Long Beach officials have released the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, outlining a series of spending reductions and operational changes intended to address a $58.2 million General Fund shortfall.

If approved, the proposal would affect multiple city departments and services, including library hours, parking rates, city staffing, Fire Engine 14 and several homelessness and recreation programs.

It’s important to note that this is a proposed budget, not a final one. The City Council will review the proposal over the coming weeks before voting on a final budget.

Residents who want to review the complete budget documents can do so on the City’s FY 2027 Proposed Budget webpage.

Why is the city proposing these changes?

According to the proposed budget, Long Beach is facing a $58.2 million structural General Fund shortfall.

The budget attributes the shortfall to rising personnel costs, slower revenue growth, increased legal costs, the loss of some outside funding and the continued use of reserve funds in previous years to balance the budget.

What is being proposed?

The proposed budget contains hundreds of pages of department-by-department recommendations. Some of the proposals that would have the most visible impact on residents include the following.

Fire Engine 14

The proposed budget calls for eliminating Fire Engine 14.

According to the budget, Engine 14 responds to the fewest fire calls in the city, while approximately 87% of calls from that station are medical calls. The station’s rescue unit would remain in service, while neighboring fire companies would respond to fire incidents.

Mayor Rex Richardson’s recommendations do not restore Fire Engine 14. Instead, the mayor recommends restoring a separate proposal involving a rotating fire engine.

Library hours

The proposed budget would return the following neighborhood libraries to five-day service by closing on Mondays:

• Bay Shore Neighborhood Library
• Burnett Neighborhood Library
• El Dorado Neighborhood Library
• Harte Neighborhood Library
• Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library

According to the budget, Monday service at these libraries began at the start of Fiscal Year 2023. Under the proposal, they would return to their previous five-day schedule.

The Mayor’s recommendations include additional funding for library materials and programming, but do not propose restoring Monday service.

Parking rates

The proposed budget would increase city parking meter rates from $2 to $3 per hour.

According to the budget, the proposal also includes installing additional parking meters around City Hall, Lincoln Park, the courthouse and Ocean Boulevard.

The city says the additional revenue would support Public Works needs, including streetlight repairs, median maintenance, weed abatement and related improvements.

City staffing

The proposed budget includes the elimination or restructuring of hundreds of city positions across multiple departments.

Because the budget has not been adopted, the final number of employees affected will not be known until the budget process is complete and personnel actions occur through the city’s civil service process.

WRAP after-school program

The proposed budget would eliminate the City’s participation in the WRAP after-school program at seven Long Beach Unified School District campuses.

According to the city, student programming would transition to other providers, with no impact on student programming.

Homeless services

The proposed budget includes reductions to several homelessness programs following the loss of outside funding.

Among the proposed changes are:

• Reducing motel voucher shelter rooms.
• Reducing rapid rehousing assistance.
• Reducing some outreach services.

According to the budget, the city is seeking to preserve shelter beds while reducing other services.

The proposed budget also includes investments

While the proposed budget includes reductions in several areas, it also includes ongoing investments.

Among them are:

• Structural funding for the existing 12-member High Crime Focus Team, which has operated using one-time funding over the past three years. Under the proposal, the team would receive structural funding through the reallocation of existing officers supported by Measure A.
• Funding to replace an existing police helicopter. According to the budget, the replacement would be funded through $1.5 million in asset forfeiture funds, $5 million in State Citizens’ Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant funding and debt financing for any remaining funding gap.

According to the city, these investments rely on Measure A, grants, capital funds, enterprise funds, fee revenue and other restricted funding sources, rather than new unrestricted General Fund allocations.

The mayor has recommended changes

After the proposed budget was released, Mayor Rex Richardson issued his own recommendations.

Among them are recommendations to:

• Restore the proposed rotating fire engine.
• Structurally restore four patrol officer positions.
• Restore two Quality of Life officer positions.
• Provide one-time overtime funding for Quality of Life officers supporting weekly cleanup efforts along the Los Angeles River.
• Provide one-time overtime funding for the High Crime Focus Team and increased traffic enforcement.
• Restore teen programming at Chavez Park.
• Restore several public health and homelessness-related positions and programs.
• Provide additional funding for library materials and programming.

These recommendations will be considered by the City Council as part of the budget process.

What happens next?

The proposed budget will move through public meetings, study sessions and City Council hearings before a final budget is adopted.

That means the proposals outlined above could change before the budget receives final approval. The proposed budget outlines significant changes across city government as officials work to address a $58.2 million General Fund shortfall.

Over the coming weeks, the City Council will review both the proposed budget and the Mayor’s recommendations before adopting a final budget.