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Click and Jab

At a special National City council meeting held on May 11, members of the public participated in surveys about the city’s finances and services. National City faces a $6.7 million dollar deficit, and the trial survey was in preparation for the new budget that must be passed by July 1.

Responses to survey questions were tabulated with a new electronic voting device known as the “TurningPoint Clicker.” Within seconds of casting a vote with the tool, the system generated a breakdown of the results in the form of bar graphs and percentages on the PowerPoint screen.

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Respondents answered 50 questions that began with “In Order to Guide the City Council in Balancing the Budget, I Would: 1. Maintain, 2. Reduce, or 3. Eliminate …,” followed by a particular city service. The questions did not include a monetary cost for the service or a detailed description of them. Instead, attendees had to refer to a packet that listed the city’s services and expenditures, mostly in percentages of the overall budget.

According to the city’s Community Development Commission, National City’s police department receives a major portion of the general budget: 54 percent in 2009, which translates into approximately $21 million. The fire department received 21 percent, with the rest going to community services.

The items that received a majority of votes to “maintain” were:  gang enforcement, graffiti removal, emergency medical response, and fire suppression. Voters were split 50/50 when it came to street maintenance, while 58 percent voted to “reduce” school resources teachers.

Voters took a jab at the council when asked what they would do with city management, legal, and human resources. The response generated a couple claps around the room and laughter, including from the dais, as the results quickly popped up on the screen: 5 percent maintain, 89 percent reduce, and 5 percent eliminate.

Members of the public who addressed the council said they would like to see improvements made to the electronic survey system, such as options to increase budgets, monetary figures for the cost of the services, and the number of employees that would be impacted. In the future, 60 members of the public will get to vote; for trial purposes, only 19 received clickers.

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At a special National City council meeting held on May 11, members of the public participated in surveys about the city’s finances and services. National City faces a $6.7 million dollar deficit, and the trial survey was in preparation for the new budget that must be passed by July 1.

Responses to survey questions were tabulated with a new electronic voting device known as the “TurningPoint Clicker.” Within seconds of casting a vote with the tool, the system generated a breakdown of the results in the form of bar graphs and percentages on the PowerPoint screen.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Respondents answered 50 questions that began with “In Order to Guide the City Council in Balancing the Budget, I Would: 1. Maintain, 2. Reduce, or 3. Eliminate …,” followed by a particular city service. The questions did not include a monetary cost for the service or a detailed description of them. Instead, attendees had to refer to a packet that listed the city’s services and expenditures, mostly in percentages of the overall budget.

According to the city’s Community Development Commission, National City’s police department receives a major portion of the general budget: 54 percent in 2009, which translates into approximately $21 million. The fire department received 21 percent, with the rest going to community services.

The items that received a majority of votes to “maintain” were:  gang enforcement, graffiti removal, emergency medical response, and fire suppression. Voters were split 50/50 when it came to street maintenance, while 58 percent voted to “reduce” school resources teachers.

Voters took a jab at the council when asked what they would do with city management, legal, and human resources. The response generated a couple claps around the room and laughter, including from the dais, as the results quickly popped up on the screen: 5 percent maintain, 89 percent reduce, and 5 percent eliminate.

Members of the public who addressed the council said they would like to see improvements made to the electronic survey system, such as options to increase budgets, monetary figures for the cost of the services, and the number of employees that would be impacted. In the future, 60 members of the public will get to vote; for trial purposes, only 19 received clickers.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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