Another city brainchild born

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

What a great idea. The city has decided to conduct a budget survey to

find out what programs residents think should, or at least could, be

cut in this time of fiscal crisis.

And in true genius fashion, this survey won’t be sent out to

residents, so as to receive maximum input -- because we wouldn’t want

that. No, this survey, since its not on a terribly important topic,

will be available online for the few residents who have heard about

it and are interested.

Mayor Connie Boardman said she is modeling this after a survey she

saw online for the city of Long Beach. Making it an online survey

will be more cost effective and make it easier for city employees to

compile the statistics.

I’m sure it will, not only because it will already be in the

computer, but because there will also be far fewer responses to

compile.

That handful of people will be a representative slice of the

population, I’m sure. And what about residents, perhaps our older

folk, who may not own computers, Councilman Dave Sullivan wisely

asks? Why, they can trek down to the library, our mayor tells him.

I bet no one made them trek down to library and go online to get

campaign literature. No, that would come to the door. Heck, the

candidates come to your door seeking votes, don’t they?

Sure the library has computers, and even Rodgers Senior’s Center

has a computer room, but doesn’t common sense tell you that sending a

survey out to homes will get a far greater response from a far wider

spectrum of the community?

These are some of the things that just appall me. Where is the

logic sometimes?

I watch these actions of our city leaders sometimes and wonder

when common sense left some of them.

I don’t comment on a lot of these priceless nuggets of sheer

ineffectiveness, but so many of them make my blood boil.

To make this farce of a survey even viable, notice of it should be

sent to every resident.

*

On a completely separate topic, might I make a little suggestion?

In the Southeast, we have neighbors who want residential and

commercial zoning, but have industrial. The area, right by the ocean,

is much better suited for residential and commercial.

Across the street from Rainbow Disposal, the land is zoned for

residential, but the area is much better suited to industrial. ...

You’re following me here, right?

I know this isn’t how city folk think or work, but why not rezone

both? Make the area near Rainbow Disposal industrial and the area in

the Southeast residential?

It seems sort of logical to me, but what do I know?

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

965-7170 or by e-mail at [email protected].