After over a month of budget hearings, public meetings and plenty of community advocacy, Long Beach passed its 2026 fiscal year budget Tuesday evening.
The $4.9 billion budget underwent minor changes over the last few weeks, such as a $3.4 million increase to the Health Department, a $4 million decrease to the Public Works budget and 14 pages of recommendations from the Mayor and Budget Oversight Committee. In total, $3.7 billion in new allocations were approved across City departments and dozens of programs, while $1.2 billion in grants carry over from 2025.
Taking into account these minor changes and the carryover funds from 2025, here is the final breakdown of each City department’s budget for 2026, rounded to the nearest $10,000:
*Items bolded have experienced decreases during the budget process
*Items italicized have experienced increases during the budget process
- Mayor and City Council – $9.2 million
- City Attorney’s Office – $11.78 million
- City Auditor’s Office – $4.04 million
- City Clerk’s Office – $5.71 million
- City Manager’s Office – $32.88 million
- City Prosecutor’s Office – $12.09 million
- Airport Department – $102.86 million
- Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications – $18.86 million
- Community Development – $148.81 million
- Economic Development and Opportunity – $38.97 million
- Financial Management – $971.29 million
- Fire Department – $200.53 million
- Health and Human Services Department – $253.91 million
- Human Resources Department – $52.29 million
- Library, Arts and Culture Department – $28.5 million
- Energy and Environmental Services Department – $185.2 million
- Parks, Recreation and Marine Department – $124.33 million
- Police Department – $356.63 million
- Police Oversight – $1.86 million
- Public Works Department – $1.01 billion
- Technology and Innovation Department – $108 million
Mayor’s Budget Requests
The City Council also approved eight pages of Mayor Rex Richardson’s budget and policy recommendations. Most of the Mayor’s budget recommendations focus on youth programming, public safety and various health and economic development needs. This money is all one-time funds, meaning the programs being funded are not guaranteed to receive these funds during the next budget cycle.
Money for these requests come from Successor Agency proceeds, when a City sells off property to a private party. In order to use those funds, the city council also had to pass a one-time exception.
Public Safety
- $50,000 to the Police Department for security measures like cameras and raised fences at the homes of City officials “in light of increasing rates of violence and threats targeting public officials across the country”
- $50,000 to the Economic Development and Opportunity Department to study transit methods for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Youth
- $175,000 to the Health Department to fund an Office of Youth Development Coordinator
- $90,000 to the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department to fund Hoops After Dark
- $345,000 to the Health Department towards the Youth Participatory Budget
- $285,000 to the Health Department for the Safe Passages Program
- $100,000 to the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department for the S.T.R.O.N.G. Beach initiative
- $50,000 to the City’s Managers Department for citywide youth visual arts contests, matching grants for arts marketing projects, sustainability initiatives, expanded equity programming in underserved communities and arts education partnerships with the Arts Council for Long Beach
Community Health
- $25,000 to the Health Department for the Long Beach Area Veterans Collaborative, including for the development of a digital resource hub for local veterans
- $50,000 to the City Manager Department for Summer Block Parties and Neighborhood Activations
- $50,000 to the Economic Development and Opportunity Department for a Cambodian Economic Impact Study to collect current economic data, community surveys, case study interviews and focus groups
Immigration
- $125,000 to the Economic Development and Opportunity Department for Know Your Rights Trainings for local businesses
- $25,000 to the Economic Development and Opportunity Department for Know Your Rights educational tools and for “Safe Place Certified Business” decals for trained businesses
- $600,000 to the City Manager’s Office for the Long Beach Justice Fund
Additionally, the Mayor also requested the Port of Long Beach, Manager’s Office and the Airport to fund specific items, mainly focusing on the City’s economic health and various celebrations.
- $50,000 to the City Manager’s Department for exhibits, celebrations and other activities recognizing the 250-year anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence
- $50,000 in structural funds for the Long Beach Pride Parade
- $10,000 from the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Fund Group to support the City’s Sister Cities initiative
- $200,000 from the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Fund Group, each year over the next three years, to support World Trade Center activities such as coordinating global trade missions and arranging business development meetings with internal investors and business leaders to promote investment opportunities in Long Beach
- $100,000 from the Airport Department to support World Trade Center activities
- $500,000 from the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Fund Group to establish a temporary Tariff Emergency Relief Fund program, designed with the Economic Development and Opportunity Department, to provide one-time financial assistant grants to Long Beach-based businesses and companies that have faced substantial income loss, disruptions to critical business operations or supplies, workforce impacts, or other economic hardships
- $100,000 from the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Fund Group to support the planning and hosting of the United States Conference of Mayors annual meeting taking place in Long Beach in 2026
Policy Changes
Along with Richardson’s budget requests, he also made many policy recommendations, such as exploring the expansion of the Police Department, using AI to predict water pipe leaks and failures, installing a temporary restroom and shower trailer for female firefighters at a training center and directing Public Works to begin working on the next 5-year infrastructure plan, after the Elevate ‘28 projects are complete.
The bulk of the Mayor’s policy recommendations focused on solidifying the “Upholding Our Values” actions, which includes:
- Establishing a “Safe Place” business certification program and Know Your Rights trainings and materials
- Developing a legal reserve that provides the City Attorney’s Office with the resources to defend against the federal administration and engage in proactive litigation
- Implementing a warrant review procedure for city-owned areas for when federal law enforcement attempts to enter
- Introducing signage on doors and entryways for non-public areas for if federal law enforcement attempts to enter without a warrant
- Ensuring that all City staff is trained to request and verify a valid warrant or judicial order
- Clarifying the City’s disciplinary policies and procedures for City employees for violations of the Long Beach Values Act
- Developing a resident complaint portal where residents can submit an official complaint with evidence if a City employee has violated the Long Beach Values Act
- Assigning at least one Immigrant Affairs Liaison in each department, whose focus will be to help report any law enforcement activity on City property, support the department in spreading educational materials and recommend services or programs that can help families impacted by immigration raids
- Requesting the City Attorney to draft contract language that makes third party vendors aware of the Long Beach Values Act
- Requesting the City Attorney to request public records from other cities regarding the dates and locations of all enforcement activities in Long Beach, including the identities of individuals and reasons they were arrested or detained, and the cost of the activity
- Requesting the City Attorney to pursue any cost recovery made to property damages, vandalism, interruptions to city programs or services and lost revenues to the city due to federal law enforcement
