Long Beach city manager touts 0% tax increase, bond upgrade and major infrastructure projects in year‑end report

City Manager Dan Creighton delivered a year‑end presentation at the Long Beach City Council’s Dec. 17 meeting, saying the administration achieved a 0% property‑tax increase for 2024 — the first in a decade — and won an A3 bond rating that officials said will lower borrowing costs for the city.

Creighton outlined several finance and service‑delivery accomplishments. He said the council enacted a tax exemption for Gold Star families and that about $900,000 in grants supported police technology programs, including body cameras, a taser program, drone operations and expanded license‑plate reader use. “We achieved a 0% tax increase, the first in a decade,” Creighton said in the presentation.

Public‑safety staffing was a central focus. Creighton reported the police department hired four sworn officers (mostly replacements) and the fire department added 15 new firefighters — seven career and eight volunteers — and reduced firefighter overtime by 74%. He credited grants and internal budget savings for enabling new equipment purchases and said investments included a new ladder truck and a water‑rescue pickup truck.

On infrastructure, Creighton described two large projects he called transformative: the North Shore Critical Infrastructure Project to protect bayfront and utilities from chronic flooding and the Long Beach Sewer Consolidation Project to divert sewage off the barrier island and improve water quality. He also announced phased replacement of water mains and plans to begin residential meter replacements in 2025.

Creighton said the city completed 38 capital projects in 2024 totaling more than $3,200,000,000 in investments and repaved six miles of roadway (about 11% of total roadways). He noted streetspecific work such as reconstruction of the 200 block of East Market Street, the 100 block of East Park Avenue and ongoing work on Heron Street to mitigate flooding.

The manager also outlined quality‑of‑life initiatives: renovations at the ice arena (new roof, fresh paint, safety netting, a Zamboni and reopened concessions), upgrades to parks and playgrounds, a sponsorship program to offset event costs and a planned tree‑planting program for spring 2025. Creighton said grant awards rose this year, with more than $4.5 million in new grant funding and the city managing roughly $222,000,000 across 47 active projects.

The presentation closed with a preview of planning and zoning work. Creighton said a planning board will be established and the council has enacted a temporary moratorium on subdivisions until the board is implemented. He also said the council opposed a proposal from Equinor to run high‑voltage cables through the community and will oppose offshore projects the administration views as harmful to the city.

Looking ahead, Creighton called for continued work in 2025 on infrastructure, grant pursuit and service delivery improvements, and thanked staff and the council for their work over the past year.