Informed taxpayers can be effective advocates during the City of Long Beach’s budget process between now and Sept. 15, says 5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske, who has a way for them to process arguments on her City website.
The $2.8-billion budget for Fiscal 2012 includes about $5 million in cuts proposed by Long Beach City Manager Pat West and Mayor Bob Foster. “Some really hit home for District 5 residents,” notes Schipske, “including replacing the Station 18 fire truck with a paramedic unit, reducing coverage on some fire trucks from four firefighters to three and downgrading the Ruth Bach Library from a branch to a reading room.”
Schipske has an interactive version of the budget on her City Council website. Users can compare the entire Fiscal 2011 and 2012 budgets with pie charts and bar graphs. People can click on individual departments and compare their share of the budget in general and special funds. If they hover over a piece of the pie, it will show them a percentage and an amount of money. General funds are red, special funds, such as grants, are purple.
“Too often, the budget is way too complicated for most people to fathom, and the only folks who show up at the hearings or watch them online or on television are the department heads, reporters and an occasional community activist,” Schipske said. “This is the people’s business. They shouldn’t need master’s degrees in public administration to understand it.”
To utilize Schipske’s interactive program, visit lbdistrict5.com.
