Mayor Bob Foster was the featured speaker at the Long Beach Commercial Real Estate Council’s (LBCREC) First Friday Breakfast on August 1, 2008, at the Grand in Long Beach, CA.  Mayor Foster addressed a packed house of Long Beach commercial real estate industry professionals to unveil his tax plan, “The Long Beach Infrastructure Reinvestment Act,” designed to raise $571 million for infrastructure improvements. The funds would repair streets, sidewalks and alleys. It would also provide for improvements to public buildings such as fire stations, libraries, and community centers.

Mayor Foster is proposing 30-year bonds, effective July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2044. Projects will start in January 2009.

The residential portion of the tax will cost homeowners approximately $120 per year through 2044 with built-in cost of living increases. The tax is to be used as repayment for future bonds as required by the city. The commercial component of the tax will affect property owners of Long Beach office buildings and parking garages.  It is based on square footage:  $0.087 per square foot for office buildings and $0.075 per square foot for parking garages.

Mayor Foster pointed out that other downtown coastal communities such as San Francisco and San Diego have infrastructures that attract big time developers. These cities also have financial plans in place to provide for ongoing maintenance to bridges, freeways, public streets and sidewalks. The Mayor stressed that we have to invest in our future to be able to be on the same playing field as our downtown oceanfront counterparts.

Long Beach has not issued any bonds designated for infrastructure since the 1960’s. Mayor Foster warned that if these critical infrastructure needs are ignored, the deterioration would most likely accelerate, and annual funding sources would not be able to correct the damage.