TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to provide a review of City Manager departments that details: a comparison of these departments pre and post the passage of Proposition 13; population trends during this period; and recommendations for consolidations, eliminations and/or reductions of these departments so that such efficiencies can be included in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget.
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach is facing a deficit exceeding $43 million in budget year 2010 and possibly an even higher deficit should the State of California take away additional revenue from the City. The City is in the process of preparing for draconian cuts in services if additional revenue cannot be located.
To date, the recommendations presented to deal with the budget deficit do not address the structural problems, which have also contributed to the imbalance between revenue and expenditures. Local government has grown since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 despite the intent of the voters that the opposite should occur.
In order to demonstrate to the residents of the City of Long Beach that the City Council is doing everything it can to balance the city's budget by putting into place efficiencies, it is critical that a review of the organizational structure of City Manager departments be undertaken with a focus of identifying those departments that can be consolidated, eliminated or reduced. These departments include: City Manager, Human Resources, Technology Services, Development Services, Community Development, Health and Human Services, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Oil and Gas, Police, Fire, Public Works, Library Services.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
COUNCILWOMAN GERRIE SCHIPSKE, FIFTH DISTRICT