The City of San Jose contracted with a public opinion organization to conduct a telephone poll of 1,000 San Jose residents. Residents will be asked survey questions about the budget and city services from Jan 13 to Jan 17.
The results of the phone survey will be shared in February. Please note I received a draft of the survey and some of the questions have been edited.
Since only 1,000 people will get a call out of one million residents, I wanted to provide an opportunity for you to partake in the survey via the internet.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RG9LCPN
This survey closes Jan 30.
If you appreciate urban parks than consider attending the San Jose premiere of The Olmstead Legacy film. March 7 at City Hall. For more info click here: http://tinyurl.com/OlmstedLegacy
Hired another outside consulting firm to conduct busy work in lean dollar times?
How much did this cost the taxpayers? Don’t you have paid staffers?
Phone survey was started under Mayor Reed as a way to reach more residents and opinion of likely voters. Same survey firm the last 3 years. City staff has limited to no experience in conducting telephone survey with residents thus hiring the survey firm. Cost is approximately $45K. In years past it was cheaper however it only polled 500 people. Council unaminously voted to expand survey to 1,000 people and their listed cellphones. Survey is controlled. Goal is equal amount of people from each council district controlling for gender, race and age of San Jose residents. Survey lets Council know if residents are willing to pay more taxes and the level of support from residents.
And you describe a statistically significant survey that will give an accurate view of the residents of San Jose. (In fact, 500 was enough, but since members of the city council obviously don’t understand statistics or surveys, they felt pressured to increase the number.)
So why post the survey on your own website and solicit contributions? Your survey will be completely inaccurate and will only serve to reduce the public’s trust of the accurate survey for which we as taxpayers are paying $45K.
Mr Oliverio,
If the city is doing it’s own survey, why do you feel it necessary to edit that survey and then present it on this website? Do you think that that the survey the city is presenting is flawed? Do you think that your questions are better than that of the public opinion organization? In fairness, could you please let us know which questions you edited and why? Also, how much did the city pay to this organization to take yet another survey? Do you think that those answering your survey represent a true scientific survey or would you expect the answers to be more skewed, especially since you repost this column on your public Facebook site and don’t seem to allow dissenting opinions to be posted?Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Mr Oliverio,
Could you have the courtesy to answer at least one or two of the questions please. Thank you so much.
For anyone answering the City’s official survey, or Pier’s, please consider looking at this before answeringing questions regarding reducing police services. This is a small snippet of police calls over the past week. We currently have the lowest officer to citizen ration of almost any city in the United States, and Pier along with the city manager wants to reduce the department by another 200 officers by this summer which would be devestating.
http://www.protectsanjose.com/blogs/2-poa-perspectives/380-watch-commanders-report
But don’t we have the one of the highest cost per officer in the nation when wages and pension are calculated. Also how many officers become “disabled” when they retire and don’t have to pay taxes on their pension?
SJPD is one of the lowest paid agencies in this county. The officers of SJPD also pay almost 23% of their own gross wages into their own pension and medical retirement. That means if an officer makes $100k per year, they are paying $23k right off the top out of their own salary. That is one of the highest percentages in the United States that officers pay. For perspective, many officers working for other agencies in this area pay nothing up to 5% of their gross wages. Call our city if you don’t believe it.
Frank we have the lowest ration because we don’t need the amount we have now. I city is a boring suburb with no real urban center, no convention traffic, no real shopping, and and not much if anything to do after 9pm at night ANYWHERE.
And if by chance, an area does get busy after 9pm; the city will shut it area done. So what do you need the police to do? Why do you need more?
Ms. Taylor,
You must be living like a hermit or don’t read the news much. SJ has already had 8 homicides this year and this is occurring in the wintertime, when violence is usually lower. With the cuts already made to the police department and those proposed by the city in June, violent crime in the city is going to sky rocket! But don’t worry, if you stay inside your home and don’t out after 9p.m. you’ll probably be ok.
Hi Pierluigi,
Thanks for giving us the chance to have some input. I filled out the survey. One color commentary – the questions about whether we’d support trimming pension benefits. I voted strongly against all of them because I don’t think they should have pensions at all – they should contribute to 401ks like everyone else in the real world. Not sure how other “fiscal hawks” will read those questions – but wanted you to understand my view – strongly opposing these ideas does not mean I don’t want them reduced/trimmed – in fact the opposite, I want them eliminated.
Keep up the good fight.
A 1000 person sample in a city of 1 million is a very large number and will allow for statistically significant results with small margins of error. National surveys are conducted with smaller sample sizes, often about 500.
Pierluigi, are you hoping that your results will tell you something that the official survey does not? And if so, are you suggesting that if you get 5000 people to fill it out that it is more representative or accurate than the scientific survey with a sample size of 1000 for which the city is paying?
Number 12 is a loaded question, geared toward getting the answer they want. People are given the choice of choosing 1.) to having their taxes raised; or 2.) having City services reduced; or 3.) reducing City employee’s compensation and retirement benefits. You KNOW people are NOT going to choose to have their taxes raised and they are NOT going to choose to have City services reduced, so the only answer left is to reduce City employee’s compensation and retirement benefits. You KNOW that everyone is going to choose that option. I call dirty pool. Where is the integrity? Why all the sly, sneaky stuff? This is suppose to be an open government and what we are seeing is sly and sneaky.
The other choices on #12 are, Don’t Know and Neither. I think instead of Neither it should have listed Outsourcing.
This is pretty typical of PLO’s surveys. They really aren’t the time to fill them out since he (and his staff) load the questions to get the answers they desire.
It’s pretty amateur and we should expect better from our elected reps.
I think #4 should have been: Remove the council member’s $600+ monthly vehicle stipend. Who needs to spend $600+ a month on a car payment in the city’s debt ridden times, when they are trying to take away people’s salaries, but pay their own senior ASSISTANTS $96K/yr, top step? How ridiculous is that? Lead by example. Clean your own office.
Hey PO, just to let you know I took your survey (47 times) even though I don’t live in San Jose. I then forward it on to all my 1200 co-workers in SJPD. I told them to forward it on to friends and family, etc. I then forwarded it to everyone in San Jose Fire, told them to take the survey and pass it along, sort of like a chain letter. Since anyone can take it, not just San Jose residents, who know what the real value of the results, are.
So your little survey is going to be a little out of balance. What a waste. I can’t believe the city has to keep wasting money on stuff like this. The only one who wins is the consulting firm. The city can’t do this? Then your survey, what a joke. Why don’t you do your job and get out there and ask the citizens these questions? Oh no, it’s far easier to hide behind the computer and make up a survey.
Don’t worry, I didn’t do this on city time but I did use a city computer, the one at a branch library. Got to go, I going to take they survey again, and again, and again.
Hey donkey,
did you get the coupon for a free donut at Yum Yums donuts at the end?
Your survey is not a fair way to get information there should be a way for people to voice concerns about other budget items worth a look in the need to cut budgets. Such as politician salary and benifit packages. If one is to expect others to tighten their belts then you should set an example. How about making a public statement showing how much each of you spend and on what. I find it disturbing that because politicians can’t do their jobs they instantly start looking for a fall guy, in this case it’s police and fire employees. People who risk their lives for a community that unless they need them don’t want them around and when they do need them complain that they don’t do enough. Now that the economy is in a rough place you politicians demonize the people who protect you as a way to take the heat off your own ability to do your jobs.
The answer to your delima of funding is to spend tax dollars on what matters, Public safety. A baseball stadium will not save lives. Police and Fire services will. But the Baseball stadium project was not listed in your survey as a takeaway, Why not?
You need to rethink your value system.
Mike,
Is this the same Mike Alford that is retired SJPD, goat tee and lives in city of Santa Clara?
As a percfentage of their Budget, the City Council and Mayor spen more than 98% of their total budget on salaries and benifits including paying into PERS (That’s the State Retirement System) for council persons and the mayor’s retirement!
Ya these phoney’s are part of a retirement system that allows them to retire at age 50 with 75% of their salary and they get vested after only 5 years in office!
Its is time the taxpayers kick these term-limited flunkies who feed at the public trough off the Gravy Train!
That makes sense since they are not buying police cars and fire trucks.
This survey was the biggest waste of my time….I thought I was going to help participate in the cities budget but I felt I was helping Oliverio bash the cities Public Safety. Are you the same guy who was caught taking their campaign signs a few months ago? Why do you continue to bash these guys after the good work they do in a large city with little resource. I dont know what your deal or politics is about, but you seemed to be very disturbed…good luck!
Are you kidding me? The City of San Jose actually paid a company to produce this “survey”? This one-sided piece of garbage was developed so that King Chuck and his stable boys would only get the answers that they were looking for. There is no objectivity or impartiality in this “survey” at all. As a taxpayer, I’m offended that the city council and Queen Figone spent money on this farce and have insulted the intelligence of our citizens.
Interesting enough the city continues to pay retired rehires (City Clerk and PW Director) at inflated salaries to jobs already filled by qualified directors. This seems to be the public perk for executive management. The silent severance package that council members refuses to discuss because most of them are already double dipping. Let’s talk about that – Pierluigi Oliverio!