Despite objections, Long Beach passes budget

Long Beach's City Council passed an $88 million budget -- and an associated tax increase -- after an intense hearing Tuesday night, despite protest from residents and union members.

The city's spending plan, designed to close a yawning budget gap, raises taxes by 7.9 percent at a time when Long Beach has grappled with a projected $10.25 million deficit.

The adopted budget was a revised version of an earlier spending plan that would have raised taxes by more than twice as much.

But dozens of residents -- including a strong contingent of the Civil Service Employees Association -- spoke against the budget.

Some residents contended the tax raise was still too high, while others said the public hadn't been given enough time to digest the revised proposal, which was aired for the first time at 7 p.m.

Many union members also said the city's plan to lay off 38 workers, after announcing 67 other layoffs last week, was too punitive against workers.

The City Council members needed to "get back to the table to save as many jobs as they can," said John Mooney, Long Beach's CSEA president.

The hearing was the second of two planned budget hearings. The city was required by state law to approve a budget by the end of the month.

The city council approved the budget by a count of 3-2 late Tuesday night.

Councilmen Michael Fagen and John McLaughlin said the city should have attempted to take more time to review the budget proposal and tried to save jobs.

"We need to take that time to sit down and get all the unions together," McLaughlin said. "Everybody sit at the same table and get something done."

City Manager Jack Schnirman said the city was able to scale back the proposed tax increase from 16 percent to 7.9 percent via lag payroll, demotions and early retirements, among a host of other savings. The city also proposed a union giveback package that would have saved $2.16 million, but it was rejected by the union, he said.

CSEA officials said they did not receive the giveback proposal until Sunday night, leaving them without enough time to negotiate.

Schnirman said the budget gives the city -- long wracked by budget woes -- a chance at fiscal solvency.

"Then City Council has before it, for the first time in several years, a balanced budget," he said.

The original 16 percent tax increase would have raised taxes for the owner of an average home from $2,475 to $2,904. The new proposal would raise taxes by about half that amount.

The City Council also voted to pierce the state-mandated tax cap, which was necessary to pass the budget.