The Long Beach City Council approved two items Feb. 11 to amend existing cooperative (piggyback) contracts with Galls for furnishing police equipment, uniforms and accessories. During the staff presentation, police and purchasing staff disclosed they had identified a gap in contract authority during 2024 and told council the city attorney had requested the contracts be reissued to correct that administrative lapse.
Staff said the contracts were originally awarded on Dec. 15, 2020, with three-year terms and one-year extensions, and that the city’s contracts have historically aligned with a larger Los Angeles piggyback agreement. Because the Los Angeles contract has been extended on a quarterly basis during its renewal process, Long Beach staff said their contracts were aligned to match LA ‘s schedule, creating an unintended gap in authority in 2024 that they want to cure by amending and reissuing the piggyback.
In public comment a resident asked whether the Galls contracts included “military-grade” weapons and questioned whether the city was buying equipment used by police in fatal encounters. Staff responded that the contracts cover uniforms, accessories and equipment items and referred technical follow-up to the police department; no policy action to restrict specific equipment was taken at the meeting.
The council approved the contract amendments on the consent calendar; staff said they will reissue the piggyback contract and work with the city attorney to ensure the correct procurement authority and alignment moving forward.