Schipske Invites Taxpayers to
“See for Themselves How the Budget Breaks down,”
With An Interactive Program on Her Council Website
“See for Themselves How the Budget Breaks down,”
With An Interactive Program on Her Council Website
(Long Beach, CA) – Informed taxpayers can be effective advocates during the city’s budget process between now and September 15th, says Fifth District Councilwoman 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 City Manager Pat West and Mayor Bob Foster. “Some really hit home for District Five 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. Taxpayers 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 on-line or on television are the department heads, reporters and an occasional community activist,” she notes.
“This is the people’s business, ” says Schipske. “They shouldn’t need Master’s degrees in Public Administration to understand it. “ She adds, “It’s truly their tax dollars at work. We work for them, and it’s our job to make budgeting straightforward.”
To utilize Schipske’s interactive program, go to http://www.longbeach.gov/district5/default.asp and look for the box on "Find Out the Details of the Mayor and City Manager's Budget for 2012."
In addition, Schipske is holding a Community Budget Meeting Monday, August 29, at the El Dorado Community Center, 2800 N. Studebaker Rd., at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to all Long Beach residents.
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