Long Beach dept. heads cut nonsalary costs

Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman said the city is saving close to $1 million without cutting jobs or salaries as it enters its fourth quarter.

Schnirman sent a memo to the city's department heads last Wednesday asking each to cut 25 percent in nonsalary lines from what remains of their current fiscal year budget -- and to do it by the following day. The city's fiscal year ends June 30.

"If you cannot reach your targets, I will instruct the comptroller to reduce your department's budget to meet the target," the memo read.

As of Friday afternoon the total savings hadn't been tallied, but Schnirman said the results were staggering. Cutting 25 percent of nonsalary expenses from the last three months of the city's budget would have meant saving roughly $375,000, he said. But comptroller Jeff Nogid said early Friday that the savings would be closer to $1 million -- with some department heads proposing cuts in excess of 25 percent.

"It's very helpful in stopping the bleeding, so to speak," Schnirman said Friday.

Two weeks ago, city officials projected a $10.25 million deficit for the current fiscal year, which had a budget of $83 million, after ending 2010-11 with a $107,000 surplus. Later that week, Moody's Investors Services confirmed that it's considering a further downgrade of the city's debt to junk status. And last Tuesday, the City Council approved $6 million in revenue anticipation notes to cover operating expenses and payroll.

Schnirman said any savings would go directly toward closing the deficit. "This is an important step in the process to identify immediate savings as we come back from the deficit, and as we enter the budget process," he said.

The bulk of the proposed cuts came from new Public Works Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba, who said he managed to slash more than $500,000, representing more than 30 percent of the department's nonsalary budget for the remainder of the year, largely by trimming lines from the sewer and masonry budget.

"We took a departmental approach as opposed to each division," LaCarrubba said. "Because we're responsible for getting the beach and boardwalk ready for the summer, there are areas we can't cut."

In the police department, Commissioner Michael Tangney said he identified $64,000 in savings, with almost $30,000 coming from the budget line dedicated to uniforms.

"It's a very tough time, the city's in dire financial straits and tough cuts had to be made," Tangney said. "You want to make sure you give back every dime possible, but you can't compromise the mission."