Now
Fair
85.0°
High
87°
Low
64°
Full Forecast

Coupon

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > News > Local
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Mayor announces survey, meetings on budget

Comments 18 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

By the Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, Mar 31, 2008 - 06:39:29 pm CDT

Mayor Chris Beutler will encourage residents Tuesday to give their opinions on the city budget by participating in an online survey and attending a town hall meeting.

“Priority Lincoln” is an effort to solicit public opinion on how the city should spend tax dollars. Priority Lincoln began last month with a phone survey of 600 residents, which is almost completed.

“We are excited about moving in to the next phase of Priority Lincoln, which gives everyone in the community an opportunity to share their ideas with us,” Beutler said.

Story Photo
Mayor Chris Beutler

Mayoral aide Rick Hoppe said, “The answers to our budget challenges aren’t at city hall, they’re in the hearts and minds of the people we serve.”

The city is partnering with the Lincoln Journal Star to launch an online survey Sunday at JournalStar.com. The unscientific survey is designed to allow residents to prioritize city services and provide comments on their decisions. Printed copies of the online survey also will be available at all Lincoln libraries.

The city is also partnering with Leadership Lincoln Inc. on a series of four town hall meetings to allow residents another venue to express their opinions about budget priorities. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the meetings will be from 6-8 p.m. The schedule is:

* April 22, Lincoln Southwest High, 7001 S. 14th St.

* April 24, Lincoln Public Schools district offices, 5901 O St. (This town hall is hosted by the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, and young people are encouraged to attend.)

* May 6, Lincoln High School, 2229 J St.

A fourth meeting has yet to be scheduled.

The city is borrowing an audience response technology system from UNL to allow for instant feedback from those attending the town hall meetings. At most of the meetings, up to 150 residents will be able to participate, using small remote devices to register their opinions.

Beutler said Priority Lincoln is a necessary first step toward implementing “outcome-based budgeting,” a process that ties programs to the goals that citizens want local government to accomplish.

The city is working with the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and the UNL Bureau of Sociological Research on the project.

The results of the scientific phone survey will be announced in mid-April.

About 60 of those selected for the phone survey also will participate in a follow-up discussion. Portions will be taped for viewing on 5 CITY-TV (cable channel 5) and through video-on-demand on the city Web site, lincoln.ne.gov.


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Local > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
Mary Jane wrote on March 31, 2008 7:00 pm:
" This is a great idea. Does the survey include questions about how money can be saved in city operations? I would suggest an audit of city department's organizational structures and job responsibilities. I think citizens might be surprised if not shocked at how much money is spent on activities that do absolutely nothing to help or support the general public or the city. "
herbieleroy wrote on March 31, 2008 8:06 pm:
" Asking the Lincoln Journal Star and UNL to aid in the survey is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse. UNL has a vested interest for more money and LJS censors all communications it has access to. And of course all the wrong questions will be asked just to lead any discussion to a desired area of concern for the tax and spend politicians. "
Joe Q Public wrote on March 31, 2008 8:10 pm:
" I hope the process helps educate the general public. As someone who has worked in both the public and private sectors, you are kidding yourself if you think Gov jobs are easy, or staffed with know-nothing administrators and staff who don't do anything or have an anti growth agenda, etc... in many ways, Gov jobs require more accountability. Sure, just like the private sector, you have some bad employees. But from my experience, the vast majority of gov employees work hard, are cognizant that they are stewards of public money, and deal with a level of public scrutiny that is altogether different than what business must deal with in the private sector. Sure, the benefits of any union job are good, but the overall pay for the Gov job isn't anywhere near admin level jobs in the private sector. I can hear the belly aching already, city employees get paid more than the average wage in Lincoln (which has been eroded by the loss of good blue collar jobs that are replaced by low wage jobs at Target, Wal Mart, and Hy Vee). or teachers only work 9-4, 9 months a year, etc... Folks are trained to think Gov is bad, excessive, etc... bashing the supposedly bloated LPS or City Gov staff feels good, and is the kind of easy rhetoric that lots of people engage in without much thought. Doesn't hold up to much scrutiny though. A good measure of someone's intelligence is to determine whether or not they are sophisticated enough to recognize the many, many, benefits that both LPS and the City gov provide to this City. We need more, not less. And if that means raising my prop tax a few bucks - - its well worth it. Keep it in perspective folks. Raising prop taxes $5 per 100,000 would do wonders to support our infrastructure, parks, econ development, job creation, older neighborhoods, etc.... for less than the price of a movie ticket. Someone needs to stand up to LIBA and stick up for the community. "
Russ A Lincoln wrote on March 31, 2008 8:23 pm:
" what good is 600? population over 200K and the survey consists of six hundred people anyone could pick out six hundred numbers to call to skew any outcome why not a online survey along with several thousand calls?? "
john wrote on March 31, 2008 9:48 pm:
" Just another feel good. Is north lincoln left ou again? "
Kurt wrote on April 1, 2008 2:23 am:
" Russ A Linoln stated "what good is 600?" This is a good question ... because the survey only needs to sample a portion to represent the whole, 600 completed surveys is pretty good. Assuming 250K live in Lincoln, 600 completed surveys, at the 99% Confidence level would yield an approx +/- 5.3 % error level. That error drops to 3.4% at 90% Confidence level. Lets just hope this survey doesn't strip to much of the contextual/spatial information from each respondent!

That and the Sociology Department has an amzing call center. We should be so lucky to have these resources here in Lincoln. Good job Mr. Mayor "
jim q wrote on April 1, 2008 6:16 am:
" how about a meeting up north, or are we not part of the city. Six Hundred people that's a joke that's less than .05% of the poeple in Lincoln. Are these the mayor's buddies or are the 2015 group? "
jim q 2 wrote on April 1, 2008 6:18 am:
" How about doing something about the bennies that the city works get, especially the 2 for 1 match on retirement. they already make over the average for Lincoln. "
Pollster wrote on April 1, 2008 6:55 am:
" To Russ A: Any polling statistician will tell you that a survey sample of 600 is more than enough to get a survey with a 96% certainty level. The extra thousands you'd like to see added do nothing for accuracy or validity. That's just the way it is. The public can participate through the online survey part of this effort. National pollsters use a sample size of 1,000 to poll 300 million people. And that's about all you need. And do not confuse this type of research with "exit polling" the media use on election days. That is a very different methodology and much more unreliable that what is being used here. "
Typical wrote on April 1, 2008 6:56 am:
" This appears to be a typical stratigy for this administration Throw SOMETHING out there to make it look like you are concerned. Total BS "
Statistician wrote on April 1, 2008 9:33 am:
" A survey of 600 is only adequate if the sample population was chosen correctly. If Beutler intends to do this fairly, it is probably a good thing. Previous administrations have selected the people who would represent the preordained views and then propped them up like mannequins with prepared speeches, calling them "leaders." I've worked for government and the private sector. The private sector, on the average, requires more work and more ability. There tends to be more people lacking in competency in government. Lincoln does not tap into the talents of its private population. My experience with Lincoln government is that the public officials think our money is their money and that they exist to promote UNL and projects for the 2015 gang. The rest of us can .... (you fill in the blank). "
Only Lincoln wrote on April 1, 2008 11:48 am:
" Only in Lincoln would people complain because their government is actively soliciting their opinion on how their tax dollars should be utilized. "
I hope... wrote on April 1, 2008 5:40 pm:
" I certainly hope these forums do something to EDUCATE the public. Lets look just at police and fire. I see blogs every day full of partial stories and facts. If the public knew just how LITTLE of your property tax went to city services the public would be in shock. The police and fire departments operate on a bare bones budget, and they are asked just like every city department to cut 3% each year. The police and fire departments have had little to NO increase in FTE's since 2000. The LJS just reported that the Lincoln Metro area has had an 9.7% population increase since 2000. No one can argue that crime and calls for service have increased for both the FD and PD. But what has the city done to help protect there citizens, NOTHING. No new fire stations since 1994. FTE's for fire and medical response has not increased by anything near per capita, the same goes for police protection. The police have gotten a few new substations, in an attempt to thwart crime in the neighborhoods they are located in. LPS takes money hand over fist each year but they are unable to keep and fund School Resource Officers. LPS no longer can afford EMT's and Paramedics at LPS functions. (This is now provided by private funds) The ambulance service is not able to meet there required response time goals because of the increase of the city's area especially North and South. The city council also mandates that the FD take an ambulance away from running emergency calls to sit at LPS games, thus double dipping. Overall lets look at separating Police, Fire and 911 into separate area of the budget. That way the citizens can see just how much service they get for how little they pay. Most people pay more per month for there cell phone bill than they pay for all the city services! That is just not right. "
Ken D. wrote on April 1, 2008 7:09 pm:
" I agree with Staistician. One way city government could be run more effectively is to listen to the employees who are actually out there doing the work. I am sure some department heads do this but from what I hear many do not. They listen to a few who are close to them so they don't have to be bothered by the thoughts and opinions of the front line workers or the consumers. Any organization that does not listen to the workers or consumers is eventually doomed for failure. "
Gail Stewart wrote on April 1, 2008 8:09 pm:
" Hey Chris--ask the people the real people-not the ones that have the deep pockets. "
Gail Stewart wrote on April 1, 2008 8:23 pm:
" How about some straight answers Mayor. "
Grundle wrote on April 2, 2008 8:27 am:
" To 'jim q', ever heard of the comparison "apples to oranges". You can't compare city worker pay with the private sector pay for the entire city. You fail to consider the fact that the city-wide average includes a LOT of minimum wage jobs, most of which do not require a college degree...or even a high-school diploma. If you want to compare salaries, look at what someone in government makes compared to their private sector counterpart...even with the 2-1 retirement match, the government employee is a bargain. "
Student wrote on April 7, 2008 6:23 pm:
" I have a class about this particular survey that the mayor's office is conducting. In regard to "herbieleroy", The research center chosen to do this survey is completely non-biased and in no way works to the benefit of UNL. It is a non-profit organization that solely works to perform the fairest and most accurate non-profit research it can. As stated by others, 600 participants is more than enough to generate a completely random and representational sample of the city of Lincoln and the way in which the survey is set up allows for a fair representational sample of the entire city, not just those who have "deep pockets". The sample was generated completely at random--so to all you critics thinking this is just some ploy the mayor is using to make it "seem" like the city residents are having a say when really they aren't--the mayor has no say what-so-ever in who is participating. I believe everyone has a right to an opinion---but by all means...if you are completely uninformed on how survey research works or what exactly is going on behind the media and behind the scenes, you should really consider keeping those opinions to yourself, because your irrational assumptions about governmental agendas make you look stupid. Get some background onto whats going on before you choose to point fingers and make judgements. "

Ads by Yahoo!