Long Beach City Council overrides city manager's veto of $100,000 grant

LONG BEACH - The Long Beach City Council has voted to override its city manager's veto and approve a $100,000 health policy grant that had been rejected by him without informing council that he had done so, it was reported today.

The grant from the California Endowment would have been for the city to write a proposal outlining Long Beach's health needs in the city's general plan, the Long Beach Press-Telegram said.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the grant, and to have City Manager Pat West contact the California Endowment to see if the agency would offer an additional $97,000.

The council also voted to require that the approval or rejection of all future grants go before the council.

Several council members criticized management's decision, both in rejecting the grant and in doing so without informing the council -- even after the city had announced in a march news release that it was receiving the grant.

Management's reasoning for rejecting the grant was that despite the money going to a consultant to put together the health element, extra money was needed to cover staff costs, Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick said.

Asked whether management had planned had planned to tell the council about the grant's rejection, if Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews hadn't agendized an update Tuesday, Frick said, "Admittedly, we had not planned on that. I think in retrospect we are examining our notification process in general."

On Tuesday, the

council made that decision for them.

Jennifer Chheang, program manager for the California Endowment, told the newspaper that if the city had asked for more funding, "we would be open to that conversation."

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18049156?source=rss

Cheryl Burke Tamie Sheffield Emmanuelle Vaugier Amber Arbucci Minki van der Westhuizen