Long Beach unveiled its preliminary 2026 budget on July 24 — keyword preliminary.
There is still plenty of time for residents to speak up about where they think Long Beach should invest its $3.7 billion budget for next fiscal year. Long Beach is set to adopt the budget in late September, and there are six budget meetings planned throughout August in libraries, community centers and other locations.
The Long Beach City Council will also discuss the budget department-by-department at its regular meetings held on the first three Tuesdays of the month. From now until September, city officials will make several changes to the budget they presented.
Will you be a part of those changes?
How is the Budget Currently Looking?
Currently, the proposed budget divides $3,718,352,496 across 26 departments, with the largest chunks going to Public Works, Harbor, Police and Utilities.
The departments that saw the largest increases since the 2024 fiscal year are Police Oversight (104% increase), Energy and Environmental Services (30.2% increase), Financial Management’s Interfund and Non-Operating Fund (20.9% increase), Harbor (42.6% increase), and Police (8.9%).
Departments that saw the largest cuts to their proposed budgets are the Airport (26.6% decrease), Community Development (22.4% decrease), Health Department (25.8% decrease), and Public Works (48.2% decrease).
In order of highest to lowest, here are the proposed budgets for each City department:
- Harbor – $829,527,272
- Interfund and Non-Operating, under Financial Management – $693,270,930
- Utilities – $378,523,048
- Police – $343,995,004
- Public Works – $263,980,769
- Health and Human Services – $201,970,595
- Fire – $199,211,879
- Energy and Environmental Services – $185,202,387
- Financial Management – $98,249,042
- Technology and Innovation – $90,433,210
- Parks, Recreation and Marine – $87,968,986
- Community Development – $83,984,552
- Airport – $71,066,120
- Human Resources – $52,966,433
- Economic Development & Opportunity – $31,054,846
- City Manager’s Office – $25,708,665
- Library, Arts and Culture – $22,643,805
- Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications – $17,162,245
- City Attorney’s Office – $11,783,448
- Mayor and City Council – $9,203,172
- City Prosecutor’s Office – $8,358,414
- City Clerk’s Office – $5,714,681
- City Auditor’s Office – $4,040,637
- Police Oversight – $1,862,930
- Police and Fire Pension Plan – $469,430
The Civil Service Department, which in the past was primarily in charge of hiring city employees, has merged under the Human Resources Department and no longer has its own budget.
How Can You Participate?
Long Beach City Council will begin holding budget hearings, typically department-by-department, on Tuesday, Aug. 5 in City Hall at 5 p.m. The city council will give final approval to each department’s budget, and each year there are usually amendments, or changes, to these budgets.
Residents can review the city council agenda a week in advance to see which department will review its budget through the City’s online calendar.
The Budget Oversight Committee will also hold a series of meetings through Sept. 9. The committee will review the proposed budget and agree on their own recommendations before these go before the City Council.
Budget meetings will be held at the following dates and locations from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.:
- Wednesday, Aug. 6 – American Gold Star Manor (3021 N. Gold Star Drive)
- Wednesday, Aug. 13 – Browning High School (2120 Obispo Ave.)
- Saturday, Aug. 16 – Wardlow Park Community Center (3457 Stanbridge Ave.)
- This meeting will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 18 – Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library (5870 Atlantic Ave.)
- Wednesday, Aug. 20 – Billie Jean King Main Library (200 W. Broadway)
Residents can also learn about the budget and share their opinions at a virtual community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7, from 6 to 7:30 pm. Advanced registration for the virtual meeting is required in order to receive the link to the Zoom meeting.
Interpretation services in Spanish, Khmer, Tagalog and American Sign Language will be available for all meetings.
Those who can’t attend any meetings can still submit a digital form detailing what they think the City should prioritize with the 2026 budget. These submissions are anonymous and can be submitted until the end of day on Thursday, Aug. 21.
View the full proposed 2026 budget here.
Do you have any questions about the City’s proposed 2026 budget, or is there anything you think we should look into? Let us know in the comments, by emailing Newspaper@signaltribune.com or on Instagram @signaltribune.
