Saving $125.5 Million

Tonight, the City Council approved a pension reform agreement with the International Association of Machinists, our largest bargaining group. This agreement will help preserve key services, such as police, fire, parks, and libraries by saving $11.8 million per year and $125.5 million through 2023.

I fought for pension reform to occur this year because I knew how important it is to preserving our quality of life. The budget math is simple: without this reform, we would have had to suffer through $125.5 million in additional service cuts in order to live within our means. This reform is fair to both employees and residents as it prevents layoffs and position cuts that would have hurt everybody.

I want to personally thank the city employees who ratified this agreement. Week in and week out, you work to make this a better city. Tonight you further served the community with these pension reforms. While we will still have to make tough decisions to balance our budget, tonight is a positive step forward. I will continue to work toward prudent financial decisions on your behalf for the best possible city.

Finally, please join me for a tree planting to kick-off the grant we were recently awarded by the Port of Long Beach.  We will be at Silverado Park on Saturday, January 26th at 10:00 a.m.  The kick-off celebration will include the planting of 50 trees along the parkways near Silverado Park. This marks the first of the 6,000 trees to be planted.