City of Long Beach Presents Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

Above: City Manager Tom Modica delivers a presentation on the City of Long Beach's Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget.

Long Beach, CA – Today, July 30, 2026, the City of Long Beach unveiled its Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 27) Budget. The $4 billion Proposed FY 27 Budget includes the City Manager's Proposed Budget, the Mayor's Recommendations to the City Council and the Proposed FY 27 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Developed amid one of the most challenging fiscal environments faced by the City in recent years, the Proposed Budget is designed to close a $58.2 million deficit, restore reserves and reflects City Council priorities, community feedback gathered through the FY 27 Budget Priority Survey and community meetings, as well as goals outlined in the Long Beach Strategic Vision 2030.

"This budget seeks to protect Long Beach's future while continuing to invest in the services our residents rely on every day. Even in a challenging fiscal environment, we have planned ahead and are prioritizing public safety, public health, neighborhood improvements and long-term infrastructure because those investments will strengthen our city for years to come," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "I appreciate the partnership of the City Council, City Manager Tom Modica and our community as we work together to keep Long Beach fiscally responsible, resilient and moving forward."

A majority of California's 10 largest cities, including Long Beach, are currently projecting budget deficits or structural imbalances, reflecting statewide and national pressures on municipal revenue. Against this challenging backdrop, the Proposed FY 27 Budget comes after five consecutive years without service reductions, the longest period in the City's recent history. Combined with rising costs for existing services, slower revenue growth from recent economic turbulence, persistent inflation, support for the Health Fund amid declining federal and state support, and increased investment in Police and Fire recruitment and retention, the City now faces a General Fund structural deficit of $58.2 million in FY 27.

"Developing this budget requires balancing significant fiscal challenges with our responsibility to deliver the essential services residents rely on," said City Manager Tom Modica. "Our proposal closes the City's structural deficit through a difficult but thoughtful, layered approach that prioritizes operational efficiencies, strategic investments and responsible financial stewardship before reducing services wherever possible. While these decisions were not easy, this budget provides a sustainable path forward. I'm grateful to our Budget Office, City employees and community members whose partnership helped shape a budget that is both responsible and forward-thinking."

An Eight-Point Strategy to Achieve Structural Balance

The FY 27 Proposed Budget closes $55.9 million of the $58.2 million structural deficit through a layered, eight-point Citywide approach:

1. Reduce management and supervisory positions before frontline services (up to $7 million and 17 full-time equivalents, or FTEs, reduced);  
2. Shift eligible costs to Measure A (public safety), grants, capital and enterprise funds (up to $14 million and 16.87 FTEs);  
3. Reduce internal administrative capacity and internal reductions of City staff in every department in the City (up to $22 million and 73.08 FTEs);  
4. Make targeted investments in high-priority services such as street medians, traffic safety, streetlights and park cleanup (up to $13 million invested);  
5. Invest in Police Department Facilities, Technology and another Police Academy to continue to increase Police hiring (up to $14 million invested)  
6. Contract out services such as parking collection and billing, reprographics and crossing guards (up to $857,000 and 25.23 FTEs);
7. Reduce services (which still remain necessary after reductions in management, internal administration and utilizing other funds), including reductions in areas such as police and fire response, library hours, youth programs, recreation services, parks maintenance, public works services, code enforcement and homelessness services (up to $33 million and 197.79 FTEs);
8. Replenish reserves, dedicating approximately $10 million to replenish prior use of reserves and ensure Long Beach has reserves for the future.

Positions Impacted

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In total, the City Manager's Proposed Budget eliminates approximately 483 positions, including 220 vacant and 263 filled positions. The City is working closely with its Human Resources Department and the Civil Service Commission to minimize workforce impacts through reassignment, transfers and attrition ahead of the fiscal year's Oct. 1 start.

Proposed FY 27 Budget Highlights
An overview is provided below; it is recommended to review the comprehensive and detailed list, including alignment with Strategic Vision 2030 themes, in the FY 27 Proposed Budget Book, specifically Attachment B and C–Summary of Budget Changes to see a list of full changes and reductions. The Community Budget Book, a condensed version of the proposed budget, is available online at longbeach.gov/fy27 , with Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog to be made available by Aug. 5.

FY 27 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Elevate '28
Included in the FY 27 Proposed Budget, the Elevate '28 Infrastructure Investment Plan has increased to $1.24 billion for more than 180 projects an increase of $152.6 million year-over-year compared to FY 26. The plan includes the below funding categories:

• Mobility & Safety Improvements: $555,219,592
• 2028 Olympic Legacy: $260,177,918
• Right-of-Way/Water Quality/Climate Action and Adaption Plan: $138,870,020
• Gold Medal Park Refresh Projects: $101,463,153
• Public Facilities: $88,264,928
• Park Improvements: $59,285,579
• Community & Cultural Investments: $19,485,263
• Critical Facilities/Grant Match Funding Reserve/Other Critical Needs: $19,101,043

A New Streets Plan for the Next Five Years
This year, the City will be proposing a new five-year streets plan as part of Renew '32, the infrastructure investment extension of Elevate '28, which outlines capital projects through 2032.  Information on the proposed streets can be found here.

Mayor's Recommendations
This year's proposed budget requires the City to make difficult choices. Structural budget pressures, rising costs and reductions in federal funding have created one of the most challenging fiscal environments our City has faced in years. However, the City planned ahead and was able to secure additional resources that will soften the impact. With those resources, the Mayor is making several budget recommendations. The complete set of recommendations is available in the Mayor's FY 27 Budget Recommendations document: The recommendations fall under the following major categories:

• Protecting Jobs and Essential Public Safety Services: $6,702,979 and 18.5 FTEs in restorations for police, fire, homeless services, Justice Fund, youth programming, Veterans funding and recreational programming.
• Preserve Public Health in the Face of Federal Cuts: Voter-approved LA County Measure ER is expected to bring Long Beach an estimated $7 to $8 million to help offset federal cuts to Medi-Cal and other public health programs, restoring positions slated for elimination, preserving positions at risk of losing additional grant funding, and investments in key health services.
• Advance Mobility and Traffic Safety: Coordinating a new regional approach to transportation funding reflecting the Mayor's new role on the Los Angeles County Metro Board of Directors; investment in a new Traffic Safety Division; expanded median and streetlight maintenance; additional traffic engineering capacity; and a traffic sign replacement crew funded through Caltrans Highway Safety Improvement Program grants.
• Investing in Thriving Neighborhoods: Adding funding for library programming, restoring Rancho funding, restoring Nature Center Funding and investing in the Westside Promise.

The FY 27 Mayor's Recommendations, taken as a whole, restore or add a total of 70 critical positions (65.66 FTE), protecting essential city services while putting Long Beach on a path toward long-term structural balance.

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Budget Hearings and Community Budget Meetings
The City Council will hold the first of several budget hearings on Aug. 4, 2026, to begin the budget review process. The City will conduct another round of engagement opportunities for the Long Beach community to ask questions regarding the FY 27 Budget and share additional input.  Four in-person and one virtual community meeting will be held.

Five in-person community meetings will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the following:

• Wednesday, Aug. 5 – Virtual (Zoom)
• Thursday, Aug. 6 – Charles Lindbergh Middle School Auditorium (1022 E. Market St., 90805)
• Saturday, Aug. 8 – Silverado Park Community Center (1545 W. 31st St., 90805)
  • This meeting will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
• Monday, Aug. 10 – Renaissance High School for the Arts Auditorium (235 E. 8th St., 90813)
• Thursday, Aug. 13 – Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus, Room T1200 (4902 E. Carson St., 90808)

Advanced registration for the virtual meeting is required to receive the link to the Zoom meeting. Interpretation services in Spanish, Khmer, Tagalog and American Sign Language will be available for all meetings.

Commenting Via Digital Comment
Community members may also provide input on the Proposed Budget by completing the Budget Digital Comment Card which will be accepting responses from Thursday, July 30, 2026, through Friday Aug. 14, 2026, at 5 p.m. People without a computer or smart phone access may visit a public lab at a Long Beach Public Library location during regular business hours to access and complete the Digital Comment Card.

More Information
More information about the Proposed Budget, including information about budget hearings and community meetings, is available at longbeach.gov/fy27.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture, and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, the award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

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