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Long Beach Adopts $3.7 Billion Budget for Fiscal Year 2026
By Staff Writer
Published on Wed, Sep 17, 2025
Long Beach’s $3.7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2026 preserves core services without major reductions and focuses on key areas of investment identified in the Long Beach Strategic Vision 2030, among other priorities.
The budget’s official adoption came earlier this month with approval from the Long Beach City Council and following review and recommendations by the Budget Oversight Committee and feedback garnered through community outreach. Crunching the numbers for the coming year was a challenge due to broad economic uncertainty and a projected five-year $60.5 million General Fund shortfall.
Since FY 20, the City has navigated financial challenges using one-time funds from the Long Beach Recovery Act to stabilize its fiscal position. Those sources are now exhausted, making the budget process more constrained.
To balance priorities, the budget emphasizes revenue adjustments, including select fee increases, while limiting new initiatives. Funding is directed toward maintaining essential services and making new investments only when urgently needed.
The budget focuses on core services related to housing preservation, homeless prevention, public safety, economic development, climate and sustainability, youth programs, and community engagement opportunities.
The budget also includes the $188.8 million Capital Improvement Program, dedicated to addressing the City’s aging infrastructure, and the City’s largest infrastructure investment plan to date, the Elevate ’28 Infrastructure Investment Plan. Totaling $1.1 billion, Elevate ’28 encompasses over 180 transformative projects that support the City’s preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, uplift the City’s Westside Promise 10-year community investment plan, and continue enhancements for City parks, major corridors and visitor-serving areas to improve quality of life for community members for generations to come.
City leaders emphasized that the FY 26 budget reflects a balance between immediate service needs and long-term financial sustainability, while positioning Long Beach to meet the demands of a growing community and upcoming global events.
More information about the Adopted FY 26 Budget, including the approved Mayor Recommendations, is available at longbeach.gov/fy26.
