Long Beach City Council to launch safety commission

The City Council took its first step toward reviving a number of inactive commissions at its Feb. 21 meeting, when it passed a resolution establishing a Public Safety Commission that would be tasked with making recommendations to the council on issues ranging from police and fire services to pedestrian safety.

The eight-member safety commission will consist of six residents and two employees — with one serving as its chairperson — to be appointed by City Manager Jack Schnirman. The members would serve unpaid terms for a period of two-years. The measure passed unanimously by three council members. Councilmen John McLaughlin and Mike Fagen were not present at the meeting.

The goal of the commission, according to the resolution, is to establish a dialogue between residents and employees of the city in order to create more awareness about safety concerns such as traffic throughout the city. The group will meet once a month, and present its recommendations to Schnirman and the council.

The resolution comes after the recently elected Democratic council members pledged during their campaign to revive several inactive or defunct commissions, part of an attempt to create greater accountability and community involvement in the city.

“This is the first time we’re activating not only the safety commission, but we’re also looking at the Ethics Commission and others to set up, so that they can serve as advisors to us on the City Council,” Council Vice President Len Torres after the meeting. “We’re looking at specific things … for example, there are so many dangerous spots where cars make right turns at red lights and pedestrians are on the corner, which creates a safety hazard.”

The resolution states that the safety commission’s general duties would include making recommendations to Schnirman and the council on issues that relate to the police and fire departments, as well as emergency medical services, animal control and pedestrian safety, among others.

While Torres said that the safety commission has existed in the city’s Code of Ordinances in name only, he explained that it is one of several commissions that have been inactive over the past few years. Talk of getting the safety commission off the ground regained interest a few years ago, he said, after a number of residents raised concerns over traffic safety following a number of accidents in which several residents were killed or injured.

“These were folks who were concerned about right on reds, people not stopping at stop signs — they became a very active group in the last couple of years, but a lot of things fell on deaf ears during the last administration,” Torres said. “These folks sincerely want to help and make things safer for people in town, and we thought that by creating a safety commission, it can serve an actual government function.”

At the meeting, Council President Fran Adelson asked Schnirman how the public would be made aware that such a commission was being created, especially for those interested in serving.

“Going forward, if anyone is interested in joining this particular commission, or ultimately any commission, we’re going to be advertising and soliciting folks who express interest via the city’s website — it’s open to everybody,” Schnirman said.

Fire Chief Rich Corbett asked if members of the Police Department and Fire Department would be included in the selection process, citing the experience and knowledge such individuals can bring to the group. Schnirman and Corporation Counsel Corey Klein said that they would be considered.

“The council wanted to … not only have a committee that had residents, but also having residents with employees,” said Klein.

Corbett also asked whether the safety commission would be able to implement policy changes while making suggestions to the council. Schnirman said that the commission would ultimately report to him and the council.

“This committee would not have the kind of teeth to just implement changes,” Schnirman said.