Long Beach OKs budget; Property tax boost expected

The Long Beach City Council has approved a $79.2-million budget that will raise the property tax levy by 3.16 percent.

The vote, split 3-2 along party lines, came on Tuesday after the council's Democratic minority offered amendments that were rejected by the council's Republican coalition as last-minute posturing.

The residential tax rate could increase by as little as 1.98 percent or as much as 3.67 percent, depending on whether the State Legislature shifts a portion of the local tax burden to commercial property owners, City Manager Charles Theofan said.

Councilman Mike Fagen, a Democrat, proposed to institute a wage freeze rather than grant tens of thousands of dollars in raises to some department heads and to abolish the police department's marine unit and reassign officers to patrol.

He said all the changes would have cut expenses by a projected $600,000.

Councilwoman Mona Goodman, a Republican, asked why he didn't propose the changes earlier, since the tentative budget was released last month. "Here we are in the eleventh hour and you've proposed amendments that are at best political rhetoric," she said, adding that the Republican coalition held the line on taxes or lowered them in the four years they'd held the majority.

Fagen said he was unable to present changes earlier because city officials had not given him some information.

"It's an embarrassment that this council refuses to go back to work when we have five days" before the deadline to approve the budget.

Under state law, the budget must be passed by May 30. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Theofan provided estimates of annual tax bill increases for several types of residences.

The typical West End bungalow would see a $64 increase; an average single-family house, $78; a two-family home, $110; and a luxury waterfront house or condo, $277.