Long Beach Passes $1.3-Billion Budget

The City Council, following City Manager James Hankla’s recommendations, this week passed a $1.3-billion city budget that modestly increases services along with a variety of city fees.

In the only departure from Hankla’s spending plan, the council went along with Mayor Ernie Kell’s proposal to add $700,000 to the budget for sidewalk repair and $200,000 for anti-drug and anti-gang programs. The council also added another $100,000 to pay for anti-graffiti efforts.

Kell was able to marshal the votes for the sidewalk expenditures despite complaints by his political opponents that the money would be better spent on expanding the police force. The sidewalk plan passed 6 to 3, with council members Thomas Clark, Jan Hall and Evan Anderson Braude voting no. Clark plans to run against Kell next year, and Hall ran against him last year.

Adds Investigators

The $1.3-billion budget, approved unanimously, provides for an additional 10 police officers, restores library staff hours cut in previous years, expands the park ranger program and adds two new internal affairs investigators to the city manager’s office to oversee internal affairs complaints in the Police Department.

A number of city fees will increase. Marina slips will cost another 4%, trash collection bills will rise 4.8%, zoning fees will increase by 20%, and building construction inspection fees will increase by varying amounts.

Although city officials felt the city was strong enough financially to add services in the coming fiscal year, they pointed out that the city is continuing to dip into its reserve funds. The general fund, which pays for basic city services, will take in $7 million less in the next fiscal year than it will spend, creating a shortfall that must be absorbed by a reserve fund that has been declining since the early 1980s.

While there is general agreement that the Police Department is short staffed, Vice Mayor Wallace Edgertown said council members did not want to substantially add to the police force without finding new revenue sources to pay for the extra staff. They decided it was wiser, Edgertown said, to spend reserve funds on one-time costs, such as sidewalk repair.