Writing Shotgun

DON’T LIVE SO LONG

Theo DouglasTue. June 03
 

And other solutions to the high cost of pensions, and the city’s financial straits

Maybe it was the chicken in a red-wine reduction talking, but a packed room of business owners this afternoon got a handful of dire predictions at the East Anaheim Street Business Alliance’s (EASBA) annual luncheon.

The occasion was a panel discussion of the economy, sparked by prepared questions from EASBA folk. But really, it was just an excuse for four men on the panel to do most of the talking–Long Beach Councilmen Gary DeLong and Patrick O’Donnell, City Manager Pat West, and George Economides, publisher of the Long Beach Business Journal–and keep the focus relentlessly on the city’s financial straits. As it should be.

The city’s tight financial pinch came to the fore in almost every answer–even in opening remarks from the Fourth District’s O’Donnell, who predicted a balanced budget and said the council wouldn’t pass anything else.

Third District Councilman Gary DeLong, chair of the city’s Budget Oversight Committee, said plainly several times that some city services will be going under the knife as Long Beach struggles to balance the books before Sept. 30, the end of the Fiscal Year.

“We’re not going to be able to fund everything, and there are some special interest groups that are going to be very disappointed when their funding is cut,” DeLong said. The panel’s third question was how to save services in the face of the city’s projected $11 million deficit, and the councilman made his priorities clear–after noting that that number has already risen to $17.1 million.

“Public safety and the infrastructure,” DeLong said. “After that, things start tapering off. There’s going to be a number of cuts and a number of programs that are going to go away. We haven’t taken that entrepreneurial approach in the past, and we absolutely need to. I think there is an opportunity to cut expenses that have needed to be cut for a long time.”

He wasn’t the only person making dark pronouncements. The Journal’s Economides forecast even bigger problems ahead unless the city revisits its pension situation.

“Salary, salary; pensions, pensions: the two biggest expenditures,” Economides said, taking aim at Long Beach Police Department retirement costs.

“They’re going to live a long time retiring at age 50 and we’re paying them,” the publisher said of Long Beach police officers. “I predict if the City Council doesn’t tackle the pension issue, the city will file for bankruptcy within 10 years.”

Pat West was next on the mike, and he said he understood. “I will take this back to our city employees and ask them not to live as long,” West said jokingly, and the room erupted in applause.

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  • lbresident
    Say what you want about DeLong, he is a very good person to be leading the city's budgeting process. Public safety and infrastructure. Let's hope he is able to keep that vision.
  • Jim
    In a time of an economic down turn, I am glad to see redevelopment money being spent on buying up land throughout the city. Lots of white picket fences around the city. I bet they paid top dollar before the property lost value. No one is blaming them… better start blaming the public safety. Oh wait, other cities that are run better and are not facing a budget deficit are sure to hire up your public safety employees. Glad to see that those that make the decisions want to see the public safety employees die off. Maybe the public safety employees should just leave to other cities... maybe they are already doing this. I bet the other cities will have no problems paying their pensions.
  • Lindaonline
    Looks like Gary is setting us up to back the mayor's unpopular infrastructure bond. The only way the public will go for placing the city in such debt is if we feel the pain. Until he makes us cry uncle.
  • lbresident
    I guess it depends on who you talk to. I know lots of people who support the bond. Infrastructure is the number 1 problem for many in LB and it's about time we spend some money to fix it. In conjunction, we need to cut spending on everything that isn't infrastructure or public safety.
  • JuanPardell
    lbresident - Did they explain to you that a bond is just another instrument for adding debt to a city budget that's already operating in the red? Long Beach's crumbling infrastructure, would have been repaired, had city leaders allocated the necessary funding instead of appropriating monies for the Aquarium, Pike and Cityplace failures.
  • lbresident
    I'm well aware of the bad decisions that got us where we are. I already said let's cut the dumb things we spend money on like subsidized housing, daycare, etc.

    But we still need our infrastructure fixed. How will that happen in my lifetime without the bond?
  • Roy
    It's too late, the public safety guys are starting to leave again. The budget issues never end, even when the economy is in good shape. LBPD doesn't seem to care who works there as long as there is an officer to drive that car around the city. Let's get the county sheriff in here to take thing over.
  • JuanPardell
    Cut back on bloated management staff and use that money to pay for infrastructure improvements.
  • Roy
    Juan, I agree....Far too many managers....and everyone in the city has a take home car....why? Do you have any idea how much money that would save the city, with gas prices and all!!!!!!
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