Survey is a Chance for All to Weigh in

By Edi Birsan

Back in June 2010, the city of Concord was going through a budget crisis and the City Council campaigns were just beginning. 

This survey then reflected a lot of dissatisfaction with the status quo of the City Council embroiled in the controversy over expenditures on a special pension and retirement package for the then-head of the city's redevelopment department. The survey showed that only 9 percent agreed with the views of the council and some 57 percent felt that the panel did not reflect the views of the poll takers.

Then the residence/domicile status of then-City Councilmember Helen Allen began to percolate through the body politic, giving the Pulse the single most lopsided response in its history to this question: Should City Council members be required to have their primary residence in the city as represented by staying in that residence 200 days/nights a year? More than 95 percent agreed, 3 percent disagreed and 2 percent were neutral. 

While the legal definition of "domicile" and "primary residence" has some subtle differences, the public at large was not very much interested in the nuances.  With the departure of Allen from the City Council race several months later, this issue fell to the side, a good example of the shift in attention once the focus is removed.  

Meanwhile, questions about how to address the budget shortfall showed 57 percent opposed to a sales tax and 63 percent against a utility tax. The city decided to move forward on a sales tax (Measure Q) and put a lot of effort into promoting the measure, which succeeded. 

Another issue from June included an interesting perspective on the Concord Police Department, in which almost 50 percent of the hundreds of respondents had had contact with the CPD in the last six months. There was a division between Concord residents and non-residents, with higher negatives espoused by non-residents. The response possibly reflected the nature of the interaction: Residents are more inclined to contact CPD for help while the police more likely initiate contact with non-residents. 

The wording of questions in a survey is always a challenge and reminds us to be careful in the construction as well as the interpretation of the results.  

To see what the questions are this month, visit www.PulseOfConcord.com. And send us your questions and topics so that we can better take the Pulse of Concord.