Grunion Gazette Features "Open Up Long Beach"

Check out Grunion Gazette's latest article on my efforts to open up Long Beach city government to make it more transparent and accountable.

Don't forget our February 6th launch of OPENUPLONGBEACH. Please attend and help this important effort.

Schipske to Remain Focused on Council Work Until 2014 -- Says State of City Needs to Be Improved

January 24, 2012 – Long Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske today issued the following statement concerning her plans for the next two years:

“I want to thank those who have encouraged me to run for higher office. Your support and confidence are gratifying. However, many people also have come forward and urged me to continue my work on the City Council – being a voice of reason and asking the questions that need to be answered and bringing the community together through events, forums and discussions. 

The City of Long Beach faces  incredible challenges due in no small part to actions taken in Sacramento:  the release of criminals back into our community and the State Legislature’s elimination of redevelopment – which impacts more than 40% of Long Beach.  

In the first three weeks of the new year, Long Beach has experienced a dozen or more shootings – several of which were murders. Residential burglaries are up in my district. Our Police force is spread thin because of budget cuts – which I voted against. Our Fire department is using staff from the Westside of the city to cover the eastside – which I voted against. City employees in every department are stretched thin and services reduced – again which I voted against. Instead of using increases in oil revenues to restore cuts to public safety and quality of life services – as I proposed – these monies will be spent on one time special ‘projects.’ 

Additionally, public trust of government is at an all time low and needs to be restored by making all levels open, transparent and accountable. To make the City of Long Beach more transparent, accountable and collaborative – I have just announced the launch of OpenUpLongBeach.com – a project to involve residents in making certain this happens.

For these reasons, I have decided to continue to focus my attention on serving the City of Long Beach for the remainder of my second term on City Council. I urge residents to join me in the efforts to get more police and firefighters and to open up the City of Long Beach in order to make our local government accountable to and collaborative with its residents. Help me send the message that the ‘State of the City’ needs to be improved.”

League of California Cities Analysis on Pack Supreme Court Ruling

Click here to read an analysis of the Supreme Court decision concerning the City of Long Beach's ordinance which regulates medical marijuana collectives and why the council has been advised we need to revoke the ordinance and ban the collectives -- especially any with more than 4 members.

Teaching the Basics of Solar Energy to Our Local Students

 It is important that we teach our students the basics of solar energy so that we can stop being dependent upon fossil fuels. Part of our effort in the Solar Grand Prix is to make students aware of this important alternative energy source.

Click below and see a short video on basics of solar energy.


Solar Multimedia: Solar Power Basics

Preview of Solar Grand Prix Orientation This Weekend

Open Up Long Beach -- Why We Need to Do It

I have launched  OpenUpLongBeach.com -- a website and resident project to identify what we need to do to open up the City of Long Beach -- its records, its data, it processes and who impacts the decisions.

For instance:

• Residents trying to obtain emails of elected officials find themselves blocked because many elected officials now use private, personal emails to conduct city official business and claim it is not discoverable as a public record. If official business is being conducted on personal emails a copy of that email should be sent into the city email system to capture a record. (I do this on any email sent to me on my non city email.)
• Although elected officials must post campaign contributions they receive for city offices on the city website, they do not post on city websites the money they receive for their state or federal campaigns -- money received from those who have are doing business with the city or who have a financial interest in the outcome of the city's decisions. The public has to expend a great deal of time searching other websites to see who has donated to our city officials.
• The current collective bargaining process tells the residents little of what is being bargained -- unlike school districts which by law have to disclose publicly in a meeting before bargaining begins so that the public gets a chance to comment on the proposals. The residents of Long Beach are given little information on the proposals until they are basically a "done deal."
• Business that wants to decide whether or not to come to Long Beach or to expand in Long Beach find little data readily available on the website. Opening the data and making it readily available in other cities has grown businesses. Entrepreneurs have developed applications that help local government use the data better.
• What does the city spend tax dollars on? The data is lumped together in the annual budget report -- but why isn't there data given every month on line? It is the taxpayers' money and several cities and states have found it helpful to post the payments and expenditures on a regular basis so that taxpayers can see where their money is going.
• Who does the city contract with for services? There is a tab on the city website where you can search. But you need to know the contract number or the day the city council approved it. How about just listing all the contracts so the average citizen can get information that is a public record?

There are many, many more examples of how we can open up Long Beach so that we can hold all elected officials accountable.

Please check out the website: OpenUpLongBeach.com and come to our first informational meeting. The public is invited.

California Supreme Court Will Hear LB Case on Medical Marijuana

Supreme Ct Medical Marijuana

2012 Solar Grand Prix Team Orientation

Long Beach, CA – The 2012 Solar Grand Prix will not happen until April 21^st, but many teams are already registered and excited to compete. Last year, the event picked up steam and saw 150 teams and over 400 students race their carefully designed and constructed cars in El Dorado Park. The Solar Grand Prix challenges local students to use scientific know-how, creative thinking, experimentation, and teamwork to design and build high-performance model solar vehicles.

This year, to enhance the overall experience for all participating teams, registration was limited to 50 middle school and 50 high school teams, with a maximum of 5 teams per school. Teams must also be comprised of exactly 4 students, with a parent or teacher serving as a coach.

Councilwoman Schipske and the 5^th District Solar and Sustainability Task Force are still encouraging students in grades 9- 12 to sign up. Registration materials may be accessed by going online to http://admin.longbeach.gov/district5/solargrandprix/.

Long Beach City College is co-sponsoring the mandatory team orientation, which will take place on Saturday, January 21^st at the school’s Liberal Arts Campus. Car kits from the Segue to Solar Online Store are supplied to the teams and paid for by event sponsors.

Should the City Council Take Over Redevelopment? We Don't Have the Money and Now We Don't Have a Choice..

As you know the State Legislature has abolished redevelopment and the California Supreme Court upheld their actions. Unless additional legislation is passed, redevelopment agencies have to be dismantled by Feb.

More than 40% of Long Beach was placed into redevelopment -- which means the tax increment from properties in these areas went back to redevelopment projects and not for use for police, fire, recreation, libraries or any other general fund service of the city. These redevelopment projects have acquired a considerable amount of debt which needs to be paid off. Additionally, the City employs 34 staff for these redevelopment efforts.

So cities are being given the choice of either assuming the assets, debts, liabilities and employees of redevelopment or turn it over to another agency or entity.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has urged the city council not to assume this risk because of the continuing shortfalls in the City of LA's general fund. The LA City Council was provided an in depth analysis of the financial costs of the City Council becoming the successor agency for redevelopment projects. Check the LA Times story about this.

Click here to read the analyses given to the Los Angeles City Council  about why the risk is too great for the city to become the successor agency for LA redevelopment:

• Letter from Mayor Villaraigosa to LA City Council
• Letter from LA City Controller to LA City Council
• 38 page analysis prepared by LA Administrative Officer
• Fiscal Impact Analysis prepared for LA City Council
• A report from the LA City Council Housing Committee

In contrast, the City Council was given a brief memo with no financial analysis and the recommendation that the Council become the successor agency. I cannot support this action unless and until the Council receives a detailed analysis and an evaluation of the risk of the City taking over millions in debt. Click here to read what Long Beach City Council has been provided.

But the most disturbing fact I have learned researching this issue, is that the City Council was supposed to act by January 13th if it (like the City of Los Angeles) wanted to opt out of assuming the risks of becoming the successor agency for Long Beach redevelopment.

The memo from the Long Beach City Manager is dated January 17th -- 4 days after the deadline for the Council to decide if it wanted to opt out.  Who decided for the City Council that we would become the successor agency? I don't recall a memo telling us of this deadline, nor the City Council taking a vote that it didn't want to opt out.

So next Tuesday, the City Council will be told, I mean get to decide, that it must assume the debt, liabilities, employees and operations of redevelopment. Stay tuned because I want to find out how it is that our City Council didn't get a full analysis of this issue and the choice to say "NO" to taking on debt we can't afford to pay.

Schipske Launches "Open Up Long Beach" Effort

Check out our new website on "Open Up Long Beach" -- a project to make the City of Long Beach more open, transparent and collaborative in 2012.


www.openuplongbeach.com