28:16] all right, we're gonna go ahead and call the meeting of the city council to order roll call please.
[28:21] councilwoman zendejas present, councilwoman allen.
[28:28] councilman allen, present? Council member duggan.
[28:33] here. Councilman super. Now here, councilwoman kerr. Present councilwoman
[28:38] sorrow. Present vice mayor uranga. Present. Councilwoman
[28:42] thresh ook. Council member rick sodi. Here.
[28:46] mayor richardson. I am here. We have a quorum. Alright, thank you. We're gonna go to
[28:50] council member duggan for the, uh, moment of silence of the pledge and the pledge of allegiance.
[28:58] please take a moment of silence now in remembrance of someone
[29:02] you have lost over the past few years,
[29:16] we're now going to have the pledge of allegiance rise. If you are able, put
[29:20] your right hand over your heart.
[29:40] alright, thank you. Well, welcome back folks. We are, uh,
[29:45] in our mid-summer season, so I hope you're off to a good and a fun and
[29:49] a safe season. We've got baseball this season. They've been playing five nights a week.
[29:53] the long beach coast has been doing pretty good. We just wrapped up the world cup. I saw many
[29:58] of you out there for our fan experiences. The concerts in the park
[30:02] are going, the movies in the park are going, it is full swing of summer,
[30:06] but it's good to see you all. Uh, tonight, uh, we're gonna be testing out
[30:10] a slight change in how we run our meetings to transition to align with
[30:14] sb 7 0 7. Uh, these are new state guidelines to allow remote
[30:19] participation. So I'm gonna pass it to our city clerk, monique de la garza, to walk us through
[30:23] what to expect this evening. So, good evening mayor. Members of the city council
[30:28] and the public. I'd like to introduce the sb 7 0 7 requirement that enhances
[30:32] our public comment process. Tonight is the first meeting of the long beach city council
[30:37] where we are implementing zoom based public comment. In addition to in
[30:41] person, I will read names of individuals who've requested to speak.
[30:45] please forgive me in advance if I mispronounce your name to speak on
[30:49] an item. You may submit a physical signup slip in person or of joining
[30:53] by zoom. Use the raise hand function. If you're dialing
[30:57] in, please dial star nine. When you use the raise hand
[31:02] feature. A city clerk staff member will temporarily move you into a
[31:06] breakout room to provide further instruction for those speaking in person.
[31:10] when your name is called, please proceed to the center aisle and line up at the lectern
[31:14] to deliver your public comment. For remote or zoom
[31:18] callers, we will announce your name when it is your turn to speak. You'll be
[31:22] heard live through our chamber audio system. For a
[31:26] full list of guidelines and instructions, please visit city clerk website@longbeach.gov
[31:31] slash city clerk. Thank you. All right, thank you. Monique.
[31:36] we have two presentations this evening. Uh, both will be five minutes.
[31:40] uh, first is park parks make life better month. We'll pass
[31:44] it to our city manager to kick it off.
[31:48] all right, I will introduce steve scott, our director of parks, recreation, and marine.
[31:53] okay,
[32:02] good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. Thank you so much for
[32:06] the opportunity, uh, this evening. Uh, as we are
[32:11] here to celebrate parks make life better month.
[32:15] uh, each july, we participate in a statewide recognition that
[32:19] showcases how agencies like your parks, recreation, and marine department
[32:25] create community through people, places, and
[32:29] programs. Presentations led by the california parks and recreation society
[32:33] or cprs. This month long recognition
[32:37] raises awareness of the benefits of the over 500 parks
[32:42] and recreation organizations across the state.
[32:46] and their role in providing vital community services
[32:51] guided by our own parks make long beach strategic plan.
[32:56] our work is deeply rooted in advancing equity and inclusion
[33:01] to ensure our spaces and programs are accessible.
[33:05] we take pride in ensuring our parks, beaches, and
[33:10] facilities remain safe, clean, and welcoming
[33:14] for all as we activate them with fun and
[33:18] engaging programming fit for all ages, interests
[33:22] and abilities. We offer places where
[33:26] families gather. We offer places where children and teens can
[33:30] come together and socialize and learn and
[33:34] explore. We offer places where our seniors can come
[33:38] and engage with each other and remain active.
[33:43] we foster not just recreation though, but health and
[33:47] wellness, personal enrichment, environmental stewardship,
[33:52] and community connection. This vital work is
[33:56] only made possible by our dedicated and hardworking staff.
[34:01] I am so proud of the incredible work our team does every single
[34:05] day in all corners of this city and the impact that our
[34:09] department has on our community. I wanna take this moment right
[34:13] now to thank our department team for their efforts. We have a number of people
[34:17] here, uh, attending with us, uh, in the audience today, but
[34:22] we also have a lot of people still out in our parks either wrapping up the daily programs
[34:26] or getting ready for some of our evening programs like be safe or municipal
[34:30] band. And so if I could just get our team to stand up those that are in
[34:34] attendance, I wanna make sure we recognize them for their hard
[34:38] work and leadership.
[34:43] very well deserved. Uh, they do great work. I also wanna recognize we have
[34:47] two commissioners, uh, parks and rec commissioners in attendance today.
[34:51] uh, commissioners allen and redfield. I wanna thank them for their leadership, um,
[34:56] for our department.
[35:01] so in conclusion, uh, parks absolutely
[35:06] make life better and parks absolutely
[35:10] make long beach better. And so, uh, thank you
[35:14] so much for allowing us this opportunity to present to you. Thank you
[35:18] for all of your support and ongoing leadership. Uh,
[35:22] we appreciate everything that we do together to provide the very
[35:26] best in park and recreation services to the community. So that
[35:31] concludes my comments. Uh, but we do have a very brief, uh, video that
[35:35] I'd like to show, uh, to wrap up our presentation. Thank you.
[35:41] better. Once
[35:47] long beach parks recreation and marine connects our community to people,
[35:51] places, and possibilities across our city.
[35:58] with 166 parks, 81 playgrounds, sports fields,
[36:02] skate parks, golf courses, and nature centers, there's a
[36:06] space for everyone. Our programs
[36:11] support every age from youth camps, sports leagues to older
[36:15] adult activities, helping our residents stay active and healthy
[36:19] year round. We care for over six miles
[36:24] of beaches and our marina system so visitors can enjoy the coastline.
[36:29] our animal care services helps build a more compassionate community
[36:34] with services for both people and pets.
[36:40] every park program and partnership helps create a long beach
[36:45] where everyone feels at home and memories that last a
[36:49] lifetime.
[36:56] explore all we offer and discover how long beach parks
[37:00] make life better.
[37:15] all right, well, well, thank you. I think we have a certificate for you. Uh,
[37:20] we'll take a come down and take a quick photo.
[37:32] can we get our team come
[37:41] and, and commissioners too. And commissioners should go. .
[39:00] all right. So we thank parks, recreation, uh, and marine
[39:04] parks make life better. Parks make long beach parks make
[39:08] lb and that was very clear at bixby park. Congratulations to
[39:12] the councilwomen, um, district two, district one on beach streets this past
[39:16] sunday. Incredible. And the final at bixby park. So
[39:21] great work to the parks and rec team and special events. You did a great job. Thank you. Let's here for
[39:25] our parks team one more time. Alright. Alright,
[39:29] our next presentation, harvey milk plaza. Inductees, uh,
[39:33] we want to pass it now to councilwoman and dejas. Thank you.
[39:39] um, thank you mayor. Our city is known for being a
[39:43] safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for all. We take
[39:47] pride in being home to a strong, rich,
[39:52] lgbtqia plus community, and we remain and will
[39:56] remain proud and loud always and forever.
[40:00] that is why it is one of my greatest honors to represent the
[40:05] district that houses our beloved harvey milk pomade park,
[40:09] the first public park to carry his name's sake.
[40:14] for the past couple of years, I have gladly and
[40:18] strongly supported this annual harvey milk equality plaza
[40:22] plaque recognition. It is important to me that we
[40:26] continue to honor leaders and activists who contribute immensely
[40:30] to protecting the rights and lives of our l-g-b-t-q-I
[40:35] plus community. And I am in full support
[40:41] of installing the names of these incredible long beach leaders
[40:45] onto our harvey milk wall of equality. And I would like to
[40:49] welcome the committee and pass it over to corey allen. And
[40:53] thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much. Councilwoman, uh, mayor, members
[40:57] of the council, corey allen. I get the great privilege of serving as one of the co-chairs, um,
[41:01] for this organization. And we're very proud to also, as you may see
[41:06] on the flyer, that we have reformed and reorganized, uh, with our friends
[41:10] at partners of parks to become the friends of harvey milk promenade park. As much
[41:14] as we loved our long name before, we thought this was much more, um, appropriate
[41:18] opportunity to not only, uh, continue to honor lgbt
[41:22] leaders and community members, but to also fundraise and support the work that's happening,
[41:27] um, at this, like this art lgbt established park, um, in recognition
[41:31] of them. So you'll hear from us. Uh, we're gonna read some bios to you about the amazing
[41:36] honorees. I want to say that we get dozens of, um,
[41:40] nominations every single year, um, and we are limited to to honor
[41:44] four people. And so these four take a two thirds majority of our volunteer
[41:48] group of 15 people, um, to, to get the recognition each
[41:53] year. And so, um, as we go through those, those recognitions that, uh, know
[41:57] that these are, um, really, really standouts and we have some incredible
[42:01] folks that continue to get nominated and we look forward to continuing to recognize folks
[42:05] each year. Um, so the two that I have, uh, the privilege of, of sharing
[42:09] some information about, um, is honey hatch, who couldn't be with us today,
[42:13] um, but is known as dj honey to many and is a second generation cambodian
[42:18] american, born in san diego and raised here in long beach. She's a dj, entrepreneur,
[42:23] and certified phlebotomist, um, who has spun music from hollywood to
[42:27] cambodia, all while running a family restaurant here in long beach. She has poured
[42:31] her work into her grassroots community, uh, and things like the cambodian
[42:36] town film festival, the cambodian youth institute, united cambodian
[42:40] community, and creating kamai.org with a q to celebrate
[42:44] and honor the work of btq cambodians in our community.
[42:48] uh, and she will now be the very first cambodian woman to ever be
[42:52] recognized and placed on our wall, um, at harvey milk park.
[42:57] the second person who you'll hear from in just a second. Paul. Lovely. Uh, for nearly 30
[43:02] years, paul has turned his personal journey as a gay man living with hiv
[43:06] and in recovery, into a lifelong commitment of helping others from his early volunteer
[43:10] work. As a director of the long beach l-g-b-t-q center to his leadership,
[43:14] uh, as the executive director at the care center at st. Mary's medical center,
[43:19] he has helped create affirming stigma free health care for our community.
[43:23] paul pioneered hiv peer support and prevention programs
[43:27] advanced lgbtq plus health equity, and led the development of a new $2.3 million
[43:32] care medical center. Paul truly embodies harvey milk's belief that
[43:36] living authentically and serving others can create hope and change.
[43:40] and then we're gonna bring up some of our other committee members to hear from the other honorees as well.
[43:47] uh, good evening. I get to represent heidi hoffman,
[43:51] who I knew personally from the day from the hood. Um, she
[43:55] is a pioneer for the l-g-b-t-q committee back in the eighties and nineties.
[44:00] she was one of the owners of the, uh, paradise bar. Once upon a time with her
[44:04] lovey cheryl labatte, she was, uh, very instrumental
[44:08] in starting the long beach teams project, which patrolled broadway back in the day when there
[44:13] was a whole lot of hate crimes. She was also a pi, she also was part of the,
[44:17] uh, lambda democratic club. And the, one of the biggest things that she did
[44:21] was she helped, um, bird dog and to pass the
[44:25] city's same sex domestic partnership ordinance. We would believe that it was kind
[44:29] of torpedoed when one of the council members, uh, did a 17 minute
[44:33] tirade about how gay and lesbian people were, uh, linked to, uh,
[44:37] bizarre sex acts and immoral behaviors. And as of
[44:42] september 1st, it looked like it was dead in the water. And with, uh,
[44:46] actually at the time, my partners passing by, killed by a drunk driver on september
[44:50] 13, it came back and got passed in 1996. So it was kind of one,
[44:54] one of those big deal things. And heidi hoffman was very, um, instrumental
[44:58] in getting those things done. She was a larger than life person. She was a
[45:03] big redheaded tomato, and, and you didn't mess with her. So she was president of
[45:07] the, uh, uh, well, at the time it was the long beach, um,
[45:11] uh, sorry chamber. Uh, it's the community
[45:16] business network. She started that. Now it's the long beach gay chamber. She was instrumental in
[45:20] starting that, and she was also president of that. So she well deserves this honor. And thank
[45:24] you guys for recognizing her.
[45:31] good evening. Uh, it is my pleasure tonight to recognize a long beach
[45:35] artist, um, who is a multimedia artist, um, with
[45:39] various, uh, illustrations. And, uh, these illustrations give
[45:43] voice to queer and immigrant communities. Um, he
[45:48] is proud to state through his artwork and through his work that
[45:52] he is queer and formerly undocumented immigrant himself. Um,
[45:56] he has developed his craft locally here in long beach through jordan high school,
[46:00] all the way to long beach state. Mm-hmm . Um, and through
[46:05] his undocu un undocuqueer series and
[46:10] ali times comic stripped, good immigrant, bad immigrant,
[46:14] he has earned national recognition from san francisco
[46:18] moma to a short documentary documenting
[46:22] his journey to the smithsonian in washington dc and
[46:26] honors from princeton, princeton university. His murals, grace,
[46:31] our city now, and his posters are at various
[46:35] businesses, um, supporting immigrant rights in long beach.
[46:39] and without further ado, I would like to introduce julio salgado.
[46:43] yay, julio.
[46:47] um, good afternoon, uh, mayor, members of city council. My
[46:51] name is julio salgado, and I'm an artist who calls long beach home. I'm
[46:56] standing here today as a proud member of the long beach community, a
[47:00] city that adopted me and my immigrant family when we first moved here back in 1996.
[47:05] long beach has seen me grow into the proud queer immigrant men that you see standing before
[47:10] you. I want to thank the friends of harvey milk promenade park committee for hooting
[47:14] me as one of this year's honorees. The last couple of days have been
[47:18] tough for the immigrant community, of which many lgbtqi plus individuals
[47:22] like myself are part of. In recent days, we've seen how the powers that be
[47:26] have been attacking people who look like me just for having been born in a different place.
[47:31] today, I wanna dedicate this honor to the queer and straight immigrants that
[47:35] continue to feed, build, and contribute to this city and this country,
[47:39] despite not always being treated with respect. May we one day live
[47:43] without the fear of losing our loved ones at the hands of those who are supposed to protect
[47:47] us. Thank you so much. Yeah.
[47:56] all right. Good evening, mayor richardson and members of the city
[48:00] council. Uh, my name is paul lovely, and I'm so happy to be here with you
[48:05] tonight. And I just wanna say thank you and thank you, um,
[48:09] uh, thank you to the, the council, the committee that selected us.
[48:13] and it's really important and meaningful to me to be part of this amazing
[48:17] group. Um, and I think the honor is especially amazing to me because
[48:21] of really how far we've come in the lgbt community in, in,
[48:25] uh, in my life. Uh, I grew up in orange county in the seventies and
[48:30] eighties, and what it means to be gay and to be seen has changed
[48:34] enormously since then. Long beach has been a huge part of that change
[48:38] for me. And I love this city. The fact that long
[48:42] beach has a harvey milk park is just one of the reasons I,
[48:46] I love it so much. Uh, I don't think of myself as exceptional.
[48:51] I'm, I'm not an activist who made one big defining mark.
[48:55] my experience is that over almost 30 years working at
[48:59] the care center at st. Mary's, uh, is that I, I show
[49:03] up every day. Uh, I always, and I, that when I
[49:07] show up every day, I can always do at least one thing to bring a little healing
[49:12] to a person's life. And I think it's those small things that add
[49:16] up over time to make a difference. And I feel so lucky that I
[49:20] am a part of a community where I'm able to do that. So,
[49:24] uh, thank you again. This really is a, a special honor.
[49:33] thank you. Uh, we hope you will all join us on saturday, august 1st at 10:00 am
[49:37] uh, and then go to the jazz festival. We did it early just to make sure that there were no
[49:42] conflicts, but , please join us at 10:00 am at harvey milk park on the first. Thank you. Alright,
[49:46] let's hear it for our harvey milk promenade park, friends of harvey
[49:50] milk promenade park. Uh, thank you for continuing this tradition
[49:54] and creating a space for previous leaders and
[49:58] emerging leaders to be recognized for their contributions to our city. Congratulations.
[50:02] and we have a certificate for you and the committee and the honorees. And
[50:06] let's hear it for the honorees. One more time. Yes. Woo.
[50:15] yes. Let's come down.
[50:29] do you want everyone to come down? Come on.
[50:59] thanks to you. Congratulations.
[52:18] all right. Thank you. Congratulations. That concludes our
[52:22] presentations. Uh, we will now move on. Let's have our report out from closed
[52:26] session, please. Thank you, mayor. We have no report from closed session. Best
[52:31] kind of report. Next, uh, consent calendar, please.
[52:35] is is there any public comment on consent? Oh, I'm gonna hand it to our clerk.
[52:39] now to facilitate public comment, there are two speakers for consent, for
[52:43] speaker need for transparency. And after that is x,
[52:48] you were in the building. Need for transparency?
[52:59] good afternoon. Uh, need for consent right here. Need
[53:03] for transparency? Um, I wanna talk about a couple items, a few items that we have. Number
[53:07] 14. So 26 dash 5 55 92. Um, everything's
[53:12] lumped into one giant paragraph. Uh, I think we need more
[53:16] transparency before somebody wants to request $4.5 million.
[53:20] uh, that's the first one. Second one is, and there's a lot of
[53:24] them here. Uh, the second one is towards the end. Item
[53:28] number 25. Kind of ditto as well. We need a little more transparency
[53:33] on why we're having collecting, um, uh, using
[53:38] these technologies data to electronic citation, data collection system.
[53:42] um, also we need transparency for that. Um, all I can say is
[53:46] before items are presented here, the public would like to see a
[53:50] little more breakdown of where these funds and these monies, these
[53:54] dollars are going to and why, and how are they benefiting the city. Thank
[53:59] you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.
[54:10] dito, what the previous, uh, speaker said. I wasn't really
[54:14] planning on speaking today, but I just quickly glanced at the agenda and looked at some of the
[54:18] stuff in there. And it's, uh, almost
[54:22] every time I come here, I see money
[54:26] for cops, money for cops, money for cops. How many, like four or five
[54:30] items at this, uh, particular meeting that, that is, uh, looking to be approved.
[54:36] um, and then when I was out there,
[54:40] I was talking to, uh, a, uh, representative of, um, parks, recreation,
[54:45] and marine. And I was asking why is it that,
[54:49] uh, what, what percentage of the city's budget goes to parks and recreation?
[54:53] well, it's been cut. Well, it's been cut, but why is there so such
[54:57] a disproportionate, uh, number of funds going to
[55:02] the east side parks? Mm-hmm . Um, and
[55:07] so we have our, our, our police budget keeps increasing. I think we're
[55:11] like, what 60%? Does somebody know? Um,
[55:15] and our parks budget gets reduced and our library's budget gets reduced.
[55:19] everything gets reduced except the cops
[55:24] and the cops don't provide safety. Um,
[55:28] time and again, uh, communities that have
[55:32] greater resources are safer than
[55:37] communities with more cops, right? I mean,
[55:41] look at the statistics, guys. You know, I don't know. I
[55:45] don't know what informs your decisions.
[55:50] and now there's money for additional surveillance that was,
[55:55] uh, getting pushed by, um, your former colleague, uh,
[55:59] state senator lena gonzalez. Surveillance jesus
[56:03] christ. I mean, we're losing our freedoms.
[56:08] and for what you know, well, for public safety,
[56:13] well, um, there
[56:17] are a million ways to reduce traffic fatalities
[56:21] that do not involve additional surveillance. Again,
[56:25] look it up, guys. You
[56:29] know, you make decisions in a vacuum. None of you,
[56:34] uh, are apparently, uh, experts at anything, but
[56:38] you can google it or you can ask your staff to look it
[56:43] up. So, uh, I know it
[56:47] doesn't matter. You guys are still gonna spend money on cops, and you're
[56:51] gonna spend a disproportionate amount of, uh, the city's budget on the
[56:55] east side, particularly when it comes to parks and recreation. And those of us
[56:59] who live on the west side of long beach and on the north side of long beach,
[57:03] nothing. So thank you for that.
[57:10] that concludes public comment. Alright. And you, you did virtual.
[57:15] all good. Alright. Okay, let's keep going. General public
[57:19] comment number one, madam clerk, please facilitate public comment. Oh,
[57:23] mayor, you need to actually vote on the consent. We have to vote on the consent. Oh, yeah. We need to vote. Members, please cast your
[57:27] vote getting used to this new system here.
[57:33] motion is carried. Thank you. Alright, general public comment, please
[57:37] facilitate.
[57:48] there are seven speakers for a non agenda, public comment. Maria rios
[57:54] gray, carolyn essex, free palestine,
[57:59] anthony, bryson, and tony. Can I get those
[58:03] in person speakers to line up at the lectern? Maria rios
[58:07] and then gray, and then carolyn essex,
[58:18] who first maria rios.
[58:23] yes. Present, please come to the lectern. Thank you.
[58:34] good evening. Rex richardson. Uh, mayor rex richardson,
[58:40] I admire you because you dressed so quickly. I saw you with a white jacket, and then I
[58:44] saw you and I said, how did he do that? What, what, what happened? I didn't know. I am sitting in front and
[58:48] I didn't notice that. Okay. To a serious note. Um,
[58:52] I am here because I happen to witness firsthand one
[58:56] of the so-called street racing where
[59:00] kids go and they, uh,
[59:05] let each other know via instagram or whatever platform.
[59:09] and I happened to be there, and I saw it firsthand,
[59:13] and it was very, very scary because there was a car burning
[59:18] and there were like three, four cars in front of me, me. And it was,
[59:22] it was terrible. It could have been a, um,
[59:26] nation tragic or something because chevron gas station is like
[59:31] 50 yards or something. Then there is union 76, another 50 yards.
[59:35] and I'm like, where's the, where are the cops? What's going on? They know about
[59:39] this. Don't they have surveillance? Haven't they study all of this? Isn't there some
[59:43] record already? So I called the police and they said, where are
[59:47] you, ma'am? And I said, I'm on, uh, del lamo and santa
[59:51] fe. And they said, no, you're not. There you are at del lamo and wa santa fe and waterlow. And I said, I'm so
[59:56] scary. I don't know where I am. And, but I'm glad you know where I am. So yes, there's
[1:00:00] a car, there's three cars in front of me, and then the one right, right in
[1:00:04] the middle of the street racing, someone put it on fire and I could see the flames.
[1:00:08] it was very pan, it was terrible. So I went to the police the other day and
[1:00:12] they said, the best thing for you to do is go to the city council, tell them who do
[1:00:16] I go to? Find out the status, who who's doing the, the research, the
[1:00:20] study, the, what's the follow up on this? Because it's very serious. There's
[1:00:25] been teenagers that have been killed. And so I just wanna know, who do
[1:00:29] I contact with in long beach? Who knows how they're conducting
[1:00:33] the surveillance and what's, what's going on? Can the police
[1:00:37] answer that question? And if not right now, maybe later in the next week or so. And I
[1:00:41] have no clue. But I think it's something very serious. Very serious. And
[1:00:46] it's happening not only in long beach happening in other cities here, but I also
[1:00:50] did some research and it started happening back east new york and new jersey.
[1:00:54] and there's, so it's not just here, it's, it's, it's happening in the country.
[1:00:58] so I wanna know what is long beach doing about it? And I believe what long beach police
[1:01:02] department fire department are the ones who are surveilling,
[1:01:07] uh, learning about it and trying to find out how to stop this
[1:01:11] tragic things happening. Please, can you tell me? That's
[1:01:16] it. Thank you.
[1:01:29] monique, you gonna call the next person? Is this gray?
[1:01:34] yes, please proceed. Uh, first things first,
[1:01:38] you're gonna hear us say, free palestine until palestine is free. And
[1:01:42] also, f**k ice. Get ice the f**k out of our city. It's quieter now, but
[1:01:46] we know that they're still taking our f*****g immigrant neighbors. So can you please f*****g stop that s**t?
[1:01:51] uh, last time we were here, cancel, tried to impinge on our first amendment right by
[1:01:55] critically limiting public comment. After severe public backlash, the council largely
[1:01:59] voted against that agenda. I'm very proud of the public for holding the line
[1:02:04] and keeping the council from making a horrible mistake. That being said, some
[1:02:08] members still voted yes on infringing our first amendment, including the only
[1:02:12] two black women on our city council. Very disappointing ladies.
[1:02:17] I'd say it's ironic, but you guys are democrats, right? So sadly, that s**t is just on
[1:02:21] brand. Uh, you, you're happy to use your tokenism, but you're also
[1:02:25] happy to uphold and perpetuate white supremacy. Moving on.
[1:02:29] f**k andrew industries. F**k divergent, f**k flock, f**k. General
[1:02:33] dynamics it f**k lexus nexus and f**k chevron.
[1:02:37] have you noticed the pattern? And no, I don't mean my fabulous strings of f-bombs just now.
[1:02:42] the pattern is war and weapons manufacturing. The pattern is mass surveillance
[1:02:46] straight out of the most disturbing, dystopian fantasy that you ever watched or read. And why
[1:02:50] should these companies care about marrying, marrying dark fantasy? They're doing this s**t on purpose and will,
[1:02:55] are you f*****g kidding me? I f*****g hate palantir and peter
[1:02:59] theo. But at least that s**t is accurately named after an object of evil. But andrew
[1:03:04] industries, palmer lucky, trey stevens, matt graham, joe chen,
[1:03:08] and brian schiff can f**k off and die for naming their death cult
[1:03:12] company after aor sword. Andrew was supposed to be a sword reforged
[1:03:17] after being broken during the battle against sour on the dark lord, who rules over mordor
[1:03:21] and attempts to conquer all of middle earth cio, which is the broken sword.
[1:03:25] and andrew was forged from, became a symbol of kinship and was passed down through generations. It was
[1:03:29] reforged by elvin smith in dale so that aragorn could use this
[1:03:33] sword to protect the entire realm. Aragorn was of the mortal realm,
[1:03:38] but he was also, uh, an ancestor of a half elf, making him a mixed race. And did
[1:03:42] he use that sword just to fight for the mortals or the elves? No, he protected
[1:03:46] everybody, the hobbits, the ds, and the elves and
[1:03:50] the ants, which were the tree people and the great eagles.
[1:03:55] so I really take umbrage as a nerd that these f*****g people have
[1:03:59] named this company after error going sword. And honestly, f**k you, rex
[1:04:03] richardson for being the f*****g cheerleader of this company. We know they're breaking ground
[1:04:07] right now. We do not want that f*****g company in this f*****g city. We don't want
[1:04:12] them f*****g anywhere, but at the very least, we don't want that f*****g building by the long beach
[1:04:16] airport. So please stop f*****g championing them and please get them the f**k outta here.
[1:04:20] do you know what they announced yesterday and thunder? Autonomous hybrid
[1:04:25] ev try rotor again. Another f*****g horrible demonic weapon.
[1:04:29] and that's what you're bringing to this f*****g city. So again, f**k
[1:04:33] ice, f**k israel free palestine and get andrew industries
[1:04:37] the f**k out of this city.
[1:04:42] next speaker, please. Carolyn essex. And then free palestine and anthony bryson,
[1:04:48] all
[1:05:02] woo saw. Um,
[1:05:07] good evening mayor and members of city council. Welcome back everyone.
[1:05:11] uh, carolyn hass six here tonight. I'm standing with community members
[1:05:15] who have asked for greater attention to unsafe streets,
[1:05:20] um, speeding and pedestrian safety throughout long beach.
[1:05:24] um, I am pretty much a public figure now after getting over 26,000
[1:05:29] votes in the primary for state assembly. So in
[1:05:33] north pine neighborhood and I, I, um, experience these
[1:05:38] concerns. I'm especially concerned about our seniors and other vulnerable
[1:05:42] residents who must navigate these streets every day. But there is
[1:05:46] one, um, one issue I'm particularly interested in tonight, and that's
[1:05:50] the, the data, um, asking city staff to provide
[1:05:55] residents with the most current pedestrian fatality and serious injury data
[1:05:59] broken down by council district, neighborhood corridor and intersection.
[1:06:03] we need to know where people are being unloved and seriously injured. For our own
[1:06:08] safety, we need to know which communities are experiencing the greatest
[1:06:12] concentration of harm, which streets and intersection intersections
[1:06:16] have already been identified as high risk, uh, and,
[1:06:21] and what safety improvements have been recommended. And whether those improvements
[1:06:25] are currently funded. I am asking every member of the city council
[1:06:29] to please take the distribution of this information seriously,
[1:06:33] please get this information directly into the hands of the people
[1:06:37] who live in these identified, uh, corridors and neighborhoods.
[1:06:42] residents shouldn't have to be policy analysts or search through multiple city reports
[1:06:47] and databases to discover the street they walk across every day
[1:06:51] has already been identified as dangerous. Give people information,
[1:06:56] give them a pathway to, to participate and give the residents
[1:07:00] living along these corridors of concern, more peace of mind by letting them
[1:07:04] know what is being done to keep them safe. I would
[1:07:08] also like to know where residents can follow this work publicly. Okay.
[1:07:13] what commissions committee hearing or community process? So please,
[1:07:17] I'm asking, um, that, uh, I be directed towards a
[1:07:21] staff member today so that I can, um, answer people that
[1:07:26] are asking me about public safety. I've asked people to come down here,
[1:07:30] they're at work, and I said, well, I'm here pretty much every week,
[1:07:34] so I will ask for you because I'm concerned about
[1:07:38] that as well. So if someone could please point me to the staff person that can
[1:07:42] help me get the information for the constituents, that
[1:07:47] would be great. I would be more than glad to do that. Thank you.
[1:07:54] next speaker is free palestine, and then anthony bryson.
[1:08:03] I f*****g love my first amendment.
[1:08:08] good evening, white supremacists. Since our last city council
[1:08:12] meeting, ice has killed three more individuals. Israel is
[1:08:16] building a concentration camp in gaza. While the genocide of palestinians
[1:08:21] continues, a rocket motor exploded during a test firing at
[1:08:25] the andel facility in mchenry, mississippi
[1:08:29] to the good people of long beach. Do you see what is happening? America
[1:08:33] has already become a fascist country. Take a look around you. Ice
[1:08:37] is murdering citizens and immigrants. The police is murdering our loved ones
[1:08:41] and neighbors here in long beach and all over the country. Homelessness
[1:08:46] is at an all time high and no one can afford to pay their rent,
[1:08:50] groceries, gas, and the list continues. Some might argue
[1:08:54] that america has always been a fascist country, by the way. It has
[1:08:58] treated its black people by enslaving, raping,
[1:09:03] segregating, murdering, and incarcerating them. I tend to agree with
[1:09:07] this argument. George washington and thomas jefferson would be
[1:09:11] considered fascist by today's standards to name a few of our most
[1:09:15] beloved forefathers. Of course, none of these white supremacists are looking at me.
[1:09:20] the constituent, our dishonorable mayor and city manager,
[1:09:24] tom moca, continue to extend contracts to companies that hold contracts with
[1:09:28] dhs and ice. I will repeat some of the names of these
[1:09:32] companies for you all. Lexisnexis, general dynamics information technology,
[1:09:37] cdw, government and gov, inc. Connection. Why does the city
[1:09:41] of long beach insist on extending contracts with bad faith actors
[1:09:45] that assist dhs and ice in the killings and kidnappings
[1:09:49] of our citizens and immigrant community? Why is the city of long beach
[1:09:53] allowing weapons of mass destruction companies such as andel to be
[1:09:57] built in our backyard by the airport? Specifically?
[1:10:02] look at, look what happened in garden grove a few months ago.
[1:10:06] 50,000 people were evacuated due to the chemical spill and still
[1:10:10] have yet to recover from the loss while surveillance companies keep tabs on
[1:10:14] us ice connect concentration camps continue being built weapons
[1:10:18] of mass destructions literally in our backyard and country. It is safe to say that
[1:10:23] long beach mayor, city council members and the city manager tom moca
[1:10:27] are aiding in the fascist state that we are currently in, in this country.
[1:10:31] our earth is heating up, our food and water supply are being poisoned. Cost
[1:10:35] of living and healthcare as unaffordable education defunded
[1:10:40] wake up people. They are trying to kill us with our own tax dollars.
[1:10:45] gaza is the blueprint. Act accordingly. Free palestine,
[1:10:49] sudan, congo, lebanon, syria, iran, yemen, and all
[1:10:53] who are oppressed by our white handlers protect black workers.
[1:10:57] f**k ice, f**k israel, f**k all of you, and especially you rex and tom moca free
[1:11:02] palestine. Go f**k yourselves. Oh
[1:11:06] yeah. Next speaker is anthony bryson. And then we have
[1:11:10] tony and ellie rose. Uh, good evening, councilmen
[1:11:14] and women. Uh, I am gonna come back up for item number 32
[1:11:19] to go ahead and give my, uh, concession speech. But I do want to thank
[1:11:23] all those, uh, councilmen and women who did a phenomenal job in
[1:11:27] their election, won in the landslide. Of course, mary, you, you
[1:11:31] did win, but you didn't win in the landslide. And I want to talk to you about that
[1:11:36] today. Um, three people have been kidnapped by ice
[1:11:40] in our city in the last week. One of them was in our district, district one.
[1:11:45] what are you doing about that? Also, we've experienced a shooting on cedar and
[1:11:49] anaheim did the same neighborhood I live in, and I ha
[1:11:53] I have yet to hear you reassure us residents that you're
[1:11:57] working on safety plans, you're working on initiatives to keep us safe in this city.
[1:12:03] as I continue to be a resident in this city, I'm not gonna be in opposition against just mary's
[1:12:07] and deha, but I'm gonna be a opposition against any lack of liberation
[1:12:11] for any resident in the city of long beach. Rents will continue
[1:12:15] to rise eight by 8% each year until you act as a body
[1:12:19] to do something. I brought progressive platforms
[1:12:23] that I'm gonna continue to push for as an activist in this city because
[1:12:28] the city deserves it. I
[1:12:32] want to thank all of you for giving me this opportunity to learn from the city
[1:12:37] and to learn from each and every one of you. The city showed
[1:12:41] us. I came in last candidate very last and
[1:12:46] still, you know, almost forced you to run off by 22 votes.
[1:12:50] there's about 22 people in here right now, so that's not much.
[1:12:54] so as an elected official, I would've loved to see you say, this is why democracy
[1:12:58] matters. You see, this is why every vote matters. This
[1:13:02] is what people need in our city is leadership that they can look towards
[1:13:07] to encourage them for change leadership that's about the
[1:13:11] change and the accessibility of their community, their residents,
[1:13:15] not about their clout, their pathway to any other seat, but
[1:13:20] the seat that they're on. I'm telling you now, your political
[1:13:24] career is over. You've taken money from los angeles sheriffs
[1:13:28] and from lbpd, these are the same entities working to
[1:13:33] kidnap people with ice. And you are not doing
[1:13:37] a service to the city of long beach or to the hispanic community, which you
[1:13:41] represent. Shame on you marries zendejas. Dejas.
[1:13:45] thank you. And I'll be back. Thank you.
[1:13:50] next speaker is tony and zoom. We have tony on
[1:13:55] zoom. You are now unmuted your time starts now.
[1:13:59] all hi. Thank you. Thank you to the city of long
[1:14:03] beach. I appreciate having this option of zoom. Now, uh, similarly
[1:14:08] like la county does for their council meetings for
[1:14:12] the board of supervisors, uh, I'm a constituent of district seven. Uh, two items
[1:14:16] I want to uh, kind of discuss. Uh, one is about, uh,
[1:14:21] the money that we're putting for police patrols. Um, we spend
[1:14:25] all this money for the police. However, uh, we're having,
[1:14:29] uh, catalytic converters having an uptick in, uh,
[1:14:33] people that are stealing them. Uh, I would appreciate if we had
[1:14:38] police enforcement on the actual neighborhood streets, uh, during their
[1:14:42] overnight hours to prevent that. Uh, specifically, uh,
[1:14:46] I'm in the, the wrigley area between hours of two to seven in
[1:14:50] the morning as we're getting a lot of catalytic converters stole. Uh,
[1:14:55] the second item that I wanted to touch upon, uh, and I'm
[1:14:59] glad carolyn kind of brought up, is, uh, the traffic engineering department, uh,
[1:15:03] for the city of long beach. Uh, it's kind of disappointed. I
[1:15:07] sent multiple emails and calls, uh, regarding different elements
[1:15:11] as I myself, uh, am a senior civil engineering assistant,
[1:15:15] uh, for traffic, uh, engineering for the county.
[1:15:20] and there's no way to get follow up on items when we do submit,
[1:15:25] uh, for different issues. Um, I'm still waiting on
[1:15:29] responses from stuff that I've called and emailed prior and still
[1:15:33] no follow up months later. Uh, sophie can please work
[1:15:37] on that. I would greatly appreciate it, uh, between some of the signage
[1:15:41] issues I'm seeing on our roadway signal issues, and then, uh, for a
[1:15:46] driveway application to prevent people parking and blocking driveways. And thank
[1:15:50] you so much and have a great evening. Thank
[1:15:54] you. Our last speaker is ellie rose.
[1:16:05] hello. Good evening. Um, it's good to be back. I'm not
[1:16:09] gonna be saying anything that we haven't heard before, but we've, uh, come back from
[1:16:13] a recess. We're in a, a new year and we're still seeing,
[1:16:17] um, issues with, uh, with our community. So just
[1:16:21] gotta keep bringing them up. Um, first of all, um,
[1:16:26] love to see the ethical investment screening policy passed,
[1:16:31] uh, that the equity and human relations commission recommended over nine months
[1:16:35] ago. Now, uh, the people of long beach have a right to know that our tax dollars are
[1:16:39] not being invested in companies which are complicit in war crimes abroad, especially
[1:16:44] with american companies continuing to supply arms to the israeli
[1:16:48] military while they commit genocide against the palestinian people.
[1:16:52] the equity and human relations commission, as I said, made this recommendation,
[1:16:56] uh, nearly nine months ago. Uh, the creation of this commission was more
[1:17:00] or less the only tangible change made by the city in the wake of george floyd's
[1:17:05] murder in 2020 and the protest that followed. Um,
[1:17:09] we certainly didn't reduce the budget for the lbpd and
[1:17:13] it's disheartening to see that the council seems to not take interest in following the
[1:17:17] guidance of this commission whose goal is to
[1:17:21] commit to human rights for the city of long beach. Uh, speaking of companies that are
[1:17:25] complicit in war crimes, uh, andel is still planning on opening
[1:17:29] a facility in long beach. As my comrades have already mentioned. Uh, this
[1:17:34] company creates autonomous weapons systems that raise serious ethical concerns,
[1:17:38] especially as we see the frequency with which us military equipment is being sold
[1:17:43] back to local police departments, including the lbpd
[1:17:47] and used against our own people, especially immigrants and communities of color
[1:17:52] in collaboration with ice. Uh, we saw the consequences,
[1:17:56] uh, recently in garden grove of welcoming defense contractors
[1:18:00] into our cities. Um, there's currently no publicly available
[1:18:05] environmental impact report for this project on the city's website,
[1:18:09] and there's been no public opportunity for the community to provide input
[1:18:14] on whether or not this project is something we want. The people of long beach overwhelmingly
[1:18:18] don't want this facility to be built. We demand transparency, a thorough
[1:18:22] environmental impact report, and a public opportunity to make our voices heard
[1:18:27] specifically on this project. Uh, lastly, we'd love to see the city close
[1:18:31] the substantial remodel loophole for evictions. Um, as has
[1:18:35] been brought up at city council meetings for close to two years now, the city
[1:18:39] council has a duty to protect the renters that make
[1:18:43] up over 60% of the city. Thank you very much.
[1:18:49] alright, thank you for your public comment. Thank you, monique. Uh, item 30,
[1:18:53] please
[1:18:58] report from city manager recommendation
[1:19:02] to receive supporting documentation into the record. Con concluded the public hearing and adopt
[1:19:07] a resolution amending the master fee and charges schedule to add a rental
[1:19:11] fee for the newly acquired mobile screen to be utilized for citywide activities
[1:19:15] and activations citywide. All right, there's no oath required. We'll
[1:19:19] go right into the hearing. Uh, city staff, yes,
[1:19:24] I will handle this one on behalf of the city manager's office. So, brief
[1:19:28] overview. On january 13th, 26, the city council approved the
[1:19:32] purchase of a mobile trailer, led screen. The screen was acquired to
[1:19:36] enhance emergency response citywide activations, community gatherings,
[1:19:41] and regional events. Most recently, you saw the city deploy the mobile
[1:19:45] trailer led screen across the city to support soccer and the lbc.
[1:19:50] since acquisitions staff have received inquiries from outside organizations and
[1:19:55] agencies regarding the feasibility of renting this asset. Uh, this
[1:19:59] item here tonight establishes a fee structure to allow for future rental opportunities
[1:20:04] and revenue generation. The proposed fee will recover costs
[1:20:08] associated with transport, technical setup, operational staffing,
[1:20:12] and long-term asset maintenance, ensuring the screen remains self-sustaining while
[1:20:17] remaining available for emergency response and community community utilization
[1:20:21] here in long beach. All right, we'll go to public
[1:20:25] comment. There is no public comment on this item. Alright,
[1:20:29] are there any questions, uh, from the council? Okay, if not members, please
[1:20:33] cast your vote
[1:20:41] mary. Motion is carried. Alright, and
[1:20:45] that screen was a hit for the world cup final. We gotta give this
[1:20:49] out into the movies in the park. Not saying that we don't like the blow up, we appreciate
[1:20:54] the blow up, but it's a whole different experience with the screen. So as an
[1:20:58] advocate for the kids, we need the screen in the movies in the park. Thanks a lot.
[1:21:03] item 31, please. Communication from council
[1:21:07] member duggan councilwoman allen, councilman thresh enuk recommendation to within
[1:21:11] 30 days draft a letter expressing the city of long beach's support for
[1:21:15] the city of los angeles. Request for the los angeles regional water quality control
[1:21:19] board to issue a cleanup and abatement order related to toxic runoff from
[1:21:23] the lineage warehouse, fire and boyle heights. Alright, council
[1:21:27] member duggan. Alright, thank you mayor. Um,
[1:21:33] well this, I I wanna start by recognizing the impacts
[1:21:37] that this boyle heights, um, lineage warehouse fire has
[1:21:41] had on the boyle heights community. We recognize the scale of
[1:21:45] the emergency and the difficult work performed by firefighters, emergency
[1:21:49] responders, and public agencies. At the same time,
[1:21:54] we need to recognize that the impacts of this fire do not stop at
[1:21:58] the los angeles city boundary. Millions of gallons of firefighting
[1:22:02] runoff entered storm drain channels and the los angeles river system, which
[1:22:07] ultimately flows into long beach. I'm bringing this item forward
[1:22:12] because protecting long beach's water quality and the water quality of
[1:22:16] the entire region requires stronger regional coordination, more
[1:22:20] timely information and accountability when a major
[1:22:24] incident sends potentially hazardous runoff into our
[1:22:28] shared waterways. On june 17, the lineage
[1:22:32] warehouse fire started june 20. The city of los angeles
[1:22:37] declared a local emergency stating that this was not a typical fire
[1:22:41] because of the presence of solar panels, refrigeration, insulation,
[1:22:46] hazardous material, and approximately 85 million pounds of
[1:22:50] decaying food, the declaration acknowledged that traditional
[1:22:54] firefighting methods would not be sufficient to address this
[1:22:59] incident. On june 22, dead fish were reported in the los
[1:23:03] angeles river and the dominguez gap wetlands and the
[1:23:07] firefighting runoff was suspected to be the cause.
[1:23:12] on june 24, the city of long beach de detected elevated
[1:23:16] bacteria levels likely associated with runoff from the decaying food
[1:23:20] and issued a water quality advisory. Then
[1:23:25] on june 25th, eight days after the fire started, the city of long
[1:23:29] beach received its first notification that the fire related runoff may affect
[1:23:33] our water quality. During the first seven days after the fire started,
[1:23:38] people were fishing, boating, and jet skiing. And the long
[1:23:42] los angeles river estuary families were also swimming in
[1:23:46] our coastal waters. Without knowing that runoff from a major industrial
[1:23:51] fire may have affected water quality, that just isn't
[1:23:55] acceptable. It's now been more than a month since the
[1:23:59] fire started and our health department just today
[1:24:04] received testing results back from the county.
[1:24:08] now, this isn't about assigning blame or criticizing any
[1:24:12] agency. From everything I've learned, the responding agencies
[1:24:17] actually followed the existing regulations. I understand
[1:24:21] that firefighting runoff is ex, it's generally exempt from municipal
[1:24:25] stormwater permit requirements. Firefighters must be able
[1:24:30] to act quickly to pro protect lives, and property
[1:24:34] and emergency response can't be delayed by permitting requirements.
[1:24:38] however, this incident highlights an important gap.
[1:24:42] unlike sewage spills, oil spills, or even rainwater
[1:24:46] events, there's no clear protocol requiring downstream communities
[1:24:51] to be notified when firefighting runoff from a major industrial incident
[1:24:56] may affect our public waterways. I've also heard
[1:25:00] that incidents like this are rare, even though we've experienced several
[1:25:04] of these significant type of events across southern california
[1:25:08] over the past year. So whether these events incidents are common
[1:25:12] or rare, it's not really the point when
[1:25:17] any significant, any event that significantly impacts
[1:25:21] our water quality and puts the public at risk, it should trigger
[1:25:26] notification, protocol monitoring and coordination.
[1:25:30] long beach needs timely notification. Whenever there is reasonable,
[1:25:34] there's a reasonable possibility that hazardous materials
[1:25:38] or significance pollution may enter waterways flowing towards our
[1:25:43] city. This item asks the city to send a
[1:25:47] letter to the appropriate agency's requesting improved emergency notification
[1:25:51] and coordination protocols to protect our downstream communities.
[1:25:57] this item also requests that the city support mayor karen bass's request
[1:26:01] for the los angeles regional water quality control board to issue
[1:26:05] a cleanup and abatement order related to the lineage fire.
[1:26:09] if a cleanup and abatement order is issued, it must include
[1:26:13] long beach. Any remediation plan, environmental monitoring
[1:26:17] program, or regulatory action should evaluate the entire
[1:26:22] downstream system, including the los angeles river estuary,
[1:26:26] the dominguez gap wetlands, and the long and long beach's coastal
[1:26:31] waters. Pollution doesn't stop at jurisdictional boundaries
[1:26:35] and neither should the regulatory response long beach
[1:26:39] serves as southeast los angeles's beachfront
[1:26:43] families from from throughout the region rely on our beaches,
[1:26:48] bays, wetlands, and the estuary for recreation and
[1:26:52] access to the coast. We have a responsibility to protect that access
[1:26:56] and to make certain our public health professionals have the information they
[1:27:00] need to keep our community safe. I respectfully
[1:27:04] ask for your support. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman
[1:27:09] rowland. Thank you mayor. Um, first of all, I wanna say thank you to councilman duggan for asking
[1:27:13] me to sign on to this important item and for bringing the attention
[1:27:17] to the downstream impacts of the lineage warehouse fire.
[1:27:22] what happens upstream plays a huge part in the health and safety of our beaches,
[1:27:26] wetlands, and coastal waters right here in long beach. And it's
[1:27:30] important that long beach is included in every single conversation of about testing,
[1:27:35] cleanup, remediation, and accountability
[1:27:39] with, uh, pollution that enters into the los angeles river system.
[1:27:44] we need our regional partners and neighbors
[1:27:49] agencies to provide timely notification and coordinate with us
[1:27:53] so that our residents are informed and our public health teams
[1:27:58] can act quickly. Is also part of a larger conversation
[1:28:02] about regional responsibility and ensuring that
[1:28:06] long beach is not left to bear the environmental and financial
[1:28:11] impacts of pollution originating outside of our city.
[1:28:16] because protecting our coastline cannot fall on long
[1:28:20] beach alone. This is a shared regional responsibility
[1:28:25] from the source of the pollution all the way to
[1:28:30] ultimately where it ends up. Thank you.
[1:28:34] alright, is there any public comment? No public comment on this item. Members please
[1:28:38] cash your vote.
[1:28:44] motion is carried. All right. 32. Please
[1:28:48] report from city clerk recommendation to adopt a resolution declaring the official results
[1:28:52] of the city of long beach primary nominating election held on tuesday, june 2nd, 2026.
[1:28:57] alright, madam clerk, there's no official staff report. Just
[1:29:01] congratulations to all the candidates who participated in the primary nominating election.
[1:29:06] 26 candidates ran for long beach offices and five for l-b-u-s-d.
[1:29:10] running for office is no easy feat. I wanna extend my congratulations to everybody who
[1:29:15] participated. End of report. Alright, so I, I'll, uh,
[1:29:19] concur with that. Congratulations to and thank you to everyone who participated
[1:29:23] in the civic process, uh, this election cycle. Uh, there will be no
[1:29:27] general election which produces some savings. We don't have to facilitate an election this
[1:29:32] november. Uh, and that gives us some opportunities in this upcoming budget. So, uh, congratulations
[1:29:37] and thank you. And, uh, we'll now go to public comment. Oh, actually
[1:29:41] I have, it looks like,
[1:29:46] uh, council member kerr, anything, council member sorrow, anything? Yeah, I too wanna add
[1:29:50] my congratulations to those who have been elected and reelected.
[1:29:54] I also wanna add that, you know, it takes a lot of courage
[1:29:58] to run, uh, whether you're a new candidate, uh, you know, running for
[1:30:03] reelection, it takes a lot of, uh, energy as well as, um,
[1:30:08] I think, you know, uh, uh, resource as well. So wanna
[1:30:12] commend all the voters for making sure to exercise there. Uh, civic
[1:30:16] duty. Uh, I think that it's very important more than ever that we
[1:30:21] continue to do so. So thank you. Thanks for those comments. Council member allen?
[1:30:26] yes, I just wanna say congratulations to mayor ricks richardson and council members
[1:30:30] in dejas and megan kerr and joni ricks oti
[1:30:34] on, um, winning your election. That's an interruption to the council meeting. Congratulations.
[1:30:39] and, um, I know that each of you, um, have shown a strong commitment to long
[1:30:43] beach and to the residents, and I have to say it's absolutely an honor and
[1:30:47] a privilege to work beside each and every one of you. And so congratulations
[1:30:52] again. And I also wanna say thank you for those that that ran, um,
[1:30:56] and those, um, that, uh, showed up to vote. So thank you very much for participating
[1:31:00] and congratulations to everyone. Thank you. Uh, we'll now
[1:31:04] go to public comment. There's three speakers, anthony, bryson, free
[1:31:09] palestine and x. If you can line up at the lectern, anthony bryson, free palestine,
[1:31:13] and then x. Hello again,
[1:31:17] counsel. Um, you're absolutely right. Sorrow. It does take courage
[1:31:22] to run for office, especially against the establishment like I did.
[1:31:26] I took the fight for what the people say matter in district one, one of the
[1:31:30] most covenant districts in our city. And the city showed us that
[1:31:34] they weren't ready for an activist. It's unfortunate that we're celebrating
[1:31:39] a general election being canceled when this means so many residents will not
[1:31:43] be participating in civil engagement. What a
[1:31:47] runoff would've done was, would have forced the first general
[1:31:51] election in district one in 12 years. This means more
[1:31:56] residents would've been able to participate in civil engagement and
[1:32:00] bettering the city. We should not be happy when we're saving
[1:32:04] funds by minimizing the voices of residents in this city.
[1:32:09] I am so glad for the opportunity, and I do concede I lost the race,
[1:32:13] but I will continue to fight until liberation is won in this
[1:32:18] city. There is so much work to be done. And you're right,
[1:32:22] you sit on a panel with wonderful resumes, including people
[1:32:26] like you, cindy allen, who shot an unarmed black man while you were a police officer.
[1:32:31] I see that the trueness of these council members during
[1:32:36] this election cycle and what they have to offer. It's
[1:32:40] unfortunate that status quo is the direction as the city will
[1:32:44] continue to go in. I want to see growth. I want to see development from
[1:32:48] our city council members. I want to know that constituents are being heard,
[1:32:53] not council members looking at their devices. When residents
[1:32:57] are up here talking about things that may seem mundane to you but are
[1:33:02] monumental for the resident. You have to understand that you wanted this job,
[1:33:06] nobody gave it to you. When I was out there door knocking and knocking,
[1:33:10] uh, and meeting residents, that's what I was hearing is that level of
[1:33:14] disconnect between council and residents. We saw in
[1:33:18] district three, in district five, in district seven, in district
[1:33:23] nine, we saw voter turnout was
[1:33:27] phenomenal because those council members are engaging with their
[1:33:31] residents. What's happening in district one? No one sees you.
[1:33:35] no one hears you. We need our voice to be amplified. We
[1:33:39] need you to represent us since you're the one in the job
[1:33:43] and f**k what a terrible concession speech. But I want you
[1:33:48] to know, I'm still gonna be out here fighting. I love long beach,
[1:33:52] and long beach deserves so much better
[1:33:56] than what we've given in it. We have to change our voting system, maybe rank
[1:34:00] choice voting or something that guarantees an option so that we do have
[1:34:04] a general election and so that residents voices are being heard. Thank you
[1:34:08] and have a great f*****g night.
[1:34:17] next speaker, free palestine.
[1:34:21] hello again. White supremacists. And I just wanna express
[1:34:25] the fact that you don't have to be white to be a white
[1:34:29] supremacist. I wanna
[1:34:34] thank anthony bryson for running in district one,
[1:34:38] a community leader, an activist and humanitarian,
[1:34:42] and has done a lot for the city of long beach, which I cannot
[1:34:46] say you all have done. You're despicable,
[1:34:50] you discuss this all, and you're not doing your job. I'm actually pretty
[1:34:54] disappointed in the outcome of this election. Um, unfortunately,
[1:34:59] mary zendejas, who has taken money from the lapd
[1:35:04] and lbpd, shame on you, mary. Yeah, you're smiling
[1:35:08] and I wanna say whoever's taking the, um, the video
[1:35:13] of city council live, you don't have to put my face on there.
[1:35:17] people can hear me. I saw what you guys are doing. I don't care for
[1:35:21] it. People can hear my voice. People can hear
[1:35:25] our voice, okay? So, uh,
[1:35:30] we just want our city council members to do right by
[1:35:34] us. Very disappointed in the outcome. Uh,
[1:35:38] rex is not even looking. He, none of you. Look at the residents that come
[1:35:42] and maybe perhaps give you ideas of how to be better,
[1:35:47] uh, members of city council or a mayor or
[1:35:52] tom malika, who you keep doing
[1:35:56] what you're doing as a white supremacist. I don't know if that's
[1:36:00] what you do. Um, this is just as
[1:36:04] the reality here in long beach, unfortunately. And
[1:36:09] we're not afraid of you. We're not afraid of you because
[1:36:14] the truth is on our side. The truth is on our side. Anthony
[1:36:19] bryson is still here and he's going to fight for us. And
[1:36:23] hopefully, mary zendejas, when you do retire, you can reflect on your
[1:36:27] horrible career as city council member. Go f**k yourself.
[1:36:32] woo. Amen. Last
[1:36:36] speaker is x
[1:36:40] um, democracy. What a,
[1:36:45] what a concept, right? I mean, um, the rule of the people.
[1:36:50] I I love the old city hall because we got to sit above
[1:36:54] you guys as opposed to you sitting above us because that
[1:36:59] reflected the actual meaning of the word democracy.
[1:37:05] um, we don't have that anymore. You know, we used to be in a city
[1:37:10] hall chambers where if the drapes were open,
[1:37:14] people in the plaza could look down on the public
[1:37:18] servants as opposed to the public servants looking down on us.
[1:37:22] it was real easy back then for me to sit there on the stands and
[1:37:27] videotape you guys, uh, you know, chatting away on your phones like
[1:37:31] this and, uh, you know, doing other stuff and chit-chatting and,
[1:37:35] and laughing and smirking at the rest of it. So it's a little more difficult now,
[1:37:40] and I could see why, you know, you guys, um, or many
[1:37:44] of you, uh, went ahead and changed, um, you know, created this, this
[1:37:48] city hall that we don't own. Um, the private
[1:37:52] company owns it anyway, congratulating
[1:37:56] mary's and they is like, that's got gotta be the funniest thing I've ever heard. I
[1:38:00] mean, as, as if mary had won
[1:38:05] the election. I mean, mary, I, I, I know a lot of people who know you
[1:38:11] and you're a nice woman and whatever, but this
[1:38:15] isn't about, this isn't a popularity contest. You know, you're supposed to
[1:38:19] be doing a job, but you're doing a job for the people who
[1:38:23] own you. And that goes to all of you. You're,
[1:38:27] you're owned by the cops or you're owned by the developers, or you're
[1:38:31] owned by, um, the military industrial complex.
[1:38:36] yep. Uh, and in this case, I mean, my god,
[1:38:40] the long beach police department is the lowest ranked
[1:38:45] police department in all of california, the fourth lowest ranked
[1:38:49] police department in the united states.
[1:38:53] the, the former police chief robert luna, who was
[1:38:57] convicted of conduct on becoming an officer, and the, and the city
[1:39:01] manager, oops. He let it slide. And then he was able to be elected
[1:39:06] as a police chief of the worst
[1:39:11] ranked sheriff's department in all of california
[1:39:15] . So, and both of these end up, you know, electing
[1:39:19] you, I mean, $34 a vote for you
[1:39:23] versus, what is it, $2 and 38 cents
[1:39:27] for anthony. I mean, jesus,
[1:39:36] that concludes public comment on this item. All right. Uh, thank you, uh,
[1:39:40] for your comments and thank you to the council members for your comments as well. You
[1:39:44] know, I'll also say, I remember when long beach had april
[1:39:48] primaries and our participation was incredibly low, uh,
[1:39:53] in april. And we had our generals in june, and it was
[1:39:57] even more difficult to have representation in our city back then.
[1:40:01] we never had a, um, we never had a citywide elected official
[1:40:05] anywhere from anywhere outside of like one or two neighborhoods. And then a few years
[1:40:09] ago, I think 2020 was when we finally changed that and we saw
[1:40:14] participation in our city quadruple in primaries. We elected
[1:40:18] our first citywide elected officials out of those very few neighborhoods.
[1:40:22] um, and you ended up with a more reflective
[1:40:27] council, uh, that looks like this council here. Um, I also wanna
[1:40:32] say it's harder to close out a race in a higher turnout
[1:40:36] scenario. Uh, there was commonly no runoff back when elections
[1:40:40] were in april, but when it moved to june, where people pay attention, more people
[1:40:45] run and it's more difficult. And in fact, um,
[1:40:49] you know, nationwide, this was a very difficult electorate. A lot
[1:40:53] of people wanna see, see change at every level of government. They wanna see more out
[1:40:57] of their government, more outta their, their public officials. And there's a lack of trust
[1:41:01] really stemming from the very top. And that permeated to every
[1:41:05] race on the ballot from school board races where national politics were
[1:41:09] being discussed in school board races, all the way through all the city council
[1:41:14] races. I say all that to say in a survey of the cities
[1:41:18] with a top 100 population nationally, only one city stood
[1:41:22] out without having a runoff. Meaning there was enough consensus,
[1:41:26] more than 50% in every district. And in the mayor's race did
[1:41:30] not trigger a runoff. The only city of the top 100 in america was long
[1:41:34] beach. And that should say a lot about the way we are navigating our
[1:41:38] challenges and building consensus with our communities. The other thing that I'll say
[1:41:43] is that there's healing to do, there's certainly healing to do in our communities.
[1:41:48] the election brought out a lot. Sure, a lot of anxiety, a lot of feelings, a lot of emotion.
[1:41:53] also a lot of like, you know, you know, uh,
[1:41:58] sentiment of don't trust data or don't trust the facts. I don't, I don't ever
[1:42:02] remember an election where people said, I don't trust that there are that few homicides in our
[1:42:06] city or that few shootings in our city. There's more
[1:42:10] we have to do to build that trust. 'cause people should be able to trust the local data. And
[1:42:14] over the next few months, we should do all that we can to build more trust and heal in our
[1:42:18] communities after a very divisive but very successful election season.
[1:42:23] so, offer congratulations to long beach and to everyone who's reelected
[1:42:27] for the work that you've done, but there's still a lot more work to do. Uh, the role of local
[1:42:31] government is elevating. There's more people expect from the local government. They did
[1:42:36] not use to ask this much of local government because the federal government used to step up
[1:42:40] on homelessness, workforce, all those elements. And we were simply a front door
[1:42:44] on those services. But now all the inv, all the innovation, all
[1:42:48] the sort of solving societal issues are now being placed on local government,
[1:42:53] but the resources are not given to local government to actually do that work. And so
[1:42:57] there is more work for us to do, but congratulations to all of the all,
[1:43:01] all of you and to the city of long beach. We're still committed. We're very
[1:43:06] much so committed to overcoming those challenges and continue to bring our community
[1:43:10] together. Uh, members, please cast your vote.
[1:43:17] motion is carried. Alright, now we will go to
[1:43:21] item 33. Please report from financial management
[1:43:26] recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the annual comprehensive financial
[1:43:30] report for the fiscal year ended september 30th, 2025 citywide.
[1:43:34] thank you. We have a, a staff presentation. Yes, we do. Uh,
[1:43:38] so this was an item that came to the mayor and city council, uh, about two months ago.
[1:43:42] and, uh, there was a motion on the floor asking us to, uh, come back, uh,
[1:43:46] with a fairly detailed presentation of the annual comprehensive financial report
[1:43:51] report. Uh, so we'll be, uh, turning to our city controller, uh, ruby carrillo to go through,
[1:43:55] uh, those numbers. And then, uh, we'll also have, um, some ability to hear from police,
[1:43:59] fire and, uh, public works. Uh, 'cause there was some specific questions about some of
[1:44:03] the performance metrics, uh, in the ac fee, um, or in the act for that.
[1:44:07] um, uh, that was, uh, the, the reason that this was asked for. So I will turn
[1:44:11] it over to our financial management director, kevin riper.
[1:44:17] good evening mayor. Members of the city council. I'm ruby rio quincy city controller,
[1:44:21] and I'm here with kevin riper, director of financial management. We will be presenting
[1:44:25] the financial results, results as reported in the annual comprehensive financial
[1:44:29] report for fiscal year ended september 30th, 2025.
[1:44:38] this is not it. Here we go. In providing an
[1:44:42] overview of the city's financial position, we will cover the government wide financial statements,
[1:44:46] then provide an overview of the general fund revenues, expenditures, and fund balance,
[1:44:51] and conclude with performance measures of the police, fire, and public works
[1:44:55] departments that were included in the report. The government-wide statements
[1:44:59] report city's financial results at a consolidated level by reporting activities
[1:45:03] as governmental and business type for governmental activities.
[1:45:08] we include governmental funds such as the general fund capital projects
[1:45:12] funds, and we also include internal service funds like fleet
[1:45:16] services and workers' compensation for business type activities. We include enterprise
[1:45:21] funds, which are funds that operate like a business. And examples of those are
[1:45:25] thailands operating airport and harbor.
[1:45:31] the statement of net position reports the city's assets, liabilities, and net position.
[1:45:35] the largest asset is capital assets totaling 6.6 billion in this
[1:45:40] category. Accounts for investments in equipment and vehicles, building and land and infrastructure.
[1:45:45] these assets normally require significant investment of city resources and are used
[1:45:49] to provide services to the community like recreation facilities, fire
[1:45:53] engines, the convention center, these council chambers,
[1:45:57] the amount reported as capital assets does not represent available financial resources,
[1:46:02] meaning these are not liquid assets and therefore cannot be used to fund current services
[1:46:06] or programs. The second highest asset reported is cash
[1:46:10] and investments at $2.6 billion. A way to measure if
[1:46:14] the city has adequate levels of cash to pay its bills is to look at the liquidity
[1:46:18] ratio. This ratio, if
[1:46:22] we see a result of less than 100%, would indicate that the city does not have
[1:46:27] sufficient cash to meet its short term or current obligations based on
[1:46:31] financial results. At september 30th, 2025, the city's
[1:46:35] ratio for governmental activities was 193%. And for the city
[1:46:39] as a whole, it was 366%. Indicating the city
[1:46:43] has cash and investments in an amount that exceeds its short-term obligations, which
[1:46:47] is a good financial position to be in when compared to fiscal year
[1:46:51] 24, the ratio of fiscal year 25 decrease for both governmental and
[1:46:55] business type. The decrease in the ratio is mostly due to a
[1:47:00] decrease in cash in governmental activities, specifically in the general fund.
[1:47:04] and this is very much in line with financial results previously presented.
[1:47:08] uh, in the fiscal year 25 yearend performance report where we communicated
[1:47:12] the city did use, uh, cash reserves in the general fund to fund operations
[1:47:17] due to underperforming revenues and higher operating expenses.
[1:47:22] now we will shift to liabilities with a focus on long-term debt, and I will turn
[1:47:26] it over to kevin reaper. Thank you, ms. Carillo.
[1:47:30] quincy, um, slide five that ruby showed
[1:47:34] is the, is a good short term measure of city financial
[1:47:38] health and liquidity. And the next three slides that I'm gonna talk about look at a much longer
[1:47:42] picture, uh, a much further out in the future picture
[1:47:46] of city liabilities. So the, um, slide six,
[1:47:51] the top row shows, uh, $1.6 billion of
[1:47:55] bonds payable at the end of fiscal year 2025, and then another
[1:47:59] $900,000 of long-term debt. $900 million of long-term debt
[1:48:04] obligation. Long beach has an airport and
[1:48:08] a port and a water utility, and a gas utility,
[1:48:12] and a sewer utility. So long beach has a lot of capital intensive
[1:48:16] operations. And so it's not surprising that we have a billion and a, uh, that we have
[1:48:20] 1,000,000,006 of outstanding bonds because, as you've been
[1:48:24] hearing me, uh, advocate for five years,
[1:48:29] it is appropriate to finance long-term capital assets
[1:48:33] with long-term debt so that the payment for those assets matches the life of those
[1:48:37] assets. Um, and yet if you've, if you,
[1:48:41] uh, flip your eyesight down to the bottom of the graph
[1:48:45] of, of, um, slide six, um,
[1:48:49] our per capita debt for all kinds of debt. In
[1:48:53] other words, the total of $2.4 billion of long-term debt obligations
[1:48:58] on a per capita basis for all city residents is
[1:49:03] only five and a quarter thousand dollars. That's in the fiscal, in the 2025
[1:49:07] column. Uh, that, um, there's a bar drawn around five
[1:49:11] $5,267,000 per capita. And it hasn't moved much
[1:49:15] in the last couple years. Um, a survey of local governments across
[1:49:19] the country showed the average local government has twice that debt,
[1:49:24] uh, per capita, which is total debt divided by our number of residents.
[1:49:28] so that leads to the a point I wanna make about the middle line, the middle
[1:49:33] row in this slide, which is, um,
[1:49:37] debt service, that's annual principle and interest payments as
[1:49:42] a percentage of total spending on, on in our
[1:49:46] governmental funds. And ruby described those, that's mostly the general
[1:49:50] fund, but it's also the health fund and the internal service funds and
[1:49:54] our governmental funds. Debt service for fiscal year 2025 was only
[1:49:58] 2.1%. Well, the bond rating agencies, right? You've heard of moody's and
[1:50:02] you've heard of fitch and s and p global. The bond rating agencies
[1:50:07] only get nervous about a city's, uh, governmental debt when that
[1:50:11] ratio approaches 10%. So we have a substantial amount
[1:50:15] of remaining debt capacity with respect to an ability to
[1:50:19] issue bonds and have investors buy them. But the caution to
[1:50:24] that is, well, great issuing debt is wonderful, but you have to come up
[1:50:28] with a revenue source to pay the principal and the interest each year.
[1:50:32] so, and that's what we did with our 2023, um, lease
[1:50:36] revenue bonds. And what we are proposing, we will come back to you in a couple of months for
[1:50:41] another issue of lease revenue bonds with a whole bunch of, uh, revenue sources
[1:50:45] identified to pay for the annual debt service on those bonds. But the point
[1:50:49] of that middle slide, that middle row of slide, uh, six, is we
[1:50:53] have debt capacity. Uh, turning to slide
[1:50:57] seven, uh, this is the long term liability of
[1:51:01] the city for what's called in accounting speak, other post-employment benefits,
[1:51:06] and that's mostly, uh, retiree healthcare. And the numbers
[1:51:10] here for long beach are quite striking because we have a, because long beach for some
[1:51:14] decades has had a relatively modest retiree healthcare
[1:51:18] program. Um, in the lower right in the bar on the far
[1:51:22] right, you can see that at the end of last year long beach's
[1:51:27] other post-employment benefits were capita were only a, was only $102.
[1:51:31] compare that with our school district, the row above $739
[1:51:35] and the county as a whole, like 20 times our number at $2,284.
[1:51:41] so from a perspective of other post-employment benefits,
[1:51:46] long beach is in very good shape for the short term, the
[1:51:50] medium term, and the long term because of this relatively small liability.
[1:51:56] now let's get to the big liability, and that, of course is pensions. So slide
[1:52:00] eight shows the remaining net pension liability.
[1:52:04] this is what we owe in the long term to calpers of $1.3 billion
[1:52:10] split about equally between, uh, the public safety
[1:52:14] pension program with calpers, which is for sworn police and fire
[1:52:18] employees. And then the miscellaneous calpers pension plan, which is for everybody
[1:52:22] else, all other employees in the city. Uh, and you say, oh my
[1:52:26] god, $1.3 billion. How are we ever gonna pay that off? Well,
[1:52:31] uh, per calpers regulations and state law, we are
[1:52:35] paying that off starting this month, for example. Um,
[1:52:39] the city from, from all funds put together will be paying
[1:52:43] $160 million this coming 12 month period
[1:52:47] to calpers to eat into that $1.3 billion amount.
[1:52:52] and we have about 15 more years before that will ultimately be paid off if all
[1:52:56] the actuarial assumptions come true. So yes, it's a big number, but there's
[1:53:01] a long time in which the city has to pay it off and there's a plan to pay
[1:53:05] it off and we should be fine. And a measure of that is in the bottom
[1:53:09] half of slide eight. Um, these five cities are
[1:53:13] the five largest cities by population in calpers. We're the second most
[1:53:17] populous city in the calpers retirement system. Only sacramento,
[1:53:22] uh, in calpers has more residents than we do. And
[1:53:26] look at those funding ratios, especially for safety.
[1:53:30] the city of long beach safety plan is 76% funded.
[1:53:34] and in my career, for all the actuaries I've worked with,
[1:53:39] uh, 80% funding ratio is a pretty good target.
[1:53:43] ideally, you want to get to 90 or even a hundred, but 80%
[1:53:47] is a, is a very healthy place to be. And in our safety program or
[1:53:51] safety, uh, calpers pension plan, we're within four
[1:53:55] percentage points of reaching the 80% funded level. That also bodes
[1:54:00] well. And you can see how much higher our percentage is in long beach
[1:54:05] compared with the other four cities closest to us in population.
[1:54:09] uh, on the miscellaneous side, yeah, we're still the highest almo almost 75%,
[1:54:13] but only a couple percentage points higher than the other four cities that are
[1:54:17] close to us in population. So that's all that's reported in the annual comprehensive
[1:54:22] financial report. That's what investors look at when they consider buying
[1:54:26] our bonds. How healthy is the city going forward on a long-term basis?
[1:54:31] and now I'll turn it back to ms. Creo quincy.
[1:54:36] okay. So after covering assets and liabilities, we're gonna shift to the statement of activities
[1:54:40] that summarizes revenues and expenses. I will not spend a lot of time on the
[1:54:44] statements since we normally analyze revenues and expenses at a much more detailed level like fund,
[1:54:49] group or department. But a key point here is that the largest revenue sources for governmental
[1:54:53] activities were taxes and operating grants and contributions. These two sources
[1:54:57] accounted for over 68% of revenue in terms of
[1:55:01] expenses for governmental activities. The largest category was public safety reporting,
[1:55:05] 42.2%, followed by community and cultural reporting at 21.4%.
[1:55:11] and this category includes library and parks, recreation and marine services.
[1:55:16] in summarizing the net change in revenue and expense activity for governmental activities,
[1:55:20] we can see a decrease in that position of 71.8 million at the very bottom of
[1:55:24] that table with a decrease mostly attributed to the general fund. As
[1:55:28] previously mentioned, for business type activities, the city reported an increase of
[1:55:32] 301 million resulting from revenue exceeding expenses in various funds, including
[1:55:37] water, utility and thailands. But the majority was attributed to the harbor
[1:55:41] fund.
[1:55:45] the next few slides report the financial results of the general fund. We began with, uh,
[1:55:49] general fund revenues and other financing sources with the largest revenue category
[1:55:53] being taxes, and that includes property sales and use tax utility users,
[1:55:57] tot and business license taxes. Compared to fiscal year 24, this
[1:56:02] category increased 11 million or a modest 2.3%. Property tax
[1:56:06] revenue increased 8.2 million due to citywide valuation increases
[1:56:10] from new development. Although this was a slight increase from the prior year, the city
[1:56:14] did anticipate a higher increase in these revenues that did not material material materialize
[1:56:19] due to deferred property tax amendments by la county. Um, this
[1:56:23] was due to fire events and also higher delinquency rates than prior years.
[1:56:28] a modest increase was also reported in sales taxes of 3.4 million attributed
[1:56:32] to growth in restaurants and hotels along with steady performance and revenue generated from one
[1:56:36] time use tax from development projects. However, declines were also
[1:56:40] noted in consumer goods and autos and transportation due to shifts in customer
[1:56:44] behavior. The city's sales tax performance mirrored a broader lower growth growth
[1:56:49] trend observed across the region. Use of money and property decreased
[1:56:53] by 16.7 million. And there were two main reasons for that. The general fund earned
[1:56:57] 5.4 million less in interest income, and this was due to lower cash balances
[1:57:02] resulting from the use of reserves to fund operations.
[1:57:06] um, it also saw a decline in interest income due to a change in the way we
[1:57:10] allocate interest to the employee benefit and fleet services funds. The
[1:57:14] second reason was a lower fair market value of investments of 10.7 million,
[1:57:19] which is an unrealized loss. The city is required to report at the end of the fiscal
[1:57:24] year. However, it is not likely to materialize since the normally,
[1:57:28] normally the city holds investments until maturity
[1:57:34] for general fund expenditures and other financing uses. There was an increase of 34 million
[1:57:39] when compared to the prior year. Significant changes were noted in the general
[1:57:43] government category reporting an increase of 8.3 million. This was due
[1:57:47] to a lower rate derived from the city's cost allocation plan. The general fund recouped
[1:57:51] 11.3 million less from indirect charges to capital projects, which
[1:57:56] is a reimbursement for support provided by central departments.
[1:58:00] the largest increase of 39.2 million was reported in public safety
[1:58:04] and was due to increased wages and benefit costs, including higher pension costs
[1:58:08] from an increase in the calpers unfunded liability payment that kevin just spoke
[1:58:12] about. It was also due to higher operational costs for investments in
[1:58:17] communications technology and related support and for digital evidence storage
[1:58:22] also noted as a decrease of 16.7 million in other financing uses.
[1:58:26] this was due to lower transfers of $20 million from the general fund to the general
[1:58:30] capital projects fund, which is partially offset by an increase in transfers
[1:58:35] to the health fund, rising personnel costs, expanding technology needs
[1:58:39] and greater overhead costs led to an operating operating deficit in the health fund,
[1:58:43] requiring the general fund to provide additional funding to support public health services.
[1:58:51] in summary, the general fund revenues total 722,703,000
[1:58:56] and expenses total 793,686,000 resulting
[1:59:00] in a net deficit of just under 71 million of this deficit. 31 million
[1:59:05] was funded from planned fiscal year, 24 year end leases of reserves
[1:59:10] and fiscal year 25 midyear actions. The remaining 40 million
[1:59:14] that was not anticipated was funded with the use of reserves established
[1:59:18] in previous years that included remaining long beach recovery act funds of
[1:59:22] 15.9 million cares act funding of 5.4 million and
[1:59:27] operating reserves of 7.8 million. Now we will look
[1:59:31] at ending fund balance and how that 185 million breaks down
[1:59:37] fund balance is an indicator of the financial strength of a fund
[1:59:41] and is the difference between the assets and the liabilities of the fund.
[1:59:45] it is not the same as budgetary funds available, which is used to determine
[1:59:50] actual available resources that can be appropriated or program for services and
[1:59:54] projects. This table reports general fund fund balance by
[1:59:58] various categories with three years of data for comparison purposes.
[2:00:02] in looking at total fund balance, we can see declining balances over the past
[2:00:06] few years from fiscal year 24 to fiscal year 23. Much of the decline
[2:00:11] was due to the use of funding to carry out programs under the long beach recovery
[2:00:15] act for the decline that occurred in fiscal
[2:00:19] year 25 when compared to fiscal year 24. We already summarized the general funds
[2:00:23] net change and fund balance of negative 71 million, which
[2:00:27] was largely driven by continued underperformance of key tax and fee revenues,
[2:00:32] increased cost pressures across multiple departments, and the need to
[2:00:36] continue for continuing transfers to the health fund to support operations.
[2:00:40] to further evaluate the general fund's financial position,
[2:00:45] we can look at whether the city has sufficient reserves to maintain levels of service to the community
[2:00:49] during revenue shortfalls or unanticipated expenditure increases.
[2:00:54] and at the end of the fiscal year, the general fund reported sufficient reserves to fund expenditures
[2:00:58] for one and a half months. The city council's financial policy is
[2:01:02] to maintain no less than two months of emergency and operating reserves in the general
[2:01:06] fund. And as of last september, the city is reporting on an accounting
[2:01:10] basis less than the recommendation. One last point on general
[2:01:14] fund reserves, emergency reserves were not impacted in fiscal year 25
[2:01:19] and remained at 50.1 million. And operating re reserves were just under
[2:01:23] 8 million.
[2:01:28] now we're gonna shift to performance measures that were brought up by council member duggan. At the
[2:01:32] previous meeting, we began with the police department and the measure of priority
[2:01:36] one response time. This measure accounts for calls that are potentially life-threatening
[2:01:41] emergencies such as shooting, shooting domestic violence calls or a robbery and
[2:01:45] progress. These high priority calls received the police department's fastest
[2:01:49] response time in 2016. The average response time was 4.6 minutes
[2:01:53] per call. Despite, despite a troubling vacancy rate in staffing levels,
[2:01:57] which have contributed to the most significant shortages in decades, the police department
[2:02:02] worked mandatory overtime in patrol and other critical assignments to ensure
[2:02:06] priority one response times remain within the national average of five to
[2:02:10] six minutes for major city police departments.
[2:02:15] and currently that response time is averaging 5.6 minutes for long beach
[2:02:20] on the measure of violent crimes per 1000 residents, the police department
[2:02:24] noted the numbers reported in the financial report were using the national incident based reporting
[2:02:28] system standard for 2025, which is a different reporting method than was
[2:02:32] used in 2016 and often includes higher numbers in some
[2:02:36] crime categories. However, for a more comprehensive view, we
[2:02:40] can look at the chart on the slide showing violent crime trends in the past 20 years,
[2:02:44] which is a more comprehensive summary of total violent crimes and reports
[2:02:48] a decrease of 18% since 2005.
[2:02:52] central police services require an increased investment to match rising costs of operational
[2:02:57] law enforcement demands. As can be seen in the fully loaded cost per officer.
[2:03:02] since 2016, public safety costs have grown and reflect broader inflationary
[2:03:06] and fiscal challenges which have contributed to broader fiscal pressures.
[2:03:10] on the general fund
[2:03:16] for the fire department, we are looking at the performance measure of on-scene arrival
[2:03:20] for emergency calls within six minutes. The fire department noted that increasing
[2:03:24] call demand, which we can see increased by 16.6% from fiscal year 16
[2:03:29] to fiscal year 25 in re resource commitment levels, have reduced
[2:03:33] operational flexibility and increase the frequency with which
[2:03:37] incidents are handled by units responding from outside their primary service areas.
[2:03:42] this has resulted in longer traveling distances that has led to an increase in response times
[2:03:46] with the average response time in fiscal year 25 being six minutes and 45
[2:03:51] seconds. The fire department noted that absent additional
[2:03:55] system capacity or reductions in demand, these factors are expected
[2:03:59] to continue placing upward pressure on response times.
[2:04:05] this next slide reports public works measures. The first performance measure is
[2:04:09] number of trees trimmed and we see a decrease of 23% when comparing fiscal year
[2:04:13] 16 to fiscal year 25. Even though fewer trees were trimmed in fiscal year
[2:04:17] 25 expenses increased by 61% over the 10 year period.
[2:04:22] on the personnel side, we only see a 5% increase in costs. This is a direct
[2:04:26] result of public works experience in per experiencing persistent vacancies.
[2:04:30] that has led to the loss of loss of experienced personnel contributing to lower production
[2:04:35] levels for contract costs. However, we reported an
[2:04:39] increase of 159% over the past 10 years, averaging an
[2:04:43] increase of 5.5% per year. Although the city increased funding for tree trimming
[2:04:47] services over time, fewer trees were trimmed due to contract rates increasing
[2:04:52] substantially contributing to the average cost per tree trim increasing
[2:04:56] from $142 to $298 per tree.
[2:05:01] on the measure of sidewalk repairs in square feet, the fiscal year 25 amount
[2:05:05] was less than the 10 year average due to various factors including higher than
[2:05:09] average inflation, similar to tree trimming. Due to increased contract rates,
[2:05:13] the city is seeing fewer sidewalk repairs completed within
[2:05:17] existing funding levels. Additionally, contractors recently experienced workforce
[2:05:22] workforce issues and the city too has seen staff turnover within the
[2:05:26] sidewalk program impacting productivity.
[2:05:31] this concludes our presentation on the fiscal year 25 annual comprehensive financial
[2:05:35] report and we are available to answer questions at this time. Thank you.
[2:05:39] alright, thank you very much for that presentation. We'll take
[2:05:43] it back behind the rail. Let's see. Council member allen,
[2:05:50] uh, yes. Uh, just thank you. I wanna thank financial management for, uh, for those reports,
[2:05:54] so I appreciate that. Um, you know, you talk about our, our liquidity
[2:05:59] ratio and um, our short term and current obligations at 360 6.
[2:06:04] um, that looks really good. I do have some questions, um,
[2:06:08] with regards to, uh, calpers and um,
[2:06:13] so I know there's a lot of, uh, assumptions. Is there, is there, um,
[2:06:17] is there any, uh, do we have a plan to get to 80 or 90%
[2:06:21] with that? Is that possible? Uh, yes, it's possible.
[2:06:25] uh, if the, um, actuarial assumptions about the economy
[2:06:30] and about wage rate increases and hiring levels,
[2:06:35] um, come true, you know, with, and
[2:06:39] it's a whole bunch of assumptions. So one can never be sure
[2:06:43] they're going to come, they're the actuaries will be correct in their projections. Uh, we should
[2:06:47] get to 80% and I'd have to go back and look as to when.
[2:06:52] alright, thank you. And then with our reserves, um, with two months in the
[2:06:56] general fund is, can you, um, speak like in comparison to other big cities? Are
[2:07:00] we kind of in this, are they in the same ballpark? Uh,
[2:07:04] in my experience, most cities have the same, um,
[2:07:09] reserve policy that long beach has, which is aimed for two
[2:07:14] months of reserves in their general fund. Um,
[2:07:18] and certainly here in california, uh, a lot of cities
[2:07:22] are not meeting that goal right now because of the, uh,
[2:07:26] shortfall in revenue and the pressure on costs that ruby described.
[2:07:31] so yeah, uh, a two month goal that city council established
[2:07:35] some years back. That's quite reasonable. Well, thank you for answering
[2:07:39] my questions. That's it, that's all I have. Thank you. Council member duggan.
[2:07:44] alright. Thank you so much for this, um, overview
[2:07:48] of the city's annual financial report. This is typically
[2:07:53] an item that passes without much discussion and that
[2:07:57] was a very big, that was an extensive report, so I appreciate
[2:08:01] that we took the time today to review it in greater detail.
[2:08:05] I wanna focus on what this report tells us about the delivery of basic
[2:08:09] city services. Am concerned that we're
[2:08:14] not investing enough to maintain the services our community relies on
[2:08:18] every single day. We can launch new projects
[2:08:22] programs, but they aren't going to matter if we don't keep people safe, collect
[2:08:27] their trash and maintain basic infrastructure such as
[2:08:31] our streets, sidewalks, medians, and trees.
[2:08:36] so I wanna start with emergency response. Slide
[2:08:40] 14 states that lbpd priority one response time in fiscal
[2:08:44] year 2025 was 5.6 minutes. However,
[2:08:48] the official, uh, annual comprehensive
[2:08:54] financial report that was approved by city
[2:08:58] council listed the response time as six minutes.
[2:09:03] and the presentation also states that violent crime was 7.4 incidents
[2:09:07] per thousand residents while the report approved by council listed at 7.9.
[2:09:12] um, can you just explain why the numbers differ?
[2:09:20] yes, good evening, council member, I'm actually gonna defer to financial management. That's a systems
[2:09:24] issue, um, in, in how their systems record and round up
[2:09:28] on certain, um, response times or numbers. And so maybe they could provide
[2:09:32] a more intelligent response to that.
[2:09:37] the information was compiled when the report was prepared, um, about six months ago.
[2:09:41] so when we received, um, the most newest recent information
[2:09:45] from the police department, they did indicate that, um,
[2:09:50] the reporting had been revised. And so that is a difference.
[2:09:54] um, and again, there's a difference between just the reporting
[2:09:59] standards from fiscal year 25 to fiscal year 16 because it was a different
[2:10:03] methodology with that was used back in fiscal year 16.
[2:10:14] so we approved a report that was inaccurate. I think that
[2:10:18] data is really important, our response times,
[2:10:22] that's something that I would hope that we can look at and get accurate
[2:10:26] as our city council approving that 'cause that's, uh,
[2:10:30] public information. Okay.
[2:10:37] um, I know that we are
[2:10:41] making progress with hiring more officers, um,
[2:10:46] but I would like to know if the current academy classes and hiring
[2:10:50] efforts, are they sufficient to bringing response times back
[2:10:55] down or are we looking at an error here?
[2:11:00] no, I don't think you're looking at an error. Um, when you have more police officers that can
[2:11:04] impact response times, uh, the hiring efforts have been significant and successful.
[2:11:08] that's why we have our largest class ever out on the street being trained. Those 85
[2:11:13] officers won't be deployable for 18 to 24 months from date of hire. But
[2:11:17] when they are, that significantly impacts response time. If you're going
[2:11:21] back to 2016, there's a variety of of contributing factors, um,
[2:11:25] including, uh, the fact that we had more officers. And when you have more officers, you
[2:11:29] have the ability to have an increased buffer over your base staffing,
[2:11:33] which means more officers in certain areas can pick up calls quicker. Um,
[2:11:37] the other thing of note is that in 2022 when we recognized that
[2:11:41] we had a staffing issue and a staffing crisis, we invested heavily as a city.
[2:11:46] all of you were involved in this, in hiring and recruiting and retaining. And
[2:11:50] so, um, since 2022, I've consistently had officers out
[2:11:54] in the field whether they were new police officers or lateral officers being trained. And that
[2:11:59] can contribute to taking more time on each call as well. In addition,
[2:12:03] um, there's been changes in, in legislation, the types of calls we go to and
[2:12:07] emphasis on community policing and spending time explaining, um,
[2:12:11] certain calls, uh, uh, when you can. Um, and it's, it, there
[2:12:15] are so many factors that are contributing to whether response time has
[2:12:19] gone up or gone down. Uh, what I will say is I'm, I'm proud that our response time
[2:12:23] remains between the five to six minute national average. Um, and we've been there for over three
[2:12:28] decades aids and I do recognize that and
[2:12:32] that officers are doing a good job with,
[2:12:36] uh, with responding and I'm very happy about our academy graduating
[2:12:41] 85 more officers. My second question relates to the fire department.
[2:12:45] uh, 10 years ago the fire department arrived at emergency
[2:12:50] calls within six minutes, 43% of the time.
[2:12:54] uh, in fiscal year 2025, the fire department arrived at
[2:12:59] emergency calls within six minutes, just 25.6% of the time.
[2:13:04] I understand that call volume and operating costs have increased significantly.
[2:13:09] thank you chief for coming up. Um, but responding
[2:13:13] to a fire or a medical call, uh, is one
[2:13:17] of the most fundamental services that the city provides.
[2:13:23] what is the city doing to reverse that trend of longer fire
[2:13:27] department response times and what additional resources would be
[2:13:31] needed to make that measurable progress?
[2:13:35] thank you councilwoman. Further question before I answer it. We, we utilize the
[2:13:40] national fire protection association standard. That's a 1710 standard that that sets
[2:13:45] uh, the standards for response times. And our goal is always to have a, a
[2:13:49] fire unit on scene at a structure fire within four minutes or less.
[2:13:53] um, and then on ems calls, they don't have exact time on the ems calls, but
[2:13:57] I always look at it in regards to if a community member is in cardiac arrest,
[2:14:02] uh, and biological death starts occurring within four to six minutes after that heart stops. So we want to have
[2:14:06] paramedics on scene. Um, it is our goal to reduce that response
[2:14:10] time since 2016. Uh, just recently we added paramedic
[2:14:14] rescue 13, which is a peak low unit and we also added, uh, rescue two this
[2:14:18] year. And that has really reduced our response time. So we'll continue to do, address their
[2:14:23] ems calls on fires. Um, yeah, our goal is to
[2:14:27] make sure that we have a full first alarm assignment within eight minutes, the time of
[2:14:31] dispatch. Um, and that is our goal, uh, to make sure that we are able
[2:14:35] to contain that fire to the room of origin on a weekly basis. You do get a, a
[2:14:39] notification that most of our fires were able to contain to that room of origin to make sure
[2:14:43] that we protect life and property. Alright,
[2:14:47] council member, that is time all I gonna move the next councilperson all
[2:14:52] oti. Uh, thank you mayor. Um, I wanna thank staff. Uh, that was an excellent presentation. Um,
[2:14:56] I, uh, believe it or not, you answered almost all of my questions
[2:15:00] that I had when I looked at the presentation. So, nice job. Um, I also
[2:15:05] really appreciated the presentation 'cause I know as we talk about the budget year to year, um,
[2:15:09] it's different when you look at the financial health of a city over time, right?
[2:15:13] and it macro. And so oftentimes I think even in a, a budget constraints
[2:15:17] like we're in this year, right? It's kind of, you kind of get a little myopic and think about, okay, well what are we
[2:15:21] doing right now? You know, are we being fiscally responsible? You hear all the things
[2:15:25] kind of conversations that are out there. And so I think it's really important for us to also take a step
[2:15:29] back and look at the overall financial health of the city, um, as it pertains
[2:15:33] to all of our liabilities, all of our expenses and our revenues, and think about those things,
[2:15:37] um, year to year. And also really appreciated the comparisons, right? To allow
[2:15:41] us to kind of benchmark ourselves for those of us who aren't, you know, we're not financial
[2:15:45] management folks, right? I'm not an accountant. So this allows us to think about, okay,
[2:15:50] overall what is the health of our city? And so that helped me a lot to kind of think about our budget more
[2:15:54] broadly. Uh, and so thank you again for that. Uh, and so I just actually had, uh,
[2:15:58] two questions. 'cause I'll admit, when I originally read the,
[2:16:02] the annual comprehensive financial report, I thought it was interesting that it included these
[2:16:07] performance measures. Um, and so the two questions I had was,
[2:16:11] why do we include performance measures specifically? Are those required as
[2:16:15] part of this annual report? Um, and then second, who chooses
[2:16:19] what performance measures are included in the annual report.
[2:16:25] so we apply for an award every year to the government finance officers
[2:16:29] association that, um, that is awarded
[2:16:34] to cities that are fully transparent, provide a
[2:16:38] lot of financial disclosures, performance measures, and they also
[2:16:42] provide guidelines of what that means. And so these, um, disclosures,
[2:16:47] these performance measures are those that are suggested by this award program.
[2:16:51] and we do receive the award every year. We like to keep it. And so we, we do
[2:16:55] try to compile that information and include it in the, in the act for every year.
[2:17:00] understood. So this is a, we applied for this grant from this agency and then basically
[2:17:04] they kind of set out as it pertains to the transparency related to reports,
[2:17:09] a set of kind of, I don't wanna say expectations, but suggestions around
[2:17:13] what a city that is being, trying to be transparent about their finances would present. And
[2:17:17] then we adhere to that so that we're eligible for the award every single year. Yes. Okay.
[2:17:21] that's fantastic. I think, you know, we often hear it public comment a lot about just the
[2:17:25] need for transparency. And so I think it's really important for us to uplift as a city
[2:17:29] the fact that we actually, we, we are not only attempting to do it, we are
[2:17:33] actually being, um, transparent about our finances, the fiscal health, um,
[2:17:38] in the current and also a long term. So again, thank you again staff for this, uh, great presentation.
[2:17:44] thank you. Council member duggan.
[2:17:49] alright, the last item I just wanna point out, uh, it, I wanna
[2:17:53] address tree trimming and um, I do
[2:17:57] consider tree trimming basic core services. It protects public
[2:18:02] safety, preserves our urban forest, and reduces
[2:18:06] hazards and claims that we see against our city.
[2:18:10] so the re the report shows that the cost of tree trimming has increased substantially
[2:18:15] while the number of trees being trimmed has declined
[2:18:20] drastically. If the cost of providing this essential service
[2:18:24] increases, then the budget supporting it should also keep
[2:18:29] pace. Um, residents are less likely to support replacing
[2:18:33] or planting street trees if they don't believe that the city is
[2:18:37] going to be able to maintain them, which means less
[2:18:41] tree cover for our city. Um, I, the city
[2:18:46] needs to protect our basic services and this is going
[2:18:50] to be a major focus of mine as we begin the budget process.
[2:18:54] so during the upcoming budget discussions, unlike our
[2:18:58] departments to clearly present the funding and service levels for core
[2:19:02] services such as street and sidewalk maintenance, tree trimming,
[2:19:07] median and park maintenance and other basic infrastructure
[2:19:11] needs, um, I think it's important that we have this, this discussion
[2:19:16] now so we can reach a point where residents, um,
[2:19:20] we don't want residents to no longer rely on
[2:19:24] the essential services that the city is responsible for providing. So
[2:19:29] thank you. Thank you council member.
[2:19:33] super. Um, I'd just like to go back to, uh, some
[2:19:37] of the response time statistics for the fire department. If the chief can,
[2:19:41] um, uh, provide just a
[2:19:45] little more background on this. Um, are,
[2:19:49] can you give us a few of the variables between 2016 and today? Why
[2:19:53] that response time might be a little longer? I don't think we really have
[2:19:57] apples to apples here in in in that amount of time. Are there a few variables that you'd
[2:20:01] like to point out? Uh, the, the difference between those years?
[2:20:06] yes. Uh, thank you for that question. Council member superal. Yeah, some of the variables,
[2:20:10] the biggest one is every year we're seeing an increase around approximately a thousand emergency
[2:20:15] incidents. So when you look at 2016 to 2025,
[2:20:20] you're seeing approximately around 9,000 more incidents. And
[2:20:24] what occurs is, uh, when a unit is on a incident, for example,
[2:20:28] here we're in downtown long beach, next door we have our engine one and
[2:20:32] truck one and rescue one. If they're on an incident and another incident comes in
[2:20:36] downtown, you have a unit that's responding from a distance. And so now
[2:20:40] you have a longer trial of time, which is increases of response times and that's
[2:20:44] where you're gonna see an increase in, in the response times citywide.
[2:20:49] okay, thank you. Appreciate the explanation. Alright,
[2:20:53] well, uh, thank you for the report and the 20 minute presentation. Oh,
[2:20:58] oh, I just saw you. Okay. Council member kerr. No worries. Just, um, just
[2:21:02] one quick comment on all of it. I wanna thank the, uh, the team for a really detailed and extensive
[2:21:06] report. Um, you talked about,
[2:21:10] I'm gonna pick on this one thing because I think it illustrates a larger point. You talked about tree trimming
[2:21:15] and that there's a significant cost increase to the contractors, so the cost
[2:21:19] per tree has increased, but you also mentioned that those contractors
[2:21:23] are experiencing significant staffing shortages. And I just
[2:21:27] wanna bring attention to the larger context of all of the things that we're
[2:21:31] talking about. That there are forces that are impacting all of the things in
[2:21:36] our budget that are out of our control. They very well may be experiencing staffing
[2:21:40] shortages because we know that landscaping companies often
[2:21:44] work with immigrant communities. We know that their immigrant community has been under attack
[2:21:48] from the federal administration. People aren't going to work. Um,
[2:21:53] so when we talk about the minutiae for me, we get
[2:21:57] in the weeds and we get in our long beach bubble. But it's important, I think as we enter
[2:22:01] budget season to acknowledge that there are really big forces happening
[2:22:06] that impact us in, in significant ways that
[2:22:10] might have nothing to do with the work that we're doing here in long beach or the way that
[2:22:14] we're trying to do the work in long beach. Um, so I just wanted to take a moment because
[2:22:18] that was really caught me in a different way tonight.
[2:22:23] so, um, thank you for the report. That's just my comments. Thank
[2:22:27] you. Alright, great perspective, great context.
[2:22:32] and I wanna thank you all for the presentation. Now, I know that
[2:22:36] normally we wouldn't go in deep on this annual report and it's my hope that we
[2:22:40] don't do this annually. My hope is that
[2:22:44] I know we have a study session early in the budget development
[2:22:48] process. And I think from what I've heard from most of the council
[2:22:53] members, they want to hear and they want it stated publicly. Some of the
[2:22:57] statements around, are we doing the right things about our pensions? Are
[2:23:01] we make doing the right things about our fiscal policies and our
[2:23:05] reserves? Where do we compare to other california cities
[2:23:09] as it relates to planning for the future? How's our credit and how
[2:23:13] are we evaluated compared to other cities of our jurisdiction? And I think
[2:23:17] if we make sure that in our early council presentation
[2:23:22] that we do in like january, february, whenever we do that, we touch
[2:23:27] on those things just so there's a little bit of assurance publicly that council members
[2:23:31] can point to, to say, yeah, we may have, uh, short term
[2:23:35] fiscal challenges with this upcoming budget, but we're maintaining our commitment
[2:23:39] of fidelity. So our long-term financial fiscal practices, here's where you rank and compare
[2:23:43] to other cities. I think that might be a, an efficient way to have this conversation
[2:23:47] in context. And we can prepare for it every year to show are we changing course? Are we still
[2:23:52] on course? And then maybe every few years we take a deeper dive.
[2:23:56] the other part, uh, that I would mention is I think it's important.
[2:24:01] I know it's very easy and we hear it in the community all the time to say
[2:24:05] we're not as safe as we were 20 years ago or 40 years ago,
[2:24:11] or we are not, we don't have the services. I remember the good old days, things
[2:24:15] have changed. Number one, the way we calculate our data changes
[2:24:20] all the time and we don't calculate our data the same way as we did years ago.
[2:24:25] and then the cost of doing business and providing services has grown
[2:24:29] significantly and dramatically. I think it's important for folks to understand that.
[2:24:34] and we're seeing the long term effects of proposition 13 in california
[2:24:38] where other states have the ability to their property taxes grow
[2:24:43] and ours do not. Not at the same rate on, um, residential,
[2:24:47] uh, businesses and properties, which majority of our revenue comes from
[2:24:52] property taxes. And we we're not apples to apples. I hear it all the time. Hey
[2:24:56] mayor ami balances budget passed, taxes on the rich and didn't pass the poor.
[2:25:01] we don't even have that bill in california to just levy attacks by city council. Action. Everything
[2:25:05] goes to the voters. So it's important to put in context,
[2:25:09] um, and in perspective that yeah, it's different now.
[2:25:14] policies that were passed 20 years ago restricted our hands and you cannot grow your
[2:25:18] services to keep pace with your expectations for 20 years ago, which forces us
[2:25:22] to have long-term revenue growth plans and strategies of embracing
[2:25:26] new industries and finding new ways to maximize revenue. So I
[2:25:31] say all that to say this was a good presentation. These questions are not gonna stop.
[2:25:35] I think we should plan for it. And this is less to financial management 'cause you don't
[2:25:39] set the agenda for the city council. This is me looking at you, but really talking to
[2:25:44] the council members. We should talk about this in context,
[2:25:48] not when we see some statistics stand out in the budget because
[2:25:53] we're no, the media isn't gonna tell the story for us and we gotta be really responsible and
[2:25:57] how we have this conversation responsibly, thoughtfully, and within context
[2:26:02] so that we can actually make smart decisions as a body within the context of
[2:26:06] everything that's happening globally and how it impacts our, our revenue.
[2:26:10] so those are my perspectives on this as council. Thank you for the discussion. Is there any
[2:26:15] public comment? There's no public comment on this item. Members,
[2:26:19] please cast your vote.
[2:26:25] motion is carried. You know, no disrespect to my fellow mayor ami, but, you know, long
[2:26:29] beach and new york are not the same. Alright, now we're gonna go to 34. Please
[2:26:34] report from financial management recommendation to receive and file the fy 26
[2:26:38] midyear budget performance report, providing an update on the city
[2:26:42] of long beach's fy 26 financial status and projections citywide.
[2:26:47] all right, financial management wasn't gone for long. They are back. Uh,
[2:26:52] okay, so I, I just wanna remind the council like this is really, uh,
[2:26:56] uh, update on the, on how we closed out fy 26, but this isn't the
[2:27:00] fy 27. Um, and really remind the public this is not the fy 27 budget
[2:27:04] discussion. We're getting to that in the next, um, you know, just shy of two
[2:27:08] weeks, we'll be introducing the upcoming budget and recommendations and we'll have a full conversation there.
[2:27:13] this is, uh, uh, the way we close out fy 26
[2:27:17] and a preview of some of the impacts that will impact our upcoming budget.
[2:27:21] tom. Thank you mr. Mayor. Uh, yeah. So, uh, exactly
[2:27:26] right. So this is about, um, kind of an indication of how the current year is going. Uh, we've
[2:27:30] had, uh, several discussions, uh, uh, about the budget over the last year. Uh, and so
[2:27:34] this is kind of as we get close to the end of fy 26, what we are experiencing.
[2:27:38] uh, and, uh, I think, uh, council member ker said it well. There's a lot of external,
[2:27:43] uh, things that happen elsewhere that has pressure on our budget. It affects our residents. When
[2:27:47] it affects our resident, it affects the city. And so we're gonna talk about some of those things, uh, tonight.
[2:27:53] uh, first of all, where does the revenue come from? Um, so we always like to do a little bit
[2:27:57] of grounding. Uh, so we do have, as you see that, that pie, lots of different
[2:28:01] types of revenue. We're a pretty diversified, uh, city. If you were an east coast
[2:28:05] city, that, um, bar, uh, chart would look like 90% property tax. Uh,
[2:28:10] and, uh, and so in california, because of a lot of things that have happened with prop
[2:28:14] 13 and all these other, uh, uh, restricted restrictions on revenue that, uh,
[2:28:18] cities have had to adapt and look at all different ways to fund government services.
[2:28:23] uh, but, uh, our top three are property tax, sales tax and utility users and franchise
[2:28:27] fees. Uh, so you can see the percentage there. And then taxes in general make up about
[2:28:31] 72% of our general fund revenue. So what's been going
[2:28:35] on in fy 26? Um, we have seen, uh, pretty dramatic drop in
[2:28:39] key revenues. Uh, we experienced that for the fy 25 budget just
[2:28:43] a little while ago. And, uh, uh, it's not a secret that there's some very turbulent financial
[2:28:48] times out there that our residents are feeling and, uh, and our employees are
[2:28:52] feeling. And also, uh, our, our budget feels. So, uh, we've had
[2:28:56] a 14, almost $15 million drop in utility users tax.
[2:29:00] uh, we've had about a $10 million drop in interest earnings, uh, which is related to,
[2:29:05] uh, national policy as well as us. Um, you know, having less cash to
[2:29:09] invest, uh, uh, property tax has not come in, uh, as strongly as
[2:29:13] as we had hoped. Uh, and the same thing with sales tax has been, uh, non mesure
[2:29:17] not coming in quite as strongly as we had hoped. Uh, where do
[2:29:21] the funds go? Um, uh, 65% of our funds go to public safety. So,
[2:29:26] and, uh, something like 80% of our funds go to people. So, uh,
[2:29:30] the the dollars are really there for people who provide services, uh, and
[2:29:34] help our community. And so 65% is public safety, and you can see the
[2:29:38] other sections of community service, public works and legislative and, and general government.
[2:29:44] and so what's been driving, uh, on the expense side, um, it is really the increased
[2:29:48] cost of the existing services. So it's not that we have been spending new programs
[2:29:53] and adding new staff and, and going into new areas that we haven't before.
[2:29:57] it is, uh, the discussion that we just had, which is how do we keep pace with
[2:30:01] all those increased costs with, um, with providing those existing
[2:30:06] services. So think of it this way, if you're providing a service and the cost went
[2:30:10] up 10%, you either need to reduce the service by 10%, or
[2:30:14] you need to go find 10% of additional revenue to keep the same amount of service.
[2:30:18] so even though the amount of dollars in that program has gone up, you haven't received any more
[2:30:23] service. You're basically paying for that cost of, of the existing service. And that's what we're seeing.
[2:30:27] one of the big areas that is driving cost is, is actually a very good area, which
[2:30:31] is we've been investing, uh, in our public safety, uh, in bringing in additional,
[2:30:36] uh, graduates into our academy. It's been about 235
[2:30:40] people who have graduated from our academy, uh, over the past four years,
[2:30:45] uh, on the police side. And then you can see the numbers there. Um, it's, uh, close
[2:30:49] to, you know, close to a hundred on the fire side. And so that's been
[2:30:53] very deliberate. Uh, mayor and council heard from our community that we need, uh, to reduce
[2:30:57] our vacancies and police and fire. And so, uh, we have, uh, uh, made
[2:31:01] a lot of efforts at that and it's worked. Um, we are on the
[2:31:05] right path. Our police, uh, sworn vacancy rate last year was 26%
[2:31:10] happy to report now it is 13%, uh, within those,
[2:31:14] I'm sorry, can you say that one more time, tom? I, we cut it in half like I've heard you. Okay. Yes.
[2:31:19] alright, we cut police, uh, uh, uh, police vacancy rate in half. Alright,
[2:31:23] just checking. Uh, the chief mentioned this too. The, uh, part of those are our 85 brand new officers,
[2:31:27] um, who we've, we've graduated the largest academy class in our generation. Uh,
[2:31:31] and they're still in training even though they have completed the academy, they're still partnered
[2:31:36] up. They're not a fully fledged, um, uh, deployable police officer, but they're out
[2:31:40] there, they're doing the work, uh, and getting trained, uh, on the fire side.
[2:31:44] that percent is now 3.2%. Uh, it's one of the lowest in the city for
[2:31:48] a vacancy rate. Uh, as we've been staffing up in our, in our firehouses, there's
[2:31:52] a cost to that. Um, and so, um, we recently did some, uh, agreements with
[2:31:57] our, our two, uh, associations. And, uh, we heard very clearly from the members
[2:32:01] that they needed extra ability to bring in people and to retain the
[2:32:05] officers we had. So we had to slow the, uh, uh, officers leaving, and
[2:32:09] we needed to also have, uh, the resources to bring on additional officers.
[2:32:13] so that has been a key area of focus. And the third is in the,
[2:32:17] the health department. So we've talked about revenue, we've talked about police and fire hiring and hiring
[2:32:21] throughout the city. Uh, and the third is the health department. Uh, it's
[2:32:25] also not a secret that we have had a lot of lost revenue coming from the federal government
[2:32:30] and state and county into our health department, but also very little additional
[2:32:34] support for the general cost it takes to run health programs. And
[2:32:38] so, uh, those costs continue to rise. It is about an $11 million now,
[2:32:43] subsidy from the general fund, what used to be about zero or $1 million, then
[2:32:47] grew to two to three, then you know, five to six and is now 11.
[2:32:51] uh, and again, those aren't because new services were provided, it's the cost of
[2:32:55] the existing services, uh, now requires that level of general fund support.
[2:33:01] so what was our strategy? What have we done about did about this? Uh, we started early last year.
[2:33:05] uh, we started, as we started to see this, uh, real change in
[2:33:09] the economy, uh, and these outside pressures, we started a general fund
[2:33:13] savings target. So that started at 1% and it was, uh, bumped up to 3%.
[2:33:18] and that means we're actively managing our vacant positions. We're limiting fills,
[2:33:22] um, uh, filling to essential operations. Uh, in some areas we're,
[2:33:26] uh, reducing overtime and other areas we're relying more on overtime as we're not
[2:33:30] filling positions. So each department had the ability to, um, meet
[2:33:34] that 3% savings target. Um, the, there were no significant
[2:33:38] disruptions during, uh, during this time. Uh, it, uh, it is basically
[2:33:43] a way to slow down spending. And so these weren't budget cuts, but it was a way to manage
[2:33:47] those costs. Uh, but we knew it was not going to fully cover the fy
[2:33:52] 20 cent six, uh, deficit that we were looking at.
[2:33:56] I'm proud to report that when we called on every single department to try to hit
[2:34:00] that 3% savings, uh, we met our goal. So, uh, we either met
[2:34:04] or exceeded in just about every department. Uh, again, this was
[2:34:08] active management. There were some departments that if we had done that, we would've seen, uh, the full 3%.
[2:34:13] we would've seen a huge impact to the community. And so some of those are 2.7%
[2:34:17] or 2.5. Some were even more. Some went all the way up to six and 7%.
[2:34:23] uh, I am very grateful also to the mayor and city council who hit their 3%
[2:34:27] savings target as well. So, uh, every single one of you took part in that. And
[2:34:31] so, uh, that has been achieved. And so
[2:34:35] again, we were able to do this without any major program cuts. But it doesn't mean it
[2:34:39] wasn't stress on the organization. It wasn't, uh, there were things that came in where
[2:34:43] community would ask, well, can't you do this and spend some overtime? Or, you know, can't you add
[2:34:47] to the budget on this? And the answer this year was, no, we need to manage to that 3%.
[2:34:52] and so there was less ability and flexibility, especially for unbudgeted
[2:34:56] requests. And we also, you know, uh, use, uh, less outside contract
[2:35:00] support, which we sometimes use to supplement services.
[2:35:05] so there's some balancing solutions, uh, that we need to close fy 26. Um,
[2:35:09] and so even with that, uh, we, uh, are transitioning and,
[2:35:13] uh, from in our fleet we are funded, uh, we have a lot of cash set aside in our fleet.
[2:35:18] uh, we set aside money every single year to fund, uh, our fleet replacement,
[2:35:22] which is approximately every five years we're funding, uh, our fleet. And so this year
[2:35:26] we're looking at actually using a lease financing approach, uh, which will free up about $15 million.
[2:35:31] uh, you'll see a little bit more of this, and we'll get into this in the next year budget, uh,
[2:35:36] about what this could look like in the future. Um, and so, uh, kevin ryer
[2:35:40] can answer some questions on that. Most importantly, this won't have any impact on our fleet. Our
[2:35:44] vehicles, uh, will still be maintained. They'll still be, uh, replaced. Um,
[2:35:48] uh, but it does, uh, help with some additional, uh, cash to help in this year.
[2:35:53] uh, same thing with, uh, interest earnings and the internal service funds, and also,
[2:35:57] uh, uh, not setting aside about a million dollars worth of oil abandonment.
[2:36:02] so even with that, uh, we, with our 3% savings, uh, and, and departments all
[2:36:06] saving money, uh, and those, those solutions, we still had about a $27 million
[2:36:11] use of reserves, uh, that were projected to need by the end of this
[2:36:15] fiscal year. That's what reserves are for. Uh, you set aside dollars to, uh,
[2:36:20] when you have these unexpected issues come up throughout the year, you can rely on your reserves,
[2:36:24] but what's important is that you also create a plan to replace them. Uh,
[2:36:28] and so I'll get to that in a second, but, uh, we're using our operating reserve, uh, 4.6 million.
[2:36:33] we have a rainy day fund, um, measure b, that's 3.5 million.
[2:36:38] we have an unfunded liability reserve of 2.8 million. And then ultimately this
[2:36:42] year, we do need to, uh, rely on the emergency reserve, about 16.5 million
[2:36:46] of the $50 million. And
[2:36:50] so, again, um, use of reserves is not necessarily a bad thing, uh, but it
[2:36:55] can't be done year after year after year. And so, uh, they're really there for temporary
[2:36:59] support when revenue softened or expenditures, uh, increase. And so, um,
[2:37:03] it is strongly encouraged that we, uh, create a plan through the fy
[2:37:07] 27 budget to restore those levels. And so I will be presenting a structurally
[2:37:12] balanced budget to you to address these issues and a plan to replenish the reserves.
[2:37:17] so there are some other key highlights out there. Um, in measure a, um, uh, we do
[2:37:21] have a $66.7 million, um, adopted budget target. And that
[2:37:26] actually came in, um, a little bit over. So it's $67 million.
[2:37:30] and so we've got a contingency reserve set aside, a measure a, there were no impacts to
[2:37:34] measure a funded projects. Um, those were all infrastructure or public safety. And that
[2:37:38] continues in tidelands. We've actually seen a little bit better financial
[2:37:42] performance than we had expected. Uh, the harbor transfer has actually grown, um,
[2:37:46] and is expected to grow more in the, in the coming year. Uh, we continue
[2:37:51] to see some transfer from oil revenue, and we'll have some, uh, tidelands
[2:37:55] dollars that we're expecting to this year, end the year. With that, we can propose in
[2:37:59] the fy 27 budget, but we're still seeing impacts, um, on, on
[2:38:03] oil production from senate bill 1137. Uh, and, uh, continue
[2:38:07] to see some, uh, some cost pressures at our convention center
[2:38:12] in the special advertising and promotions fund. This is, uh, the special fund that can
[2:38:16] only fund things related to, uh, promotions of the city. Uh,
[2:38:20] and so that was voted on by voters decades ago. Uh, transit occupancy tax,
[2:38:24] uh, our hotel bed tax is still doing very well. Uh, we're one of the leading cities
[2:38:29] in california in the area of tourism. So we are leading, uh, san diego
[2:38:33] and anaheim and phoenix and san and, uh, los angeles and san francisco.
[2:38:37] and so, uh, we are continuing to see those revenues where others are, are seeing, uh, lower
[2:38:41] revenues. Uh, in our marina fund, we're projecting a surplus this year of about 2.8 million.
[2:38:47] and in the queen mary fund, uh, the queen mary continues to, to, uh,
[2:38:51] meet its, uh, its, uh, goals. And so there is a, uh, $1.25 million
[2:38:56] surplus and a $200,000 positive balance. Uh, even with, uh, the new
[2:39:00] addition of the amphitheater and the ship operations are covering their cost right now, and they're looking at
[2:39:04] new ways to, uh, continue to increase revenue.
[2:39:09] so this presentation's almost done, but I do wanna do a little bit of mythbusters just to
[2:39:13] help us all remind ourselves of some of the things we hear out there. Um, uh,
[2:39:17] governments, uh, finance is complex. Uh, we don't just have one fund called the general
[2:39:21] fund that everything goes into. Most of our funds are actually
[2:39:25] in special funds. They're in funds that are restricted by state law. California
[2:39:30] is unique. And then we have a lot of voter referendums that says exactly
[2:39:34] certain funds can only be spent for certain items. And so
[2:39:38] I do wanna talk a little bit about some of the mythbusters that we hear out there. I hear from time to time,
[2:39:42] how can we build bike lanes when we have a deficit? Uh, I don't like bike lanes.
[2:39:46] you know, I don't think they're needed. Bike lanes are almost all completely grant
[2:39:50] funded. They come from state and federal government, and you cannot use bike
[2:39:54] lane funding to fund police or fire or potholes or those other things.
[2:39:59] so, um, that goes for a lot of our infrastructure projects. We still
[2:40:03] build infrastructure even when we have these shortfalls, those are restricted funds.
[2:40:08] we hear this one a lot too. Why is the city spending money on an amphitheater when
[2:40:12] we have a deficit? Uh, very similarly, completely different funding
[2:40:16] sources cannot be used in the general fund. So the money that was used to
[2:40:20] build the amphitheater, uh, it is $27 million. And we
[2:40:24] see that people say, you have a $27 million, uh, shortfall and you spent 27
[2:40:29] on the amphitheater. That's basic math. It actually isn't. Uh, that is,
[2:40:33] those are not comparable. And so the amphitheater is actually a way to grow
[2:40:37] revenues in the general fund. So we fund it out of a special fund that can only be used
[2:40:41] by the beach, and therefore it can also help create economic activity in our city.
[2:40:46] we hear this too, about our either refuse or the port or the airport. Um,
[2:40:50] why do we not tax those things or bring that money into the general fund?
[2:40:55] again, we are legally prohibited and restricted from doing that. That is not allowed in california.
[2:41:00] we hear that, you know, the deficits due to overspending, that the council has authorized all
[2:41:04] these new positions and programs and things that are not priorities. That is not
[2:41:08] true. Uh, we have stayed, uh, uh, pretty, um, focused on what
[2:41:12] those core services are, but the cost of the core services are more expensive.
[2:41:17] so it is, uh, an increase in the cost of providing those services, not an
[2:41:21] increase in overspending. We also hear, isn't the current deficit the worst
[2:41:25] it's ever been? Uh, no. Uh, definitely not. During the great recession. Uh,
[2:41:29] we had year after year of major reductions, and even before that, uh, back in the,
[2:41:33] uh, after september 11th as a percentage, we were looking at about 30 to
[2:41:37] 40% of the general fund had to be, uh, reduced back then, which is, uh, much, much different
[2:41:42] than where we are today. And then finally, um, what are we doing
[2:41:46] to grow revenue? Why aren't there more things to do to grow revenue? We have a lot of, uh,
[2:41:50] economic development underway. We have programs like space beach and grow long beach, uh,
[2:41:54] to really grow our economy into new, uh, areas and to bring additional tax
[2:41:58] revenue into the city. So, uh, just in
[2:42:02] summary, looking forward, uh, we do have to use reserves this year, um, and including
[2:42:06] the reserving, uh, the emergency reserve, which is a concern, but we
[2:42:10] must address it going forward. So, uh, reserves are there, again, to
[2:42:15] temporarily address these issues. And, uh, we will be presenting a proposed
[2:42:19] structurally balanced budget to you to address these. Uh, it'll be difficult,
[2:42:23] but it is the right thing to do. And, uh, I have every faith that the council will consider
[2:42:27] that and do whatever you need to do to make, uh, modifications and pass a structurally
[2:42:31] balanced budget. Uh, and then to create a plan over the next several years
[2:42:35] to continue to replace our reserves and grow our reserves. 'cause there will be times in the future
[2:42:40] where we're gonna need to, to rely on reserves again. So
[2:42:44] with that, um, the team is here as well to help me answer any questions. Uh, and I really appreciate,
[2:42:48] uh, the chance to present this to you tonight. All right. Thank
[2:42:52] you for that, uh, presentation we're gonna take. We're
[2:42:57] public comment. Is there any public comment here?
[2:43:01] no public comment on this item. All right. Now we'll go to council questions. Council member
[2:43:05] rick oti. Also, nobody, nobody in the public cares about the budget
[2:43:09] as much as we do. That's too bad. That's all right. We love it.
[2:43:13] um, thank you for that. It was a great presentation. Um, and again, I think it's just a sobering
[2:43:18] reminder of where we're at, right? But also where we're going. Um, and I think you
[2:43:22] all are putting forward and I'm, um, looking forward to seeing the budget and the
[2:43:26] plan moving forward around, uh, replacing, you know, our emergency revenues,
[2:43:30] um, and, you know, how we're, you know, the balanced budget, um, and how
[2:43:34] we are going to continue to, uh, deliver services, um, but also
[2:43:39] be responsible about our current fi um, financial position as a city. Uh, just
[2:43:43] a couple of just clarifying questions. Um, I often get a lot of people who ask, when
[2:43:47] I look at, say, slide three, where I say key revenue shortfalls, and they're just like, well,
[2:43:51] why, you know, why was the city, you know, why were we, uh, so off,
[2:43:56] uh, on our utility users tax or, you know, our estimates around property tax. Um,
[2:44:00] can you just talk a little bit about just the, the general kind of macro economy, um, and
[2:44:04] why we're seeing some of these decreases in revenue? Just to remind the public.
[2:44:09] sure. Let me go by, um, size of revenue on the, and, uh,
[2:44:13] highest to lowest. So property tax, uh, it's, it's
[2:44:17] 1,000,001 short on a $200 million base. So that's half a percent.
[2:44:22] interestingly. Um, fy 26 property tax revenue for
[2:44:26] us and every other taxing jurisdiction in los angeles county,
[2:44:31] um, is experiencing slightly lower property tax because of,
[2:44:35] uh, the january, 2025, uh, wildfires, um,
[2:44:39] that affected property tax payments in altadena and
[2:44:44] um, um, pacific
[2:44:48] palisades. Yeah, pacific palisades, I almost said pacific heights 'cause I'm from san francisco. Um,
[2:44:55] that shortfall in property tax payments gets spread amongst
[2:44:59] all taxing jurisdictions in los angeles county. We'll
[2:45:03] eventually make it up. Um, but for now, there's a slight decline
[2:45:07] in property tax. Uh, second largest is sales tax. Um,
[2:45:11] that's on a base of about 90 million. So it's only half a percent
[2:45:16] off, less than half a, about a half a percent off. But I've made much bigger
[2:45:20] forecast errors than that, uh, even, even here in my time in
[2:45:25] long beach. And that's because forecasting consumer
[2:45:29] behavior on taxable goods is very difficult.
[2:45:34] um, if, if I might be indulged for a moment of humor, um,
[2:45:38] in, uh, the 1930 nobel prize
[2:45:42] winner for physics was a danish physicist by the name of neils
[2:45:47] bohr, bohr. And he's famous for saying
[2:45:51] prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.
[2:45:56] and that's the difficulty with sales tax forecasting. It's really
[2:46:00] hard to know what's gonna happen with consumer behavior. Um,
[2:46:04] so we're not that far off. Uh, interest earnings, the
[2:46:09] city manager explained, um, that we have less cash to
[2:46:13] invest on behalf of the general fund because we're using reserves.
[2:46:17] but the big miss is then the utility user tax. That's the big miss that I made. Mm-hmm
[2:46:21] . And that's, uh, largely down to measure lb not
[2:46:25] coming in anywhere near where I and southern cal
[2:46:30] edison thought it would be. And we have the city auditor
[2:46:35] doing a formal audit of socal gas and the underlying
[2:46:40] utility gas, um, utility users, tax, gas paying
[2:46:45] accounts to figure out why, because I couldn't get anywhere with
[2:46:49] socal gas because I don't have the audit power. So understood. That's
[2:46:53] a big miss. Understood. Okay. And that's helpful for me 'cause I know we've talked about, um,
[2:46:58] having the city audit to do that investigation, so it sounds like that is still underway for us to
[2:47:02] determine the underlying factors related to that. Yeah. Confirm today, uh, she and
[2:47:06] I spoke and they're working very hard on this, so, uh, but it does take a lot to go and get all the records
[2:47:10] we need to be able to do that. Understood. Uh, and then two additional questions. So one
[2:47:14] was, uh, looking at slide 10 around the year end savings averages, obviously, uh,
[2:47:19] you um, you all did a uh, and we've been talking about the ongoing issues
[2:47:23] with our, um, our health department, unfortunately. Um, can you talk a little bit about,
[2:47:27] um, economic development opportunity? 'cause it looks like they had, um, overages
[2:47:31] and I just wanted to know why. Yeah, so, um, that has been, uh, chronic that
[2:47:35] it happens, uh, um, uh, over and over again. And it's really because of where we record
[2:47:40] the expenses. So they have a pretty small general fund budget for their,
[2:47:44] um, for their economic development opportunity, um, work. But they
[2:47:48] also are the repository for any time that we buy a building. Um, then if
[2:47:52] we buy a building midyear, they have the ability they have to fund the operating
[2:47:56] and the security and the utilities, none of which they have budget
[2:48:01] for. And so, uh, they essentially absorb those expenses and do whatever they can to
[2:48:05] manage within that. And then, uh, we give a budget correction at the end of the year. So,
[2:48:09] uh, this was all telegraphed, this wasn't a surprise. Um, uh, these are things
[2:48:13] that, you know, they get, you know, given during the year that then they have to, uh, address
[2:48:18] and some of these projects, you know, they'll carry for two or three or four years while
[2:48:22] we work on the, um, the, uh, you know, the infrastructure project to
[2:48:26] formally turn it over, uh, to the operating department. Understood. Um, mayor,
[2:48:31] can I ask one more question? Um, and the last question is for slide
[2:48:35] 12, uh, talking about the one-time balancing solutions, um, we talked about fleet
[2:48:39] financing and it talks about transitioning from a cash funded fleet replacement model to a lease
[2:48:43] financing approach for, uh, for your all general fund vehicles. I'm
[2:48:47] assuming this has to do with our ongoing conversation, uh, kevin, about long
[2:48:51] kind of longer, these longer term assets and then spreading that kind of rev, that kind
[2:48:55] of expense and cost over time. I'm assuming that's related to this? Yes,
[2:49:00] it is related to that. That's correct. Yeah. And if you think about in your own, uh,
[2:49:04] personal life, most people, uh, get a short term car loan to pay pay for a car. So
[2:49:08] even if you had 50, $60,000, you know, to set, you know, to, to
[2:49:12] buy a new car, um, you might not, you know, choose to use all your cash at
[2:49:16] once. And so you would then spread that out over five years. That's essentially what this is,
[2:49:20] is we would then, we're currently setting aside this money in cash every year
[2:49:24] for five years, and then we collect the cash and pay for it. Uh, this allows us to basically
[2:49:29] use some, uh, very low, um, financing 'cause we are a government, uh, to
[2:49:33] be able to, uh, use this cash for other purposes while we continue to fund
[2:49:37] our fleet. Understood. Alright, thank you so much,
[2:49:41] council member allen. Yes. Uh, thank you and thank you financial management and
[2:49:46] all the departments, uh, for providing this, uh, mid-year update
[2:49:50] and for being so, uh, transparent about the challenges that
[2:49:55] we have ahead of us. Um, I also appreciate tom, um, you explaining
[2:50:00] how we're funded because we'll, we'll have to continue
[2:50:04] to talk to the public and help them to understand that, um, you
[2:50:08] know, we hear the same thing, I'm sure all of our offices do. Like, why are you spending money here?
[2:50:12] we should be doing this. And so I think us continuing to educate,
[2:50:16] uh, the public, um, it was really great and I do appreciate you did a great job at explaining
[2:50:21] that. Um, I think this, uh, report makes it clear that the city
[2:50:25] is facing both, um, lower than expected revenues and,
[2:50:29] um, higher costs for, uh, maintaining, uh, those services.
[2:50:34] um, I do appreciate that reserves and other one-time solutions are
[2:50:39] helping us avoid immediate service reductions, but
[2:50:43] we also know that those are, uh, just, uh, temporary, uh,
[2:50:47] solutions, um, as we begin fy 2027
[2:50:51] budget process. Um, and I look forward to serving, uh, with the chair
[2:50:55] on the boc. I think it's important, um, that we receive clear information,
[2:51:01] um, and about the proposed, uh, reductions, which I know we
[2:51:05] will. And then how the services employees are being affected and how,
[2:51:10] um, the city plans to, uh, to build those reserves.
[2:51:14] and our goal must be to protect essential services while developing
[2:51:19] a responsible, sustainable plan that reflects the revenue
[2:51:23] the city can realist, realistically expect and depend on.
[2:51:27] so, uh, thank you again, um, for, uh, your presentation.
[2:51:32] thank you. Council member sorrow. Yes. To add to my
[2:51:36] colleagues' comments, I appreciate this presentation. It's a little bit more digestible
[2:51:41] in general to have visuals and you know, one of my favorite shows
[2:51:46] is mythbusters. I love that show, and
[2:51:50] I think it's, uh, one of my requests was how do we make it digestible to the public
[2:51:54] who doesn't understand, um, the, the ways
[2:51:58] that budget works for a public entity versus a small business
[2:52:03] or, uh, even individual budgets, home budgets.
[2:52:07] I think it's hard to understand that you get other source of revenue that's
[2:52:11] restricted. I think nonprofits understand that because you have restricted
[2:52:16] grants to spend it for specific things. But I think that
[2:52:20] one of the areas, because I'm not going to be here on august 4th and
[2:52:24] we're gonna be doing a due to work, my other jobs,
[2:52:28] uh, travel , uh, I would like to be here for it, but, um,
[2:52:32] I know there's gonna be health and human service presentation, but one of the areas I think
[2:52:37] would require a lot of myth busting is around how we're spending
[2:52:41] our homeless services dollars. I think that there's a, because
[2:52:45] it's such, uh, an important issue to all of our residents
[2:52:49] and businesses, it would be great if there's a way we can make sure we're
[2:52:53] lifting out, um, uh, facts about
[2:52:58] wh why certain dollars are being spent a certain way.
[2:53:02] um, because as we have our, uh, homeless time count come
[2:53:06] out, it's important we share well what, where those
[2:53:10] dollars came from and how they're spent in a myth busting way. It also
[2:53:15] makes it more entertaining, right? It's like, oh, that's a myth. What,
[2:53:20] I gotta check this out, right? So anyway, thank you very much. Um, look
[2:53:24] forward to hearing more from the team on, um, how we're gonna close
[2:53:28] the deficit, but also make sure we're responsibly,
[2:53:32] uh, preparing for our future, uh, budget and, um,
[2:53:37] and our expenses as well. Thank you. Thank you. And, uh, just, uh, to help share,
[2:53:41] we have been starting to do actual myth busters. We've been carrying that in our presentations
[2:53:45] and we have a, a, I think it's one page, you know, both sides. Um,
[2:53:49] myth busters very simply broken down. Can you do this? No, you can't. Can you know,
[2:53:53] did this this happen? No, it didn't. Um, those are more about general budget things
[2:53:57] that at long beach.gov/budget, um, but we can start looking at that
[2:54:01] for some other things as well. And I hope we don't get copyright infringement for mythbusters.
[2:54:05] so, well, as a, just quick, if there's a way to make sure the
[2:54:09] science researcher in me ask if we can reference where that information
[2:54:14] comes from so that people know that we're drawing from facts
[2:54:18] and not city, um, you know, city,
[2:54:23] uh, expertise, knowledge, ,
[2:54:28] uh, I think it might be worth paying for the license. Just get ahead of it. It's gonna be a lot more myth
[2:54:32] busting. Long beach myth buster. And we don't need to get a line
[2:54:36] myth, myth, figure out if we can do a lb in there somehow.
[2:54:41] uh, council member duggan.
[2:54:45] um, alright. Yes, the myth busters are great. I think it's important for
[2:54:49] people to understand what is the truth and what perception
[2:54:54] is. So, but I also think it's important that, uh, council
[2:54:58] clearly understands what services are being reduced
[2:55:03] or deprioritized in order for departments to hit their
[2:55:07] 3% goal. So my office has heard, ex
[2:55:12] heard this over and over, and we hear from residents. We, by happenstance,
[2:55:17] I have three examples. Uh, we heard from examples
[2:55:21] of things that were cut as part of the 3%
[2:55:25] reduction or savings. First of all, we heard that from a community member that
[2:55:29] the long beach police department was no longer supporting county led cleanups
[2:55:34] along our waterway. We didn't know that we were struggling
[2:55:38] with it. That can become a public safety concern,
[2:55:43] but it was part of that 3% savings. Um,
[2:55:47] we also heard that the city isn't removing tree stumps
[2:55:52] to save money and, um,
[2:55:57] because funding has been exhausted, but when
[2:56:01] a tree stump isn't removed, people aren't going to be able to replace the
[2:56:05] tree. It doesn't look very good when you're driving down the street.
[2:56:09] the third example is, uh, we were told that tree trimming that
[2:56:13] would be a, a, a safety measure to,
[2:56:18] um, widen, uh, visibility around
[2:56:22] crosswalks, traffic signs that
[2:56:26] may not be a priority. And tree trimming is important
[2:56:31] in these situations, uh, and potential
[2:56:36] reduction in these services that my
[2:56:40] office isn't learning about. We're learning, again by happenstance through
[2:56:44] residents, um, that makes it more difficult
[2:56:48] for us to be blindsided when residents are hearing it before
[2:56:52] us. So can staff provide more details
[2:56:56] on which services have been reduced, paused,
[2:57:01] delayed deprioritized, um, as part of this
[2:57:05] 3% target savings? And if it,
[2:57:09] it's a lot. So if we can have a tff on that, unless
[2:57:14] you can go through more of those three percents, the tff would
[2:57:18] be great. So we have it in writing and we can share with our residents.
[2:57:22] yes. Um, so those have been in some of our financial reports, uh, so we can pull that part
[2:57:26] out and give you some of that information. So yeah, a 3% savings and saving $20 million
[2:57:31] out of the budget doesn't come without any sort of impact. So we were pretty
[2:57:35] clear early on when we did these savings that there will be impacts, but we're going
[2:57:39] to minimize the effect on the public as much as possible. So first we looked internally,
[2:57:44] uh, and said, what can we do if we're not gonna fill certain admin positions and others? Um,
[2:57:48] there's not a list where we say cut these things. This was really budget management
[2:57:52] that each individual department, uh, needed to come up with. And so for
[2:57:56] those three examples, I can give good examples on those. We've heard some of that too.
[2:58:00] uh, quality of life, um, was not cut in the budget. Uh, we still have the exact same amount
[2:58:04] of quality of life officers. What we don't have is their extra overtime that
[2:58:09] they were doing. So the police department to save, I believe their, it was in the,
[2:58:13] you know, $10 million range needed to basically say, I can own, I'm
[2:58:17] gonna prioritize our overtime for our patrols call for spon or
[2:58:21] call for service. So, uh, that's where their overtime went. Uh, we had set aside
[2:58:25] over several years money to do additional work in the, um, riverbeds
[2:58:29] that the county's not doing. Um, and so that was funding, uh, our ability of quality
[2:58:33] of life to go above and beyond when that account is exhausted and
[2:58:38] they didn't have any other additional overtime to draw on. They had to basically do it within
[2:58:42] their existing services. So, uh, that just meant we couldn't go above and beyond
[2:58:46] and do more. Uh, same thing with tree trumps or tree stumps. Uh, we don't
[2:58:50] really have a very large budget for tree stumps. And so, uh, in the past, uh, public
[2:58:54] service would just try to get it done. If more requests came in than funded, they'd try
[2:58:58] to save somewhere else. But when we take their ability to, um, to
[2:59:02] save somewhere else by taking that 3%, they have nowhere else to put those expenses.
[2:59:07] and so they would essentially get to their budget and then say, we're gonna have to wait until we get
[2:59:11] more budget. And so again, we didn't cut the program tree trimming and tree
[2:59:15] stumps are still there, but we ran out of capacity to do extra. Um,
[2:59:19] and then on the tree trimming as well, so we have our grid tree trimming and that continued.
[2:59:23] uh, but then, um, same thing. A lot of about those extra limbs and things are
[2:59:27] done on overtime and so, uh, they still go out and do those and we can still prioritize
[2:59:31] safety. Uh, but uh, we don't have as many resources to do those, especially
[2:59:35] the, the alternative ones. Uh, so there's a, you know, basically every department had
[2:59:39] to make those kind of funding decisions. Some chose to reduce
[2:59:44] overtime, some chose to not fill positions and increase overtime. And so I give
[2:59:48] each department director that flexibility to manage that 3%.
[2:59:55] I just think when safety concerns are a part of these budget
[2:59:59] savings, we really need to look at our
[3:00:03] basic services related to safety. Yeah.
[3:00:07] and so that is the difference between the, the budget management and the budget, you know,
[3:00:11] reductions this year and trying to reduce the 3%. It's really not a good strategy long term
[3:00:16] to do this by percentages. So, um, it's sometimes tempting that,
[3:00:20] um, you know, the residents will say, well just reduce everyone's budget by two, five, 7%
[3:00:24] and you're done. It's really important in the budget process to outline what those
[3:00:28] specific impacts are gonna be and have a public policy debate and have your
[3:00:33] your council be able to make those decisions. So that is what you get to do in,
[3:00:37] in august. Um, it won't be an easy task. It'll be some, some difficult choices,
[3:00:41] but that those are actual budget reductions as opposed to budget management. We will
[3:00:45] spell out this is what we are gonna have to reduce and then there'll be, there'll
[3:00:50] be clear, you know, um, understanding of what those service impacts
[3:00:54] will be and that's what the council will have to vote on and either accept or reject or give an
[3:00:58] alternative and figure out something else.
[3:01:03] alright, thank you. Councilman carr. Yeah, I wanna thank the team for a presentation.
[3:01:07] um, and the rec only question I had, uh, dr. Ricks odi asked, which
[3:01:11] was, um, how do we make the projections for the budget on taxes? And
[3:01:15] I appreciate you giving us a really straightforward, honest answer
[3:01:19] that is shareable. Um, the piece about the property taxes, I don't
[3:01:23] think a lot of people understood that there is kind of a sharing of the pain on that.
[3:01:28] um, and also that you have engaged the auditor's office to see how,
[3:01:32] um, that projection was so off and making sure that everything, um,
[3:01:36] is happening the way that it should be. So, um, I appreciate the straightforward
[3:01:40] responses. Thank you. Alright, well, uh, good
[3:01:45] budget management. We wish the circumstances were different. I think, uh, we have to
[3:01:49] continue our focus on revenue growth and diversification, and we need to figure out what happened with measure
[3:01:53] lb. We projected $15 million in general fund
[3:01:58] revenue from that measure. Uh, I think the number was like 90 million
[3:02:02] between now and 23rd. Some crazy number like that. It's crazy. Seems crazy now, but it
[3:02:06] was, you know, voters voted for that at 80%, right? So I think there's
[3:02:10] an expectation. So we'll be, you know, we'll be asking the auditor to make their
[3:02:14] her number one focus, um, on ensuring that we are getting, uh,
[3:02:18] our fair share and that, uh, our, our, you know, every resident in long beach
[3:02:22] pays the utility users tax and show should the power plants, we put it on the ballot, people
[3:02:26] voted for it, that's $15 million in restorations that could potentially be there. Uh,
[3:02:31] so that needs to be our focus more to come, uh, in the upcoming budget presentation.
[3:02:36] uh, that said, did we already do public comment here? Okay. Members, please cast
[3:02:40] your vote.
[3:02:45] motion is carried. 35 report
[3:02:49] from public works recommendation to adopt a resolution to execute a contract and any necessary
[3:02:54] documents, including any necessary subsequent amendments with landscape
[3:02:58] structures for providing outdoor fitness equipment, playground equipment, water play
[3:03:03] equipment, installation, servicing, site furnishing and related products,
[3:03:07] accessories and services on an as needed basis in a total contract amount,
[3:03:12] not to exceed $5 million citywide. Thank you. Is there any public
[3:03:16] comment? Yes, there is
[3:03:20] one public comment, speaker need for transparency. If you're still in the
[3:03:24] audience, please come forward.
[3:03:29] that concludes public comment. Members, please cast your vote.
[3:03:37] motion is carried. Thank you. Now we'll go to our final public comment.
[3:03:46] there are six speakers signed up. Need for transparency,
[3:03:50] long beach, gray panthers, and zoom, russell c. Waters,
[3:03:55] fred veto, and jackson martin,
[3:04:00] if I can have need for transparency, who is no, no longer in the audience. Next,
[3:04:04] if you heard your name, please come forward.
[3:04:09] next speaker is long beach, gray panthers and zoom. We have
[3:04:13] long beach gray panthers on zoom. You are now unmuted.
[3:04:18] your time starts now.
[3:04:40] long beach gray panthers, your time starts.
[3:04:52] we're gonna move on to the next public speaker, russell c. Water.
[3:04:59] hi, how are you? Uh, you may remember me a a few years
[3:05:03] ago I was in there crying with my child who had been taken from
[3:05:07] d by dcfs at the behest of your deputy
[3:05:12] city attorney. Today I want to talk about the crown
[3:05:16] act. And specifically I want talk about the
[3:05:21] occupational provisions of the crown act. Now,
[3:05:25] the crown act passed in 2019, in june, I think it
[3:05:29] was in july. It went into effect in january
[3:05:33] of 2020. We had a pandemic. Nobody
[3:05:37] realized what was going on. We came out in 21, 20 21,
[3:05:42] and we went and we began to conduct ourselves freely based on the crown
[3:05:46] act. And immediately we were attacked by the city,
[3:05:51] but not just any attack. It was a multi-agency
[3:05:57] task force to take us down. It was so bad
[3:06:01] that sergeant sono had to stop the illegal
[3:06:05] raid that lets you know that it was a federal
[3:06:10] crime. Do you know when the last time it's been
[3:06:15] since law enforcement had to
[3:06:19] stop the city attorney's office from
[3:06:23] attacking black people for their civil rights? It was reconstruction
[3:06:30] the first time that it's happened in our history since reconstruction.
[3:06:35] now the ticket came in, we went to court, I won.
[3:06:39] you've never found out about it. You didn't know that the occupational provisions of
[3:06:43] the crown act were the law of long beach. You know why? We know you didn't know? Because
[3:06:48] you never made any changes to the protocols. You never made
[3:06:52] any changes to the licensing. You never made any changes
[3:06:56] to the enforcement. The police were still out there giving people tickets
[3:07:02] and you passed laws to un to undermine, to nullify
[3:07:06] the law. You are in what they call monell
[3:07:11] territory like ferguson. That's where you are right now because
[3:07:15] you had a chance to adjust. You didn't, it went to court, you lost,
[3:07:20] you didn't acknowledge it. And then you went on to pass all
[3:07:24] kinds of ordinances that undermined it. And then on top of that, you
[3:07:28] gotta add the corruption. So now let me tell you where we are.
[3:07:32] you have 30 days to meet our demands. If you do
[3:07:36] not meet our demands, we are filing any a motion
[3:07:41] for summary judgment. One phone call. It's over.
[3:07:45] as soon as sergeant solorzano admits that he had to call off
[3:07:49] the entire operation led by your deputy
[3:07:53] city attorney, it's over. I'm letting you know
[3:07:57] here. The affidavit is right here. Each of you will have a copy.
[3:08:04] next speaker, please. Fred,
[3:08:10] is there fred in the audience? Yes. ? Yes.
[3:08:14] okay.
[3:08:21] hello. Uh, I'm here tonight to, to ask you why
[3:08:25] the city of long beach okayed a hauling contract with
[3:08:30] republic services. We called you because
[3:08:34] we had some trash in our yard, building trash that needed to be disposed. We
[3:08:38] were told we needed to use a private holder hauler. We were given the
[3:08:42] name of republic services and it's been a nightmarish experience.
[3:08:47] the bill has been $1,800 instead of $1,800. And we've
[3:08:51] had all sorts of problems with communication, failure to
[3:08:55] act lies, overcharging, et cetera. Now
[3:08:59] anybody who, who did their due diligence would know that this is
[3:09:04] a horrible company. If you go online like I did within
[3:09:08] an hour, I found out that all of the major services
[3:09:12] that evaluate the, uh, competency of a company
[3:09:16] give this company 1.1 out
[3:09:20] of a lowest score of one. 90% of people who deal
[3:09:24] with this company give it the worst possible rating. And
[3:09:28] yet, your city has signed a contract with this organization.
[3:09:34] this organization is the second biggest hauler in the united states.
[3:09:39] it's 35% owned by bill gates, and they have,
[3:09:43] uh, all sorts. They have $177 million
[3:09:48] in, in, in, uh, judgments against them. They've had
[3:09:52] a garbage strike in our neighboring seal beach. They've had two
[3:09:56] huge lawsuits in huntington beach. And it goes on and
[3:10:00] on and on. And I'm confused how
[3:10:04] a competent, uh, city could have signed a
[3:10:08] contract with this, this predatory company. This company
[3:10:13] goes after people and tries to take their homes in,
[3:10:17] in when they, when they, uh, uh, protest the, uh, false
[3:10:21] charges that have been, uh, put into their bills.
[3:10:25] uh, and I hope there's a newspaper reporter around because there's a, there's an
[3:10:29] interesting story. Uh, we need to find out how the city of long
[3:10:33] beach signed this company. Who evaluated the contract, who
[3:10:37] did their due diligence, uh, who signed off on it, city council members,
[3:10:42] uh, city managers, mayors, et cetera. What about the city lawyers who evaluated
[3:10:47] this contract? Uh, there's something rotten, uh, with
[3:10:51] this, this process. Uh, the city, when we called the
[3:10:55] city, they gave us this, they gave us three names, but this
[3:10:59] was the name on the top of the list. Uh, and we followed the advice and
[3:11:03] got stung badly. Thank you very much.
[3:11:08] next speaker is v two and then jackson.
[3:11:16] hi, my name is vitu. I am a resident of long beach. I live
[3:11:20] in the third district. I am a rising senior at wilson high
[3:11:24] school. I come here today because I'm passionate about the environment.
[3:11:28] I'm passionate about, uh, trees and expanding access to
[3:11:32] our green spaces and preserving those green spaces here in long beach. I believe trees
[3:11:37] are essential. They're essential to our wellbeing. They're essential to our health. They're essential
[3:11:41] to making our neighborhoods look, um, like places that you want to live in.
[3:11:45] they are, they're proven to help,
[3:11:50] um, combat climate change, reduce,
[3:11:54] uh, um, the prevalence of heat islands and
[3:11:58] also, strangely enough, reduce speeding in our, in our neighborhoods.
[3:12:03] the forest service recommends that 30% of cities
[3:12:08] should be covered in tree canopy. Uh, in long
[3:12:12] beach. Only 15% on average is covered by trees
[3:12:16] in some areas as low as 5% in some areas as low as 9%.
[3:12:21] of course, I know. Um, I've done some research efforts are being made
[3:12:25] in, uh, the upcoming budget in past budgets to address this demand,
[3:12:30] uh, for trees. But I believe, um,
[3:12:34] one section of our, of long beach that should be, uh,
[3:12:38] looked into for, um, planting trees is the stretch
[3:12:43] from, um, anaheim to pch
[3:12:47] on examine that corridor could really use some trees.
[3:12:51] um, I personally go down, um, that street, uh, going to school.
[3:12:56] um, and I would really appreciate if city council could look into
[3:13:00] maybe, um, in the upcoming budget, uh, ways to,
[3:13:05] um, expand that. Um, tree canopy. Uh,
[3:13:09] thank you very much everyone. Have a great evening. All right. V two, hang
[3:13:13] on. It's a good issue. Uh, good to see you.
[3:13:17] you're still, so you're interning in cd three now? Yes. Good. So v two,
[3:13:21] his first internship with the city was in my office last year as mayor. And
[3:13:26] the good news is, it is budget season. I hope you're talking with your, your
[3:13:30] boss, your new boss, uh, council member duggan about trees. Um, and I'm
[3:13:34] glad to see that you're, you're um, continuing uh, your service with the city.
[3:13:38] and what are you senior now? I'm gonna be a senior. Gonna be a senior. Congratulations. Thanks for coming down.
[3:13:42] thank you. Alright, next speaker is jackson.
[3:13:52] hello everyone. My name is jackson and um, I also live in city council
[3:13:57] district three and like v two. I'm also an upcoming senior at wilson high school.
[3:14:01] um, I have recently been recently been noticing a lot more flooding
[3:14:06] near the marina where I live. Um, and
[3:14:10] on high tides, the water is getting dangerously close to, or if not
[3:14:14] like, just close to outright flooding the areas near the marina.
[3:14:19] um, the reason I've decided to speak about this though is because even though I've
[3:14:23] noticed this my entire life, it's been getting a lot worse recently. Um,
[3:14:28] for example, near the um, like marine stadium launch
[3:14:33] ramp, there's a parking lot and usually on high tides the
[3:14:37] water can come kind of close, like maybe a foot underneath like
[3:14:41] the surface of like where the street is or in like the beach coming up to
[3:14:45] it. Um, recently it's been outright flooding the parking lot, like
[3:14:49] water when it's been high tides. I've been noticing this a lot recently. High tides are just
[3:14:54] completely like over like flooding the parking lot and making it so
[3:14:58] water is intersecting the area. Um,
[3:15:02] I worry about the trajectory of the this problem
[3:15:06] and I worry that eventually it's gonna become such an
[3:15:11] issue that even if we put a lot of resources to it, it's gonna be really hard to solve.
[3:15:15] so I advocate for a reallocation, some, some reallocation of the
[3:15:19] city's budget in order to try to fix these problems near the waterfront areas
[3:15:23] in marine stadium, naples and the beach areas in long beach.
[3:15:28] thank you city council and thank you mayor for your time. I appreciate it. Alright,
[3:15:32] thank you. Another budget request. Council member duggan. Thank you.
[3:15:36] alright, that concludes public comment. Alright, thank you so
[3:15:40] much. Um, uh, I'm tempted to
[3:15:44] make a joke about this. I'm not gonna do it right now. Time council member, we wait
[3:15:48] until we, we get in the budget discussions and then we're gonna break out the button. , I've
[3:15:52] heard it. All right. Uh, okay, so now we're getting into
[3:15:57] closing comments and adjournment. Queue up now.
[3:16:03] alright, I think people ready to go home. Oh, here we go. Council member sorrow.
[3:16:08] yes. Um, there's several great events happening uh,
[3:16:12] this weekend. Uh, I wanted to invite, uh, everyone
[3:16:16] or um, to the everyone's coast zone in update
[3:16:20] and mobility plan meeting to learn more about the potential transportation
[3:16:25] and mobility improvements that will make it easier, safer, and more comfortable
[3:16:29] to travel to the coast. And this is gonna be saturday, uh,
[3:16:33] july 25th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at macarthur park. And
[3:16:38] then also the same day there's a neighborhood
[3:16:42] leadership program rise through learning. Um, it's an education
[3:16:46] resource fair happening at macarthur park, so you can do
[3:16:50] two events in one place. The other uh, is that we have
[3:16:54] a movies in the park this friday, july 24th at six 30 showing
[3:16:59] hoppers at mlk, uh, uh, junior park. And on
[3:17:03] monday, july 27th at 6:30 pm there's gonna be
[3:17:07] a showing of super mario galaxy movie at mcbride
[3:17:11] park. So we'll see you at one of those events. Thank you.
[3:17:17] alright, thank you. Council member carr. Yes. Thank you mr. Mayor. This weekend in honor
[3:17:21] of national adoption week, I invite residents to consider adopting a kitten
[3:17:25] in need of a forever home. Our local nonprofit, the little lion foundation, is hosting
[3:17:29] a summer is cooler with kitten's adoption event this saturday, july 25th
[3:17:33] from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at signal hill petsmart at 2 5 5
[3:17:38] oh cherry this saturday, july 25th. You can also bring the whole family to
[3:17:42] the hangar at lbx. No, no
[3:17:47] I, sorry, I asked him. You asked him to push the button. We're just trying
[3:17:51] to talk about lilo and stitch. Come on. So at the hangar at long beach exchange, you can
[3:17:55] go to a lilo and stitch themed to market from noon to five following the market stick
[3:17:59] around the hangar for a free showing of the lilo and stitch movie on the hangar lawn,
[3:18:04] starting at six 30 that same evening. You can stop by ambitious ails
[3:18:08] for their next ambitious records fair from four to 9:00 pm where you can shop and swap records while
[3:18:12] supporting local businesses. And finally, I'd like to invite all of you to my office's next
[3:18:16] cd five community meeting on thursday, july 30th from six to 7:00 pm
[3:18:20] at wardlow park community center. We will have the city manager's office
[3:18:24] there to learn more about the ongoing preparations for the upcoming olympic games. So
[3:18:29] get the latest and greatest on how that's going. And our city clerk will join us to talk about the
[3:18:33] new hybrid city council meeting format and answer your questions. Uh, so
[3:18:37] join us for more information and to learn more. Thanks.
[3:18:42] thank you. Council member allen. Yes. This saturday, july 25th at zacharia
[3:18:46] heights neighborhood association will host its monthly community cleanup
[3:18:50] from 8:00 am to noon at or zba park. And that's at
[3:18:54] 1435 or zaba avenue on sunday, july 26th.
[3:18:59] um, I hope that you come and join the carroll park association for its next
[3:19:04] summer concert featuring distracted by dogs performing
[3:19:08] classic rock. The free concert will take place from five to
[3:19:12] 6:00 pm in the south parklet. Thank you.
[3:19:17] thank you. Council members zendejas. Thank you. Um,
[3:19:22] exciting times in the washington neighborhood. The washington banner
[3:19:26] unveiling celebration will take place saturday, august 1st
[3:19:31] at 14th street park at 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
[3:19:36] and then we're gonna be headed up to uptown for the jazz festival and
[3:19:40] hope to see everybody there. Um, the craftsman's village
[3:19:45] national night out will be on tuesday, august 4th from 5:00 pm
[3:19:50] to 8:00 pm thank you to the craftsman's village, um, community
[3:19:54] for always hosting a national night out. It's always a great time. Hope
[3:19:58] to see you there and like always please subscribe to my newsletter
[3:20:03] to make sure that you receive all the updates and everything that's going on
[3:20:08] here in the first district as well. I want to say thank you to
[3:20:12] everybody who participated in beach streets this weekend.
[3:20:16] I want to say thank you to councilwoman allen for making
[3:20:20] sure that we all had a great time in the second district. So
[3:20:24] thank you very much for doing so. And also I want,
[3:20:29] um, I want to say that district one proudly
[3:20:33] hosted the world cup champions in our district.
[3:20:37] um, spain was housed in, um, the west end
[3:20:42] here in long beach. So big, big props to us, um, the
[3:20:46] world. Um, the world has seen long beach and we'll continue seeing
[3:20:50] long beach, so thank you everyone. That's right.
[3:20:54] I think because of that, uh, high quality rest that they got at the
[3:20:58] west end, they were prepared to go the all the way. Uh, council
[3:21:02] member brite, clearly, clearly that is true, mayor. Thank you. We should
[3:21:06] actually put that on like a t-shirt or a banner or something. . Um, thank you council
[3:21:10] members zendejas for the shout out. Uh, yes. I'd like to invite everyone out to the 15th annual
[3:21:15] uptown jazz festival next saturday, august 1st from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm
[3:21:20] at houghton park in north long beach. Uh, this is a free family event featuring
[3:21:24] headliner morris day in the time. So if you are a prince fan, we are
[3:21:28] gonna have a great, we're gonna have a great time. So more for more information, please contact my office at
[3:21:32] district9@longbeach.gov. Um, I also would like to thank everyone who
[3:21:36] came out to our third annual fire and ice cream event with the long beach fire department
[3:21:40] last weekend. We had a wonderful time, uh, turnout with ice cream from la katrina,
[3:21:45] miss yana. We had hot dogs served up by our long beach firefighters association,
[3:21:49] great family event. Uh, if you haven't been, I'd encourage you to come next year. We do it every year.
[3:21:53] um, and lastly, I'd like to invite everybody out to participate in this year's, uh, fiscal year 26 27
[3:21:58] budget cycle, beginning tuesday, uh, july 28th. You can come and
[3:22:02] hang out with me, uh, and council member, uh, vice mayor aranga and council
[3:22:06] member allen at our boc meeting. It's tons of fun. Uh, that will
[3:22:10] be on tuesday. Um, and for more information about meeting details and more information about
[3:22:14] our budget, you can go to long beach.gov/fy 27.
[3:22:19] all right, well, good job everyone. Uh, and welcome back from,
[3:22:24] uh, your retreat. I hope you got to spend some time with your, or
[3:22:28] your recess rather. Got, hope you got some time. Got to spend some time with your loved ones and
[3:22:32] your family and got a break. Uh, our next meeting, we are diving into the budget,
[3:22:36] so be ready. Uh, and I hope our staff was able to, all of our city
[3:22:40] staff were able to actually check out a little bit too. Uh, 'cause we got a lot of work to do. Thanks
[3:22:45] everyone. This meeting is now adjourned. Thank you.