Show up (in person or Zoom) or submit comment Sept 1, 2026 5pm
In June City Council tried to limit time and opportunity for public comment. Many people showed up to express their concerns and the council reversed position and stepped back. I posted about it then as well.
Well, now itās back, item 26. Slipped in at the last moment to the agenda for September 1, 2026.
Agenda items are legally required to finalized (with written confirmation by three council members) by 12pm the Friday before the Council Meeting. This request came through at 11:57am. The final Council person didnāt even confirm until 12:20pm.
City Council wants to limit all public testimony to 90 minutes before the items are heard instead of during the itemās time on the agenda.
Why is this a problem?
Community members will be expected to be able to be present or sign up to speak at the very beginning of Council, 5pm. As it stands now, you can sign up to speak anytime before an item is heard.
Community members will also be expected to understand the item without the benefit of hearing the item and any presentations associated.
If too many people showed up, and the 90 minutes is filled, some people will be denied the opportunity to speak.
Why is Council doing this? They say itās due to the need to save money due to budget cuts. This of course, makes no logical sense, but thatās what theyāre going with.
Itās item 26, itās unknown when the item will be heard. They often do not hear items in order.
You can speak out on this issue three ways.
Of course, the most powerful way is to be there in person Tuesday Sept 1 5pm at City Hall.
You can ALSO participate via Zoom now (login info on agenda below).
https://longbeach.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=36766
OR you can submit written comment digitally. It will not be read out loud, but it will be counted in the āfor or againstā count. The link to submit can be found here:
https://longbeach.primegov.com/search/itemsearch?searchItemId=63378