Upcoming City Council Meeting Highlight
The August 20 City Council was cancelled due to lack of quorum. There will be a Budget Oversight Committee (BOC) held at 1:00 pm at City Hall. The BOC will hear the following items of interest:
Item #2: Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the status of oil abandonment and structural reduction on reliance and oil revenues strategy, inclusive of the current state and budgetary dependance on General Fund and Tidelands Fund.
Item #3: Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on an overview of the Tidelands Fund Group and on the current state and budgetary dependance on General Fund and Tidelands Fund.
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Summary of Previous City Council Meeting
On Tuesday, August 13, the City Council heard the following topics of interest:
Item #29: Recommendation to conduct a Budget Hearing to receive and discuss an overview of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Budget for the departments of Police and Fire. Added on Friday, the City Council also heard presentations about the budgets for Public Works and Parks, Recreation, and Marine. See the presentation here.
Councilmember Duggan commended the Long Beach Police Department for their focus on violent crime, and she asked LBPD to look at additional resources to increase traffic enforcement focusing on traffic safety concerns. Councilmember Duggan also asked LBPD to work with the Health Department to increase education and enforcement on e-bikes and mini gas-powered bikes for improved safety on our roads and Beach Bike Path.
For Public Works, Councilmember Duggan highlighted the proposed expansion of the Concrete Team to better address broken curbs, sidewalks, and ramps. She also highlighted the focus on filling potholes, and adding parking control checkers to focus on nights and weekends. Councilmember Duggan also highlighted the proposed $500,000 in the budget for Neighborhood Safety Improvements projects, and expressed her desire to double this amount to make sure every district has funding to implement at least one traffic calming measure. Capital budgets were not discussed at this hearing.
For the Fire Department, Councilmember Duggan stated the need for more of a focus on boater safety, citing boating accidents that occurred in Alamitos Bay this past year.
For Parks, Recreation, and Marine, Councilmember Duggan highlighted the transition to solar-powered floating trees in Alamitos Bay, which will also allow for faster set up and break down. Councilmember also stated the City should be providing trash cans, restrooms, and parking enforcement support during the holiday season since the City promotes the floating trees as a regional attraction. Councilmember Duggan also asked for PRM to look at enhancing maintenance along our greenbelts.
*This is not a complete account of all of Councilmember Duggan's discussion points.
Item #40: Recommendation to request City Council to take an official position in support of the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, And Prevention Now Citizens’ Initiative. This item is to support a ½ cent sales tax increase to replace an existing ¼ cent sales tax measure to fund affordable and homeless housing projects. Councilmember Duggan raised concerns this item used procedures reserved for urgent, time-sensitive items to bypass typical noticing requirements for agenda items. With this item related to the November election, Councilmember Duggan stated the City has the time to inform residents of the discussion and seek input on this sales tax measure before taking a position. This item passed 6-1 (Duggan opposed).
Item #41: Recommendation to request City Council approve a support position on Proposition 4. This is a $10 billion statewide climate bond. This item was added to the agenda late Friday. Councilmember Duggan stated she typically doesn’t support large bonds, but District 3 has several major projects related to water quality, sea level rise, and urban stormwater runoff that are critical to the future quality of life of our residents and that will benefit from additional state funding. This item passed unanimously.
All City Council, Committee, and Commission agendas can be found here.
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