Archive for August, 2007
« Previous EntriesNeed to put the brakes on City raises
Thursday, August 30th, 2007Nope. City Council did not know the extent and amount of all the raises given to management before the departure of the former City Manager. To some extent, a City Manager needs to be able to evaluate and reward management employees and the politicians should stay out of the process.
However, when a city is financially […]
Heat needs to be monitored
Thursday, August 30th, 2007The City’s Health Department has issued an advisory that the current heat may cause problems for those who have health problems or for the elderly or young who can get dehydrated easily.
Last year the heat problem was compounded with power outrages that prevented people from using fans to cool off. The City responded by setting […]
Let’s Get Entrepreneurial
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007No, this isn’t the title of the Olivia Newton John song… it is also another one of those “catch phrases” being batted around in public administration circles. Literally, it means let’s get government into business.
And why not? Our own city budget indicates “lines of business” for each city department. (A phrase that bothers me some […]
Two Items in Charter that Should Have Been Fixed
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007The City Charter requires the Council to approve the annual budgets of the Water Department and the Harbor Department by July 1 or the budgets presented by these departments become the budgets for the coming fiscal year.
The City Council does not take up the issues of departmental budgets for approval until after July and has […]
Learning About Gambling In Long Beach
Sunday, August 26th, 2007Whether you support or oppose the idea of bringing legalized gambling into Long Beach, you need to read the 182 page study done in 2006 at the request of then Attorney General, Bill Lockyer.
You can access this report by clicking on it below:
State Report on Gambling
At some point, this issue will have to be put […]
Port Cruise a Success
Saturday, August 25th, 2007Thursday evening more than 80 constituents and I set sail on a brief cruise of the Port of Long Beach. The evening was perfect. The weather spectacular. The food tasty.
The purpose of the event was to introduce 5th District residents to the Port of Long Beach and to give them a guided tour (courtesy of […]
Let’s Get Out of Our Silos
Saturday, August 25th, 2007Ah, it’s time to examine one of the new “themes” in organizational theory and behavior being batted around in public administration — “we need to get departments out of their ’silos.’” Let’s examine this concept and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Silos are very interesting things. In reality they are storage structures for storing […]
Closed Session Ain’t So Closed
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007The Brown Act allows legislative bodies to deliberate in closed session under specific circumstances and then to report out publicly the results if action is taken in closed session.
Since being on the City Council, it has been my unpleasant experience on several occasions to pick up the local newspaper or read a webzine and only […]
Budget Bad News
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007Last night in City Council, we heard a presentation on our infrastructure needs in the City. Didn’t take an expert to tell us that our streets, sidewalks, trees, alleys, etc. need help. The costs for repair and maintenance are beyond anything the City can afford.
It was depressing to hear our City staff present their recommendations […]
Congrats to New City Manager, Pat West
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007The City Council has announced its selection of a new City Manager, Pat West and I would hope that everyone in this City will welcome Pat (although he is no stranger to the City) and congratulate him on his new position as City Manager.
Pat has a great appreciation of the need to move our City forward […]