As I said before, we are going to be facing a deep recession/depression worldwide.
Locally the Oil Producers are having their own problems with Oil priced at $0. We have 35 plus tankers waiting in the ocean just as containers for the oil we have already pumped. The estimate per day per ship is $150,000.00. Obviously, we cannot absorb that cost expenditure for long.

1.) Stop oil production in Long Beach. (It makes no sense to pump out oil when no one is buying it and we have no place to store it. There is a gigantic reduction in the demand for gasoline, so the refineries are not processing at the rate they once were. )
2.) Continue to pump the 1 ½ barrels of seawater into the oil caverns per usual as part of the mandate of the Tidelands Trust Fund. We still have areas of Long Beach which have not risen to the level the City was in 1929. With the coming Sea Level Rise, it makes sense to build up our land as we have done since 1931.
3.) Stop all projects except the pumping of seawater in the caverns which are in any way dependent upon the Tidelands Trust Fund. These would include the Belmont Pier, Belmont Pool, Snack shack (embarrassingly costing over $9 million dollars). All projects dependent upon TTF funding just can’t be done anymore. We will not get out of this financial crisis for quite some time.
4.) Stop all vanity projects funded with any kind of general fund money. ( Artificial Grass in Eldorado Park) Concession Stand projects in Eldorado Park. (Those businesses will not survive well, and the cost to the City is unsustainable)
5.) Re-evaluate all projects being funded by the general fund. This is not an easy suggestion. It would mean re-examining our priorities. Shall we fund salaries, pensions, benefits or shall we use the money on new park enhancements and Road Diets? I suggest all Complete Streets Projects halt immediately. I would recommend bringing Broadway back to a usable business corridor, as we will need every small business in town to supply money to the City. Intentionally destroying a business corridor is insane in the best of times. In the bad times, it is beyond insane, it is just outright stupid.
6.) We must re-examine all these new policies that cost us money. Nothing was State Mandated per se. I read all of the documentation Christopher Koontz kindly gave me, and the State makes suggestions as to what we ought to do. There are no concrete Mandates within the LUE or Complete Streets or Vision Zero. At this time with no anticipated new money coming into the General Fund, and most likely a huge decrease in that funding, we cannot pursue those agenda items. We must focus on getting through this intact.
7.) Stop all anti-business and anti-property owner revenue-generating code enforcement. We must assist and sustain all businesses including rental business if we are to survive this financial crisis. I realize that the City is just thinking of revenue generation, but to continue that policy is to set the foundations of our future prosperity against the City. Folks will navigate their own survival, and if we are not common sense friendly during this downturn, people will simply sell and move. When the City’s motives are just to make money and not help our people, they set up a dynamic that will sour the consciousness of our people.
8.) Whether we like it or not, we will have to re-evaluate all positions working for the City. I believe it will become clear that we will not be able to afford and provide benefits to all the more than 6000 employees we have in the City at present. Common Sense informs us that we must adjust. Also, it is clear that the actual workforce is far more important than the middle management staff. I am truly sorry for the consequences here, but this City has so far overextended itself for years that we have no cushion to handle such ongoing expenses.
9.) Forego all “Golden Parachute” severance packages. This is a critical time and we cannot afford those.
10.) Stop the practice of giving City cars to management. We will not be able to afford the perks.
11.) Re-examine our infrastructure policies. Currently, our Staff tells us that “We do the worst streets last”. From now on, we must only do those “worst” streets and areas for repair. Paving 2nd Street in Belmont Shores 3 times in 10 years won’t fly.
12.) Give up the alternative transport supplemental payments. If we get bikes actually for free, fine, but we cannot afford to pay Peddle Movement for their services. This project was sold to us as free. It is time to keep that promise. Give up the E -scooter program for now. That program was for tourists for the most part and we will not have a resurgence of tourism for some time across the globe.
13.) Stop all “freebies” to developers and abatement of taxes. I believe this will be mostly a moot point as there are only 2 developments in the docket at present and no more pending.
14.) Halt any and all overtime above 10 percent for any department including the police unless an emergency has been declared by the City Council.
There are plenty of active things we can do also, but I will put those on another post.