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Council approves $2.89M World Cup grant acceptance and barrier rentals amid reimbursement questions
Summary
City Council approved a grant agreement called the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee grant (not to exceed $2.89M) to reimburse policing and public-safety costs for FIFA events; staff said many personnel and barrier costs are expected to be reimbursed by the host committee/federal funding but council members pressed about possible delays and subject-to-funding language.
The Manhattan Beach City Council voted to accept and implement a Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee grant agreement (not to exceed $2.89 million) to cover personnel and event security expenses tied to World Cup activities.
Council discussed consent item 8 (a sole-source rental of Meridian vehicle barriers to protect pedestrian areas during World Cup events) and later debated the grant agreement separately. Police and fire staff explained that the barriers are intended to reduce the risk of vehicle-borne attacks at large events and that Meridian barriers were identified as the preferred solution for rapid deployment. "These barriers ... will allow us to lock down certain places or streets so that we can direct the public in the manner that we have according to our security plans," staff said during the consent-item briefing.
Finance staff and council also discussed who ultimately bears costs while reimbursements are pending. The city's grant includes personnel overtime and equipment that staff said the city will seek to have reimbursed through the host committee, which itself is funded by federal appropriations in part. "The host committee will give us our money as long as the government gives them their money," staff said, describing the standard subrecipient relationship; council members warned that FEMA or other federal reimbursements can take months and in the past have been slow.
Staff said most event staffing costs will be submitted as grant reimbursement requests and that some costs may span two fiscal years; the grant request included a worst-case staffing scenario and staff said they would return to council if budget adjustments are necessary once actual staffing needs are known. Council approved the grant acceptance and related procurement and noted staff will seek reimbursement per the grant terms.
What happens next: Staff will seek reimbursements through the host committee/funding streams and will return with budget adjustments if actual staffing or overtime expenditures differ from the grant request. Barrier rentals and any sole-source purchasing will follow city procurement rules and be tracked for reimbursement.
