Recommendation to direct City Manager to implement mandatory General Fund budget saving targets for Fiscal Year 2018 for all departments at the maximum level possible without eliminating jobs or programs. Further, direct City Manager to work with the Department of Financial Management to provide a mid-year progress report of such budget savings efforts to the City Council.
And the next out of turn, we're going to take item 23. Click we read the item. Sure. It's long. I can try. Communication from Councilwoman Mongo and Vice Mayor Richardson. Recommendation to direct the city manager to implement mandatory general fund budget saving saving targets for fiscal year 2018 and direct city manager to work with the Department of Financial Management to provide a mid-year progress report. So I want to thank the community for the overwhelming support and feedback that this Council is doing a fiscally appropriate job in setting out goals and targets so that we can fend off the currently anticipated shortfalls in the next fiscal year. We want realistic opportunities for savings, and we look forward to working hand in hand with our department partners to ensure that the future ahead is bright and that no city services will be cut in the future fiscal years. Because we know that those are the kinds of services that our quality of life is dependent on. Vice Chair. Vice Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember. And I second this motion strongly. I think we all know we've seen the three projections that we may have to make some difficult decisions in the years to come. You know, having worked in the city through some very difficult budget years, I remember those those were tough choices. And so as we, you know, adopt a budget tonight, I think we immediately look to the future by identifying ways to sort of balance our budget next year and diminish limit the impact of the programs that are important to all of us by starting to identify those efficiencies today. You know, this is a tool. I think this is a smart tool. So thank you, Councilwoman Mongeau, and all the budget staff and city manager staff that have advised our advisors through this conversation. The budget savings target is a great tool to start. You know, with the carrot approach, you get to set a target, keep that money in your budget, but try to find ways where you can spend a little bit less without major impacts to staff or major impacts the program to where in a year from now. When we come back, the homework has been done. So we're taking the problem of stretching over a year and figuring it out over a year's time, because we know that this budget conversation, it comes up on it pretty quick every year. So it has my strong support. I encourage the city council and city staff to really embrace this and build support. Thank you. I actually have had some dialog with some of our department heads already and they did targets even this year and created some scenarios before we knew where we were. And so some of them are already a year down a path and hopefully halfway to the new goal. So we like to set ambitious goals so that we can achieve them. So I urge my colleagues to support this item. Public comment. Oh, public comment on this item. See CNN. She? I was saying this time I got a public comment on the part that he moved without eliminating jobs or programs. Well, as a black man in Long Beach, too many jobs for black folks. Everywhere I look, black folks sitting around doing nothing. But everywhere I see you can almost look at it. You can't always tell who's illegal and who's not. But everybody who has a job seems to be Hispanic. Is that your doing, mayor? I'm pretty sure he didn't do it, so I didn't do it. So the thing is, is what I'm here to ask you as mayor is when are you going to try to help black folks out? When are you going to do it? Yes. Rhetorical. Because I really don't think you're trying to do it. You know, so I'm here to represent that. Help us, Mr. Mayor, because you go about Section eight office. Look right across this all over. When you walk right out here, when you walk right out here, they're laying right by the library. You got those? You passed $225 million bills. I went with my camera asking and nobody heard nothing. They couldn't get in shelters. Right. So I don't know where the hell that money's going to. So you got the we fought a civil rights movement. We came over as slaves and we ain't got work. We came here to work and we ain't got work. This ain't the white man's fault. You talk about the gentrification, all the little groups that you find in everything. This is your fault. You're the mayor. The white people seem to be on Main Street with cops. They got a problem, just like the black people. But that's your problem. I just did a thing over of Chair in the Alamo, and there was a three foot dam high. There's so much. This place is starting to look like what? This place is looking like. What? You got people up and down. Cherry Guy Cab. You can't even be a citizen. He's selling watermelons. Ever since. I've been living here for four and a half years, and everybody got to see him. But let me get my ass out there with a barbecue pit. See if I can stay out there for two days. Get out of here. So maybe I should start selling barbeque fried chicken and potato salad out there and see, you know, see if you protect me. I know you've had to pass it. So what I'm saying is I'm asking you to make sure there's some justice. Justice? You see something legal? You drive around this place, you see this ghetto that you make. And I never heard of a Republican get all my life. And I say these Republicans, we have a PR angle, miss. No names start voting like Republicans and act like Republicans because well, we call them as rhinos when you vote like that. You vote everywhere with a Democrat and a liberal. First of all, Democrats have nothing for black folks in Iowa. How many years away? I'm just saying, change your ways as far as brothers. Start helping brothers and Republicans start acting like you and Janine Pearce leave town or something. That's what you need to do and change your ways. Do something for somebody else. Thank you for your time. Senior Fellow Public Comment. Members cast your vote. Motion carries item 1.1 to recommendation to adopt the budget oversight committees proposed funding recommendations as amended to the fiscal year 18 proposed budget. And I will read those now. So as mentioned, Budget Oversight Committee, the budget process has changed considerably over the last several years.