To Tow or not to Tow, who asked the question?

The City of Long Beach is the only City that operates its own towing service; the division is comprised of over 40 city employees and 5 sub-contracted tow providers to assist with the overflow. The City only tows at the request of the Long Beach City departments, the Police Department and parking enforcement being the most frequent users. The Towing Division does not do private property tows and the public cannot find them in the Yellow Pages or towing at the request of a private party. Presently, the City of Long Beach Towing and Lien Sales Division contributes close to $3 million to the general fund, after it pays its overhead costs such as fuel, maintenance and personnel.


Last month, Financial Services issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for City Tow Services, a service already available in the city, a service that is not losing money, pays for itself and contributes $3 million dollars to the general fund a year!


So who asked Financial Management to issue an RFP if no vote was taken at the council, no discussion was held at the Budget Oversight Committee, and no outcry from its primary customer, the LBPD was received? In fact, a petition was signed by Police and Public Work's employees asking the city not to contract out towing. So with this opposition and lack of outcry for a towing RFP, why do we have one?


Let's consider the fact that towing services can be a lucrative business. It can also be rife with corruption. Recently, a LB City Auditor's report stated that no abuse was present in the Long Beach towing operations but that it was possible given the amount of money that exchanges hands. So ..... a large amount of money exchanges hands and the city wants to contract out that service?


Great..... we know how the city provides scant oversight on all its contracts and MOU's (i.e. LB Museum of Art, Queen Mary, etc.). It would seem logical, then, to recommend that we tighten our controls, maintain our Long Beach City employees and keep our Long Beach-based tow sub contractors and keep the towing business in house and out of the hands of LA conglomerates: Hands that will certainly be handling our money if we allow the towing RFP to move forward. More to come.......

Gender, Race and the Politics of Speaking Up

The Long Beach City Council and the staff of the City is getting to look less and less like the people it serves. When I came on the council I was one of seven (7) women, and after I leave there will be only three (3). Although the council doesn't quite look like our founding fathers, there is still some concern. Even our management staff, given the first hired, first laid off scenarios and a rash of retirements in anticipation of pension reform, is not reflective of a city workforce we worked so hard to diversify.
This is a concern because as we go into another tough budget year we will have difficulty connecting with those who will be hurt the most by the budget and resulting service cuts. Yet at last weeks budget meeting there was little or no discussion from the council. Admittedly the presentations from the department heads were cursory in nature and lacked specifics but save for Gerrie, Rae and myself, the rest of the council was without questions. Do we really think that lack of discussion implies a united Council in agreement with management and our Mayor or is it a reflection of the Councils to come where meaningful dialogue and pointed questions are seen as a disruption?
In my view, discussion is needed for a clearer idea of our cities funding priorities. As our City
Council becomes more and more homogeneous, there may be less and less dialogue. Does speaking up result in the fear of being thrown out of the "club" if you were never in it in the first place? Perhaps that is the real value of a diverse body. Let's hope that the community demands a public discussion of our difficult decision making process regarding the budget by all parties and not depend on a few to raise their voices. Unanimity is an asset in management but can be a liability in leadership.

Good Times Ahead

The June 8th election is over and although I am disappointed in the outcome, I am energized and excited about the potential for some exciting times ahead for me and for the City that I love so much. I believe that the people of Long Beach are ready to address the real challenges ahead with creativity, compassion and a sense of purpose. Although many of us have been through some tough economic times, it is in these tough times that the most change is made. I stand ready to work by your side to bring us all back to greatness.
My last council meeting is July 13 however I will be available to my constituents until July 19th. Thank you for a wonderful ride and don't forget that every vote counts, every action matters and one person can make a difference.
I will be updating you on what I feel are issues we all need to know about and perhaps learn a thing or two from my colleague Gerrie about blogging and some pointers from LBReport and Dave Wielenga about writing the truth about the city in a way that motivates and informs. Thanks for the good times but the best is yet to come!

A just and fair government

My first 3 days at the Harvard Kennedy School have proven to be challenging and full of work!

The program includes participants from all over the country including a few from outside. Students from Australia, The Hague in the Netherlands, and Denmark add a great worldly perspective to the discussions around economics, governance and leadership. My roommate is from Michigan and we are both struggling with the over 100 -150 pages we have to read every night after going to class all day. Oh, to be young again! The brain is willing but time is taking its toll on my eyesight.

The days and nights have been cool and rainy, but I am keeping in touch with my council duties by going online after class to catch up on the local activities back home. On Tuesday I was able to follow the budget hearing and the council meeting via the city's webcast. As the City Council and Mayor are scrutinizing over the budget decisions we have to make, I concern myself with us being deliberate and conscientious about our budget considerations .

Yesterday's class discussion surrounded the concept of justice and as I pondered last night's council meeting and budget hearing, I tried to relate my council job with my class discourse. A good balanced budget is our goal, but a just budget is also needed. As all council districts and all departments are struggling with cuts, we need to ensure that the cuts are compassionate and just.

However, justice and fairness means many things to many people. Justice for Long Beach taxpayers means they need to get what they pay for. Justice for City Council Members may mean that every district gets treated the same.

I believe that Justice in these budget negotiations require that the community gets what it needs. I look to you to make sure I define your needs in a clear and articulate way. I want to hear from you during these budget deliberations.

I hope to continue my blog entries until my return on June 26 and until then you can reach me at my email district7@longbeach.gov.

Go Lakers! (and Boston Red Sox)

Tonia Reyes Uranga

Eager to get to work.

Welcome to my new blog!

This is a new experience for me, but since I have this great opportunity to participate in the Kennedy School's Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, I thought I would share my experiences with the public. Plus this is a good way for me to stay in touch with Long Beach during my 3 weeks - yes, three weeks here in Cambridge.

My first day was wonderful! The weather is great and the program is definitely all about advocating and nurturing the democratic process. The actions we as state and local elected officials take provide us with a glimpse of the future of democracy in our country. Locally our actions every Tuesday tell us if democracy in our city is being weakened or getting stronger. The ability to exercise the freedom of speech every Tuesday and the freedom to experience the reactions of
those speaking is the essence of democracy.

Although I will be gone for 3 weeks, I know you carry the torch for democracy during your 3 minutes at the microphone, along with LBReport.com, The District Weekly and even the Press Telegram newspapers. Keep up the good work.

I will not be with our Mayor and City Council at the meeting on Tuesday, but I will begin my classes tomorrow with another mayor, Mayor Daley from the city of Chicago.

I leave you with best wishes from Cambridge and below is the quote that hangs as we enter the gates of the Harvard Kennedy School that I know fits for all involved community members in Long Beach, and even some of my colleagues:

"The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us."
John F. Kennedy, Amherst College, Oct 26, 1963
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963)
Source JFK Library, Boston, Mass.

Tonia Reyes Uranga