Come where few in Long Beach have ever gone

You are invited to come behind the scenes with me on Jan 11 to see how Long Beach converts your trash into electricity.

Click here to sign up for this Open Up Long Beach event.

Council Approves Look at Impact on Police -- Crimes Soar to 854 in Last 30 Days

The City Council unanimously approved having the City Manager report to the Council in January on the impact that the FY 2013 budget has had on such departments as Police.

And it couldn't come soon enough. Residents are constantly reporting crimes in their neighborhoods. Although the Mayor insists Long Beach is "safe" I challenge him to review the following stats on Crimereports.com (that are reported by the LB Police Department). These stats show the number of serious crimes by zip codes: (robbery, burglary, car theft, theft from vehicles, shootings)

90801 - 263 crimes
90803 - 42 crimes
90804 - 50 crimes
90805 - 91 crimes
90806 - 109 crimes
90807 - 96 crimes
90808 - 60 crimes
90815 - 62 crimes
90814 - 132 crimes

Residential crimes are increasing. We need more police resources.

I asked the City Attorney if I could make a motion to reallocate funds ($500,000 for a consultant) to the Police and he indicated because we were asking for a report, it would not be appropriate. I will do so when the report comes back to the Council.

Schipske Asks for Report on Odor

Oil island (Photo credit: theqspeaks)

Well, they did it again. Someone or something let off a smell last week that fluctuates between rotten eggs and burning oil. No one quite explains who really is doing it and why. But it seems to happen frequently when it just rains or is overcast and I can smell it at Studebaker and Spring.

So I am asking for an official report from city management on what this is and who is doing it and whether or not it is harmful.

Here's my agenda item:

 

Discussion:

Periodically, especially when it is overcast or has just rained, there will be a strong, noxious odor with a smell that is described as natural gas, rotten egg or oil burning. When residents on the east side of Long Beach call 9-1-1 they are told a number of things concerning the source of the odor: “It’s AES burning off oil; it’s the oil operations at the oil islands burning off oil or it’s an oil tanker burning off its fuel in the harbor.”

It would be helpful if: a) the source of the smell could be confirmed; b) an assessment could be done to determine if the odor is harmful and 3) the reverse 9-1-1 be used whenever the odor occurs to alert residents that it is not harmful.

Recommendation:

By motion of the City Council, request a report from the Fire Department, Gas and Oil Properties and the AQMD regarding the source of this odor and confirmation that the odor is not harmful. Additionally, request that the reverse 9-1-1 system be used to alert residents on the eastside of the City whenever the odor occurs.

Schipske to Propose Shifting Consultant Money to Hiring Police -- Appoint a Citizen Blue Ribbon Panel to Serve as Consultants

Long Beach Police Department (California) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Schipske to Propose Using the $500,000 Approved by Council for Consultants to Restore Cuts in            Police Services– Says Mayor Should Appoint a Citizen Blue Ribbon Panel to Serve as Consultants to City Management

December 8, 2012

Long Beach, CA – Just one week after the City Council on a 5-4 vote approved spending up to $500,000 to retain Management Partners, a Cincinnati, Ohio based consulting group to advise on governmental reform, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske announced that she will make a motion during Council on Tuesday to redirect the $500,000 to the Police department in order to “restore some of the cuts that were made to the department this budget cycle.”

“Every area of the City of Long Beach is experiencing a severe increase in crime,” says Schipske who placed an item on this coming Tuesday Council agenda, asking for an update on police response times. 

“I placed the item concerning the Police response times because of the numerous complaints I received from residents who are concerned about the increases in crime. My constituents are having their homes and cars broken into constantly and are being told that due to budget cuts there are not enough police. I don’t know how anyone on the council can tell our residents that we need consultants when we don’t have enough police.”

Schipske also will propose that instead of hiring out of town consultants to review the City of Long Beach, that the Mayor should appoint a “Blue Ribbon Citizen Panel” and let them advise on how to improve City management. 

“This City has 450,000 people and among them are many talented people who know a thing or two about how to make organizations run better. Many of those people actually work for the City of Long Beach or are in the private sector that does business with the City. We also have expert faculty at our major university and community college so I am confident we can fill a ‘Blue Ribbon Citizen Panel’ quickly and without spending $500,000.”

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What Council Did Last Tuesday

There they go again...spending money we don't have and without even getting the details.

Two Really Bad Ideas on Council Agenda Tonight

Two very bad proposals were placed on the agenda that spend money we really don't have and gave authority to the City Manager to spend up to $250,000 without City Council approval.

Earlier this year, City Management hired a consultant, Management Partners, who took exactly one month while we were debating the budget, and were asked to come up with a list of issues that they feel needed to be changed.

One month is nothing to determine what a city needs and the consultants admitted they didn't really know Long Beach. The City spent $80,000 for the one month report and today on a 5-4 vote the council approved an additional $500,000 for a study that had no parameters. (By the way, City Management did not even go out for a bid to see if other consultants could perform this work for less.)

No specifics or details were given to the City Council as to what the consultants would do for $500,000 -- no proposal, no indication of the numbers of hours they would work or when we would see their work. Nothing.

When I asked if the Council would be given the contract to review, the City Manager responded "no." So I voted against the expenditure. I will be damned if I will asked to approved spending $500,000 and I can't see the contract.

What was also very troubling was the fact that as I sat in Council I went on line and found several proposals given by the same consultant to other cities with specifics as to hours, the scope of work and the timeline for completion. But somehow, the City Council in Long Beach could not be given the same information.

Oh, here's the part you will really find interesting. Councilman DeLong spoke and stated: "Isn't it true that Management Partners said it could save the City $28.8 million with their ideas?" Oh, my "yes" was the response and the $500,000 proposal was agreed to on a 5-4 vote. Really? We don't even know what they are going to do for the $500,000 but we know they can save the City $28.8 million? Why not $50 million? Why not $10 million? Amazing because Management Partners didn't promise the other cities it did reports for it could save them that kind of money.

The other motion was to increase the authority of the City Manager to make purchases up to $250,000 without City Council approval. The item was amended to $200,000 but I voted against this bad idea that raised his authority from $100,000.

In this economic situation it is fiscally unwise for a City Council to give authority to spend this level of money without oversight. I asked if any other City in California allowed their City Manager authority up to $200,000 or $250,000 and the answer was "no." I guess we're special. No information on how we are spending money and now we've upped what can be spent without our approval.

I did speak out on both of these bad ideas and pointed out that my constituents have asked repeatedly why in a City this size with the number of managers we have, we continue to hire outside consultants. By increasing the amount the City Manager can spend without our approval he can continue hiring more and more consultants.

Sometimes I think we have gone mad in this City. We don't have enough funds for police and fire, library and parks but yet we can spend $500,000 on consultants. (And almost $1 million on a tunnel design that went nowhere.) Reminds me of the story: The Emperor Has No Clothes -- everyone was so afraid of the emperor that they dare not tell him he was naked. They ooooed and ahhhed and said what a "fine garment you are wearing" instead of stepping up and telling the truth.

Let me know how you feel about these two items by emailing me at: district5@longbeach.gov.

Sincerely,

Gerrie 

Gerrie Schipske 

P.S. I  learned that the City spent almost $1 million dollars on a study and design for a tunnel that will not be built between the Police Department and the new courthouse.

Two Bad Ideas Brought to City Council

Two very wrong proposals were placed on the agenda that spend money we really don't have and to give authority to the City Manager to spend up to $250,000 without City Council approval.

City Management hired a consultant Management Partners who took exactly one month while we were debating the budget to come up with a list of issues that they feel needed to be changed. One month is nothing to determine what a city needs. The City spent $80,000 for the one month report and today on a 5-4 vote the council approved an additional $500,000 for a study that had no parameters.When I asked if the Council would be given the contract to review, the City Manager responded "no." So I voted against the expenditure. I will be damned if I will asked to approved spending $500,000 and I can't see the contract.

The other motion was to increase the authority of the City Manager to make purchases up to $200,000 without City Council approval. In this economic situation it is fiscally unwise for a City Council to give authority to spend this level of money without oversight. I asked if any other City in California allowed their City Manager authority up to $250,000 and the answer was "no."

Take a Survey on Chickens, and Goats and Bees...oh my!

Click on my survey to assess the opinion of residents concerning whether or not the City should adopt an ordinance that would allow chickens, goats and bees to be maintained in your backyards.

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e6pt8fj2ha5ik54q/start

Also check out the City's Office of Sustainability information on "Urban Agriculture" : http://www.longbeach.gov/citymanager/sustainability/urban_nature/urban_agriculture/default.asp

Sidewalks to be repaired in FY 2013

The 5th Council District has the most sidewalks of all the council districts because we have the most area due to the fact we are spread out with single family homes. Other districts are compact with apartments and condos.

Historically each council district was given the same amount of funds for sidewalk repairs even if they had the most need. I advocated for a change in that policy and now the 5th District receives the most for sidewalk repairs because we have the most needing repair.

Additionally, since taking office in 2006, I insisted that sidewalk repairs be bunched together by neighborhood instead of a shot gun approach of one here and several there. I am proud to announce that the Public Works department has adopted my system city wide. This will allow more sidewalks to be repaired each year.

Below is the latest report on the sidewalks to be repaired this budget year. Following the memo is a map showing where repairs have been made: FY 2013 Sidewalk Repairs Scheduled for district 5 Map of sidewalk repairs made in the 5th district

Schipske Asks Chief of Police for Public Report

Schipske Asks Chief of Police to Publicly Report How Much Additional Funds Needed for Police Department – Says “constituents complaining of being told by Police  ‘not enough resources’”

Long Beach, CA -- November 30, 2012 – Vice Chair of the City’s Public Safety Committee, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, today submitted an agenda item which asks the Chief of Police to publicly “report on the impact of the current budget (FY 2013) on response times of the department and to identify what additional funding is needed so that residents are assured that the police have appropriate resources.”

The agenda item comes as a result of Councilwoman Schipske learning during a recent council meeting that the Police Department needs an additional $1.5 million just to cover its overtime costs for this budget year “and an increase in the number of residential crimes in the 5^th District coupled with numerous complaints from 5^th District residents that they are being told by police that the police don’t have enough resources,” explains Schipske.

“Just recently, the City Council transferred monies which were designated for shot identification technology for use by the Police Department for overtime. When I asked the Chief what additional monies were needed to meet overtime needs of the Department, she was told in Council by the Chief that the Department needs $1.5 million,” says Schipske pointing out that FY 2013 Budget proposals for the Police Department were submitted to the Council by the City Manager and the Mayor. “At no time was the Council told by either party that current budget levels would be insufficient to maintain an adequate police presence in the City or at a level that officers in the field would need to inform residents that they lack sufficient resources.”

Schipske also recently asked the Fire Department to report on the impact of the budget on its responses times after hearing reports from firefighters how difficult it is to respond to calls for services with less staff and less equipment.

“Neither of these situations is acceptable. The City Council needs to hear in a public session what additional funds are needed now to keep this city safe.”

Schipske indicates that funding may be available from the increases in both property and sales tax revenue the city is experiencing due to an improving economy. “The recent court ruling that the County of Los Angeles owes the city money should also be considered a source for public safety. Additionally, as the city sells off properties that were once owned by Redevelopment, we need to designate the revenue from the sales for public safety.”

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Reel Recycling Signs Up

Fishing Line Recycling (Photo credit: ecotist)

As you might recall, we launched the "reel recycling" program last year which places recycling tubes near fishing spots at our lakes and piers so that fishing line and tackle can be recycled. The line and tackle are removed from the recycling tubes and sent to Berkley Fishing which recycles the materials into fishing boxes.

More importantly, the debris does wind up in the water or wrapped around a bird.

This week, we have added signs that remind anglers to place their excess line and tackle into the tubes. (Tubes? Yes. This prevents children and critters from getting into the recycled material.)

I want to thank my task force on Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands for its work on this effort and for the great staff in Parks, Recreation and Marine for putting the tubes and signs in all the best spots.

Regulating Placement of Cellphone Towers Is Hampered by Law

Angel with mobile phone (Photo credit: Akbar Sim)

The City Council again was asked to decide whether or not a cellphone tower could be placed on the roof of an apartment building. As you know, I sponsored legislation that placed a moratorium on citing cellphone towers until the city could develop reasonable regulations. That moratorium is over and cellphone companies are filing applications to place towers all over Long Beach. Unfortunately because the federal law regulates cellphone communication, the City is rather limited in what restrictions we can place. Below is an interesting legal analysis I found that explains the law and what cities can do. Local Matter or Federal Case the Network of Cell Tower Regulation in California

Come to Costco on Saturday for my booksigning

If you are out shopping this Saturday, November 24th, come on by Costco in Signal Hill for my booksigning of my third book: Early Long Beach.

5th District Challenges City on Christmas Light Contest

Christmas light 1, Embassy Theatre and Indiana Hotel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 5th Council District is challenging the rest of the city in the Christmas light contest being sponsored by Belmont Shore Patch.

The contest starts November 26th and the winner can receive $500 to pay their electric bill and $100,000 for their local schools.

Belmont Shore Patch will post videos and photographs of homes decorated in Christmas light.

If you all send your video and photograph I will post in on www.district5lights.com and then send it along to Belmont Shore Patch for entry in their contest.

Come on 5th District. You know we can do this.

Long Beach New York Needs Our Help!!

For Immediate Release

Contact: Tiffany Andrews, 562 570-6932

Long Beach, New York Needs 

Your Help to Recover

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske Calls Upon Residents to Lend a Hand or a Dollar or Two

Long Beach, CA; November 16, 2012 -- Next week is Thanksgiving and for the 37,000 residents of the city of Long Beach, New York  it will be grim day as all days have been since they were devastated during Hurricane Sandy says Gerrie Schipske, Councilwoman for the 5^th Council District in Long Beach, California.

“I had my staff contact city management in Long Beach, New York to find out why we could do,” explains Schipske. “A spokesperson for the city told my staff  they are a small town (37,000 residents) and most homes have lost their first floor. They are gutting homes and leaving debris on the street. They need the assistance of volunteers and neighboring municipalities to deal with the clean up. They are unable to accept clothing and household item donations. They need financial assistance  -  they were in a declared fiscal crisis before the storm hit.”

Schipske reminds local residents that “we are so fortunate here in Long Beach, California. Take a moment to see the video (http://youtu.be/sgkVdnxyGDk)  on the damage to Long Beach, New York and send a financial donation at: www.longbeachny.org or send to: City of Long Beach Relief,1 West Chester Street, Long Beach, NY11561.

“Let’s show them what Long Beach, California is all about!”

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