Lately, the members of Make Oakland Better Now! have been putting their water glasses against the walls of Oakland homes and public places. They are eager to learn what everyone thinks about closing this year’s budget gaps, currently pegged at $9 million.
MOBN doesn’t have any political axes to grind, but does want to communicate collective thoughts to the Oakland City Council before they make final budget cuts on February 16th. MOBN leader Bruce Nye let us know that all Oaklanders may cast their ballots, through Friday at 5pm: vote here.
What’s in this budget priorities ballot? You’ll be able to support or oppose specific public safety, personnel and other cuts as well as revenue-generating (tax) measures. Then you’ll be able to offer your own suggestions, too.
We encourage you to cast your ballot, and rest assured your opinions will be presented clearly to all the City Council members. Although Oakland’s dealing with Hobson’s Choices, it’s better to consider the possibilities than remain part of the silent majority.
Today in Montclair, 94611 
A process of truly effective evaluation process for city programs and services would greatly facilitate informed decisions on cuts AND serve as a means to substantially improve city government in the future. This process should include input from city employees and contractors at all levels as well as from citizens. In cases where there are certain individuals or groups who are served by particular programs and services, their participation should be actively sought.
Two essential components for this process:
1. Extensive transparency. With very few exceptions, all documents should be public in a similar manner as for state documents under the Public Records Act of 1968. Similarly, all proceedings should be open to the public with few exceptions.
2. Ongoing re-consideration and modification of the evaluation process based on experience with the aim of developing a truly fair, streamlined and effective system.
The evaluation process and results should be freely available on the Internet. Webpages used for this purpose should also be assessed and improved on an ongoing basis.