Would a month have made the difference?

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The big, late-breaking news out of City Hall this week is the

overwhelming response the city has gotten on its online budget survey

that began one week ago.

A city press release late Tuesday said more than 450 residents

have already responded. Wow. That is truly amazing. In a city of

nearly 200,000, to have 450 weigh in on how their money is spent is

quite impressive.

Well, I guess it is when you’re relying on word of mouth and the

press, should they chance to hear about it, to let residents know

about the survey.

The survey has done so well that the amount of survey time has

been cut in half.

That’s right folks. Rather than having two months to log on to the

city’s Web site and fill out the survey, you now have one month.

City officials are clearly looking for the maximum input on the

budget, no doubt about it.

Mayor Connie Boardman recommended this week that the deadline to

fill out the survey be moved up because, as she “forgot” to mention

when she first introduced the idea, the budget process was moving

faster this year than last.

So now, we have a survey that only those who have access to a

computer can fill out (Boardman suggests the rest of you go to the

library) and only those who watch council meetings or read the

Independent know about, and to top it all off, residents have just

one month to find out and log on.

So let’s log on.

“This year, due to the state budget crisis and the national

economic slowdown, the city is faced with having to make deep cuts to

our budget,” the Web site informs residents who click on “Take the

Community Budget Survey. “

“The information gathered in this survey will play an important

role in the budget process as the City Council, with recommendations

from city staff and input from the community, develops the city’s

fiscal year 2003-04 budget throughout the summer.”

The survey goes on to list various city-funded programs, and next

to each are bubbles to click on that stipulate important, somewhat

important, not very important, not important and no opinion.

There is not a price tag on any of the items, and there are only

59 items in eight categories.

The list is nowhere near representative of the entire budget.

Nowhere on it is there a place to rate how important cars for city

employees are. Nowhere does it ask how residents feel about city

employees benefits, which they don’t even pay into.

The only categories on the list are things that benefit residents,

such as library services, arts and cultural services and recreation.

The survey gives no perspective. It merely asks how important

certain library hours are to residents and which programs for

children and seniors can be cut.

I think that gives residents a pretty clear indication what way

things will go when the ax falls.

There is, however, a section at the bottom for comments, including

asking how the city should solve the budget problems.

I guess that is where to suggest where cuts should really be made.

* DANETTE GOULET is the city editor. She can be reached at (714)

965-7170 or by e-mail at danette.goulet@latimes.com.