Q&A with Councilman John McLaughlin

Councilman John McLaughlin is entering his fifth year on the City Council and is the lone remaining Republican member. On Tuesday, when Jack Schnirman was appointed the new city manager and he and the new council met with the press afterward, McLaughlin was absent due to a travel commitment, he said. Patch caught up with the incumbent councilman on Thursday to get his thoughts on the new administration and their work ahead.

Patch: How do you feel about working with the new city manager and new council members? 

McLaughlin: I will do my best. Obviously, I’m a one-person minority and I will do what I’m committed to do, even though I could be outvoted 4-1. I have to hope they will have an open door to the administration. So far they have been very civil and open to me, but it could be a short honeymoon. We’ll have to see how it goes in the future. We have to give the new city manager a chance. He’s got a big plate in front of him. I look forward to working with him.

How will you address the city’s financial problems?  

I would like to control spending. The two biggest impacts on the budget have been police and fire spending, which is always a touchy subject. The biggest spending that affected the budget last year was overtime. It’s an entity we must get under control—police overtime and Fire Department overtime and overtime by outside departments. There are two police lieutenant slots that are open. If we don’t fill them, we could save about $300,000. That’s a good start right there. The Police Department is top heavy anyway.    

If you need to cut spending, what are the main areas you would look to cut?  

I would like to cut overtime and spots that are redundant, and get rid of positions that overlap other positions. There are a lot of supervisory positions that don’t have to be filled because they are filled by people already in another position. I would not only like to curtail spending, but I would like to see more of an influx in revenues. I’m not a big fan of raising taxes, so we would have to do it some other way.

Is there any fear an outside entity may take over the city’s finances?  

No, not at all. We’re not the only municipality that has had problems the past year. The county and other cities like Glen Cove have also had problems, as well as the state and federal government. Long Beach is not an isolated incident.

Is there any talk of reviving some of the commissions that have fallen by the wayside?  

In February I would like to have a vote on whether to have a Civilian Complaint Review Board. There has been talk from the community such as from the North Park area about having it and I would like the council to take a look at it. Let’s vote on it.    

Has there been any talk of inviting other entities to host events like Quiksilver?

It looks like Quiksilver has taken 2012 off, which is not unusual in the surfing industry. It seems to be an epidemic. I think this may be a good opportunity to look at other event possibilities. I would like to see a jazz festival. Quiksilver may get a chance to see what they are missing as well.

The new administration said they would have a plan for the first 90 days in office. What do you think this plan should include?  

In the first days in office, I would like to see an immediate curtailment of overtime. I would also like to put an immediate hold on promotions. I would like to look to see if we can freeze increases in some salaries. And we should start with the council. I think council members should take a voluntary cut.

Do you feel overwhelmed by all the issues in front of you? How will you tackle them?

We’re elected to try to do the best we can with what we have. I’m not overwhelmed by it. It may depend on how much involvement I will have in the new administration. I’m cautiously optimistic. We’ll see what the future brings.

The Q&As with the new city manager and council can be read in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.