What's up City Lifers? Recently, the City Manager released the accomplishments of 2010. There are some pretty cool things that were done by the City. I would say the two that stand out most to me are the 1.6 items checked out of City libraries and 164,000 calls for service responded to by the Police Department. Check out the press release below and let us know what catches your eye. In your opinion how well did the City do? Did you ever call in a pot hole, or use the Go Long Beach app to report graffiti or potholes? Let it be known below.

Despite a dismal economy and drastic budget cuts, the City of Long Beach was able to complete several significant environmental initiatives, neighborhood improvement projects and infrastructure improvements, as well as earn several prestigious awards in 2010.

"The work done in 2010 resulted from the Mayor and City Council's policy direction and the efforts of our hard-working city staff," City Manager Patrick West.  "These accomplishments would be remarkable even in good financial times, but should be considered nothing short of incredible given the serious financial difficulties all cities are facing."

In 2010, for instance, the City of Long Beach maintained a $9 million budget stabilization fund:  launched the "Go Long Beach" Smartphone App to report potholes, graffiti, and other service needs to the City; and entered into an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study for the East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration (formerly the Long Beach Breakwater Project).

Here's a snapshot of just some of the City's accomplishments during 2010:

• 19.3 miles of streets repaired
• 14.6 miles of sidewalks repaired
• 1.8 million square feet of graffiti removed from 118,038 sites
• 48,000 potholes filled
• 164,000 calls for service responded to by the Police Department
• 59,000 calls for service responded to by the Fire Department
• 61,000 calls for service completed by Animal Care Services staff
• 40,000 building inspections completed
• 20,000 vaccinations provided by the Health Department
• 12,776 Code Enforcement cases resolved
• 1.6 million items checked out of City libraries
• 440 film permits issued, with a total of 670 production days
• 740,000 youth and teen participant days recorded in Parks, Recreation & Marine programs
• 2,000 Long Beach residents placed into permanent employment by Workforce Development Services
• 78 citations issued for illegal garage conversions
• 48 homes removed from foreclosure rolls

 
Awards and Distinctions:

• Top 10 Green Fleet in the Nation (third year running)
• Nine programming awards for LBTV, the City's cable channel
• Neighborhood of the Year Award 2010 for Willmore City Heritage Association from Neighborhoods, USA
• Top 25 Bike-Friendly City in America from Bicycling Magazine
• The Alamitos and Burnett Libraries celebrated their 100th anniversaries

 
Parks and Open Space:

• Completed acquisition of 34 acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands
• Park projects completed:
  • Rosie the Riveter Park
  • Michael K. Green Skate Park
  • Promenade Square Park
  • Silverado Park Skate Spot
  • Peace Garden
  • Chrissy Strong Marshall Plaza at Somerset Park
  • Mothers Beach Play Area Renovation
  • El Dorado Nature Center Stream Restoration 

So what do you think?