Results tagged “budget” from Press Corps

Melody Ross, the 16-year-old girl who was fatally shot Friday night after the Wilson High-Poly High footballl game, wasn't on the agenda at Tuesday's council meeting. But she was on the minds of council members and the public alike.

Several council members and Mayor Bob Foster remarked on the teen's tragic death. A few members of the public demanded that the city create more park and recreation programs to keep youths out of trouble and more police to keep the streets safe.

Despite cuts implemented this year to every city department -- parks funding was drastically reduced and the number of police officers in Long Beach were slashed back to almost 2002 levels -- Councilman Gary DeLong noted that the council had voted at the end of the budget discussions to restore $500,000 to parks and rec programs.

Still, with more budget deficits expected through 2012, one has to wonder just how city officials will keep public safety programs -- both prevention and law enforcement -- at the levels that Long Beach needs. There's no way to know if Melody would have been saved if there had been just one more cop on the street or if the shooter had gotten a little more positive attention as a child. But having more of those resources couldn't hurt.

City and union negotiators have reached a tentative contract agreement that presumably would delay contractual pay raises and avoid furloughs for members of Long Beach's largest employee union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

IAM spokeswoman Janet Schabow was tight-lipped in a brief conversation today, only divulging that the agreement had been reached Wednesday. However, she said IAM members still must approve the amended contract, which would then go to the City Council for approval. Schabow said the council will hear the details of the contract in closed session next Tuesday.

Time is running out for a deal to be reached. The IAM has postponed pay raises twice since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1 to give negotiations more time. Without pay concessions by the IAM, City Manager Pat West has said the IAM members will have to take 15 days of furloughs over the next year. The union represents 3,800 city workers.

I'm still digging on this story and I'll hopefully have more about it online by the end of the day and in Friday's Press-Telegram.

City of Long Beach negotiators and representatives of the city's largest employee union didn't reach a contract deal Thursday that is a necessary step to finish eliminating a projected deficit for the fiscal year that already has begun, according to union spokeswoman Christa Indriolo. As an alternative, the City Council is scheduled Tuesday to vote on enacting 15 days of unpaid furloughs over the next year for the 3,800 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

However, Indriolo said today that while no agreement has been reached, the union is willing to postpone raises that were scheduled for Oct. 1 until Nov. 1. No IAM membership vote is needed for this delay, she said, but if negotiations break down, then the pay raise would be enacted retroactively to Oct. 1.

That may not matter if the council approves the furloughs, which would do away with the 4 percent raise that workers are scheduled to get this year. The sticking point also happens to be the union's fear of furloughs -- the IAM wants a guarantee of no furloughs in the 2010 fiscal year in exchange for delaying the promised pay raises.

Indriolo said the two negotiating teams will meet again next week to continue their talks. For now, they have a three-week reprieve to try to hammer out a deal, but time is quickly running out.

It looks like contract negotiations with the city of Long Beach's largest employee union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, aren't going well.

City Manager Pat West is asking the City Council at next Tuesday's meeting to approve 15 days of unpaid furloughs over the next year for the 3,800 workers represented by IAM. The furloughs are necessary to cut $10.1 million from all city budgets, including $3.5 million from the general fund, according to a staff report. What that will mean for residents is unclear, since IAM workers make up the bulk of city employees and handle most of the day-to-day services. For the last five months, City Hall and most city offices were closed one Friday per month as every city employee other than public safety workers was forced to take furloughs.

Negotiations seem to be going better with the other employee associations. The police association has already inked a money-saving deal with the city. Tuesday's meeting agenda includes new memorandums of understanding with unions representing firefighters, prosecutors, attorneys, management, lifeguards and confidential workers that will avoid pay raises in this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, to keep the city's budget in the black.

The only employee association not mentioned in the agenda is the engineers union, with which city officials have said they are continuing to negotiate.

Mayor Bob Foster's office confirmed today that he has signed the budget approved by the City Council last week without using his line-item veto. Tonight, the council is expected to give final approval to the $2.5 billion budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

In approving the budget, Foster didn't dispute the council's restoration of $169,000 in city contributions for the operating costs of the Long Beach Museum of Art. Foster had recommended eliminating the entire $569,000 city contribution after the museum wasn't able to pay off $3 million in bond debt this month, which the city then had to cover.

The council meets at 5 p.m. tonight. Watch the meeting online at www.longbeach.gov.

Councilman Gary DeLong seemed to surprise everyone in the Council Chambers moments ago when he announced he would vote against a new contract with the Long Beach Police Officers Association that would save the city millions of dollars.

After months of negotiations between POA and city officials to get police officers to forgo some pay raises, POA President Steve James called DeLong's vote a "slap ... in the face" and Councilman Patrick O'Donnell said DeLong was "grandstanding."

DeLong said he couldn't support the contract because it doesn't contain reforms of the city's costly pension program. Other council members thanked police officers for reopening their contract and reducing their pay raises even though they didn't have to.

The new contract will give officers an 11 percent raise spread out over five years instead of the nearly 9.3 percent raise they were due Sept. 30. The deal, which was overwhelmingly approved by POA members, will save the city $7.6 million this year and $15 million over the next five years.

"Your comments are the epitome of the dysfunction we've dealt with," James told DeLong. "Don't slap these people (police officers) in the face. This needs to pass with a 9-0 vote. They deserve it."

DeLong responded that he had tried to reach James on Monday to inform him of his decision and that he doesn't like to "blindside" people, but O'Donnell interrupted DeLong, saying: "Why didn't you tell us?"

As DeLong and O'Donnell began to argue and Mayor Bob Foster tried to silence O'Donnell for speaking out of turn, O'Donnell shouted out: "This is grandstanding."

The council approved the POA contract 8-1, with DeLong dissenting.

A few minutes ago, more than 100 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 3,800 city of Long Beach employees, took their seats in the Council Chambers of Long Beach City Hall. The union had a rally and march beforehand and are here to put pressure on the City Council to give them a good contract.

City officials have been negotiating pay concessions with five different unions that have contractual pay raises going into effect at the end of the month. Two weeks ago, the Long Beach Police Officers Association announced it had approved a deal that will give officers an 11 percent raise spread out over five years instead of the nearly 9.3 percent raise they were due Sept. 30. The deal, which the council will vote on today, will save the city $7.6 million this year and $15 million over the next five years.

However, the IAM is unhappy with the progress of its negotiations. Union officials say they have offered city management a deal that would save Long Beach $8.5 million, but that city officials say it isn't enough. So, the IAM will be protesting today what they say is a budget that will be balanced on the backs of city workers.

To eliminate the $38.3 million general fund deficit, city officials are banking on $18 million in savings through employee concessions in the form of forgone pay raises. If the city can't reach a deal with its unions, that may mean further layoffs or citywide furloughs.

In a surprisingly quick and efficient budget hearing this afternoon, the Long Beach City Council approved the 2010 fiscal year budget that includes $38.3 million in general fund cuts.

After last week's budget negotiations during which council members found agreement on which programs to restore, there were few arguments and little prosthelytizing today. The council unanimously approved the remaining budget measures and threw out a few new restorations, including fully restoring Marine Rescue Boat 3, which had been slated to be cut.

The council is now in closed session discussing union negotiations (which aren't exactly going great -- see an earlier post from today) and later is scheduled to vote on a new police contract that will save the city money this year.

Read the full story later today at www.presstelegram.com.

The deadline is here. The Long Beach City Council must approve a budget tonight, or City Manager Pat West's proposed budget will automatically go into effect, per the City Charter.

Check out this Press Corps blog and the Press-Telegram news page for updates throughout the evening about the city workers' rally, council votes and the budget plan that is ultimately approved. It could be another late night tonight, but we will keep you informed.

The council will have a budget hearing at 3:30 p.m., followed by a closed session at 4:30 p.m., the regular council meeting at 5 p.m. and a final budget hearing scheduled to begin no later than 7 p.m. If you're really interested, the meetings are open to the public and can be viewed live on Charter Communications Channel 8, Verizon FiOS Channel 21 or online at www.longbeach.gov.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 3,800 city of Long Beach employees, are planning to rally at 4:15 p.m. today at Cedar Avenue and Broadway, then march to City Hall, 333. W. Ocean Blvd., to protest the budget before the 5 p.m. meeting. City officials have been negotiating pay concessions with five different unions that have contractual pay raises going into effect at the end of the month.

Two weeks ago, the Long Beach Police Officers Association announced it had approved a deal that will give officers an 11 percent raise spread out over five years instead of the nearly 9.3 percent raise they were due Sept. 30. The deal, which the council will vote on today, will save the city $7.6 million this year and $15 million over the next five years.

However, the IAM is unhappy with the progress of its negotiations. Union officials say they have offered city management a deal that would save Long Beach $8.5 million, but that city officials say it isn't enough. So, the IAM will be protesting today what they say is a budget that will be balanced on the backs of city workers.

To eliminate the $38.3 million general fund deficit, city officials are banking on $18 million in savings through employee concessions in the form of forgone pay raises. If the city can't reach a deal with its unions, that may mean further layoffs or citywide furloughs.

Read this article in English here.

Tal vez leyeron en mi columna hoy que entre los programas que podrían terminar en el presupuesto de Long Beach, uno es el "simulcast" en español para ver las juntas del Ayuntamiento Municipal en la television.

Los consejeros Robert Garcia y Tonia Reyes Uranga, quienes son los dos latinos del consejo, dijeron el martes que estaban preocupados que este programa, lo cual cuesta $37,000, podría terminar y pidieron que el gestión del gobierno municipal traten de salvarlo. Sin embargo, el ayuntamiento no tomó ninguna acción official para salvar el programa.

El "simulcast" proporciona intérpretes de español durante las juntas del ayuntamiento que transmiten en television, y parece que es un programa muy popular. El Oficial Secretario Larry Herrera reportó que un estudio que hicieron hace unos anos mostró que 4,000 hispanohablantes usan el "simulcast" para ver las juntas en español cada semana.

El ayuntamiento tiene sus últimas juntas para aprobar el presupuesto el próximo martes a las 3:30 de la tarde y continuando a las 7 de la noche. La junta ocurre en El Palacio Municipal (City Hall), 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

You may have read in my column today that among the proposed Long Beach budget cuts is an end to Spanish language simulcasts of council meetings.

Council members Robert Garcia and Tonia Reyes Uranga, the two Latinos on the council, raised concerns Tuesday about eliminating the $37,000 program and asked city management to find a way to save it. However, the council took no formal action to save the program.

The simulcast provides Spanish interpreters during the council meeting television broadcasts, and apparently is quite popular. City Clerk Larry Herrera reported that a study conducted several years ago showed that 4,000 people use the simulcast service each week to watch council meetings.

Speaking of Spanish speakers, I've translated this entry into Spanish so they can learn about this as well. Click here for that blog entry.

As Long Beach City Council members went through some of the most collaborative negotiating and compromising that I have seen to come up with a viable budget plan Tuesday, an entertaining exchange occurred between Mayor Bob Foster and Councilman Gary DeLong, chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee.

After DeLong sat down and ticked off a long list of the revised budget restorations that had been agreed upon, Foster asked: "Mr. DeLong, do these balance?"

"Within $12,000," DeLong replied.

"I guess that's good enough for government," the mayor quipped, half-jokingly.

The sad thing is, when it comes to government accounting, Foster was probably right.

It wasn't heated debate, fiery dialogue or hot tempers that stoked the fires of Monday evening's Budget Oversight Committee meeting and City Council budget workshop. It was the air conditioning system, or lack thereof.

Apparently, the AC wasn't turned on for the meetings that began at 5 p.m. and ended close to 8:30 p.m. True, it is unusual for a meeting to take place in the council chambers on a Monday night. The chambers are tall and spacious, and the crowd was small, both of which probably helped the situation. But by night's end, the room was hot, humid and uncomfortable on a day when the high temperature reached 91 degrees in Long Beach. I know I was sweating, and I wasn't one of the city staffers sitting in the hot seat (no pun intended, really) as council members asked them rapid-fire questions about the budget.

Maybe that's why council members Gary DeLong and Patrick O'Donnell disappeared midway through the 6 p.m. workshop (both are part of the Budget Oversight Committee and had been there since 5 p.m.). Councilman Dee Andrews disappeared later as well, as did Mayor Bob Foster, ironically just shortly after he responded to Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, who had been complaining about the members being absent during an important budget meeting. He told there was nothing he could do to make people stay, and apparently that included himself.

Let's just hope the AC is on tonight, when budget discussions very well could go on for hours. My guess is the meeting could approach midnight. So, a plea to whoever is in charge of that "on" switch at City Hall: Sitting through hours of city budget meetings can seem like hell, but please don't make the room temperature feel like it.

Ron Nelson, executive director of the Long Beach Museum of Art, sent out an e-mail over the last few days trying to rally support to attend Monday night's City Council Budget Oversight Committee meeting as the council considers whether to support Mayor Bob Foster's proposal to eliminate funding for the museum's administration. A few members of the Museum Foundation's board and other supporters were there, but as you can read in my article today, committee chairman Councilman Gary DeLong didn't have the most sympathetic words for Nelson.

The museum director is also hoping to rally support before the council goes into closed session today at 5 p.m. to discuss the museum's property lease and other issues. Confused about why Foster would want to cut the museum's funding? It's a case of everyone showing up to eat a seven-course meal, but no one wanting to foot the bill. Read an in-depth account of the standoff in the following file: Museum of Art.doc.

Soon, the council may make a decision in an open meeting. They have about two weeks to do it, because the Sept. 15 deadline to pass the budget is growing ever closer.

Remember last year's city budget process, when city officials scheduled budget workshops and meetings right before their regular council meetings? Remember the long lines of residents who wanted to speak but ended up being rushed? Remember how council members didn't have time to ask all their questions and the budget meetings went over schedule? Remember how city management promised this year it would be different?

Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way, and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske said tonight during a community budget meeting in her 5th District that she and council members Tonia Reyes Uranga and Rae Gabelich tomorrow will release a statement calling for at least two budget sessions each week until the council approves a budget Sept. 15.

Sure, the city has scheduled a dozen community meetings that council members and city managers are attending to explain the proposed budget, the $20.3 million in cuts that are being made, and to get feedback from residents. That seems a good step toward the promise of more transparency and public input in the budget process. But at Tuesday's budget workshop, when the council was discussing library and parks budgets, the meeting again went over, public comments had to be reduced from three minutes to two minutes and not all of the council members had time to ask their questions.

Apparently, another budget meeting, where council members would actually be able to vote and take action (not like a workshop, which is just for information and discussion), had been originally planned for later Tuesday at 7 p.m. For some reason, it was taken off the schedule, apparently, according to Schipske, without consulting the council.

Now Schipske says she and her colleagues want more meetings, actionable meetings, and enough time to get all of their questions answered -- not to mention make some budget decisions of enormous magnitude.

A few community budget meetings have already happened this month, but nine more are left, including tonight's 5th District meeting (see previous blog entry). At these meetings, which are an attempt to improve transparency in the city's budget process, city officials will explain all of the cuts that are on the table and get feedback from the community.

See the full list of the community budget meetings here.

Check out all of the proposed budget details here.

In an effort to be more transparent and to get more community input, city officials planned a series of community budget meetings this year. Tonight, 5th District residents can hear about the budget -- including a plan to close one of the fire stations in their district -- and let city officials know what they think.

The budget meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the El Dorado Park Community Center, 2800 N. Studebaker Road.

Yesterday at the city's press conference for the proposed 2010 fiscal year budget, it was revealed that Long Beach Museum of Art officials had sent City Manager Pat West a letter saying that they don't owe the city a $3 million bond payment that must be made by Sept. 1.

In response, Mayor Bob Foster said the city can't afford to pay the $569,000 that it was expected to for the museum's operating expenses. The museum may get a cool breeze from its beachfront location, but things are definitely heating up. Click the link below to read the full text of the museum letter.

LBMA letter.pdf

Check out www.presstelegram.com later today for more in-depth coverage of the issue.

The city of Long Beach's long-awaited, much-dreaded and likely to be much controversial proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year will be unveiled Thursday during a press conference at City Hall.

City Manager Pat West and Mayor Bob Foster will present the budget to members of the media. What is known is that the budget includes $20.3 million in cuts averaging 6 percent per department to help eliminate a $43.3 million general fund deficit. The remaining $23 million will be cut either through employee unions agreeing to forgo pay raises, or 26 days of furloughs or more possible layoffs, West has said.

That doesn't even count the additional millions of dollars that are expected to be lost from state take-aways. How that will be accounted for also remains to be seen.

The press conference will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, so watch www.presstelegram.com for all of the budget news as soon as the conference is over.