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Where To Get Real Story About Long Beach
The current focus on City Council is on the pending Fiscal
Year 2015 budget. But what won’t be discussed during these deliberations is what
is contained in the Fiscal Year 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.”
These reports are done yearly, after the budget is adopted by the Council.
In the 2013 CAFR (it is online at: http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=40391
) you will find such gems as the fact that property taxes received by the City
of Long Beach have doubled since 2004, while response times of fire service
arrival on scene for emergency calls within six minutes has gone from a high
of 73.6% of the time in 2004 to a very
low 55.1% in 2013. (Only 55 percent of the time do they arrive within the national standard of 6 minutes -- that means many times it is in excess.) Property taxes have doubled yet response times increase.
Doesn’t that bother you a little? Do you think this is acceptable? Don't you want to know why this happened and why some fire stations are still
The budget process is unfortunately structured in a way that
almost prevents in depth discussion of these issues.
The Council Public Safety Committee should be holding
meetings to discuss the fire service and police department so that the full facts get out now –
not those that are conveniently discussed after the fact.
