They use an Encinitas based polling company. For years they have used illegal aliens from mexico to mow their lawns. They were denied Federal funding last year because Bueermann had the money to build one, in their general fund. Now they won't use the money in the general fund, and now want taxpayers to fund the project instead. Something is wrong.


Majority of Redlanders pleased, poll says
By JESSE B. GILL, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/06/2010 11:33:24 PM PDT


REDLANDS - A public opinion poll said 81 percent of Redlands residents are pleased with the job the city's leaders are doing in running it. And those leaders hope that positive opinion carries through until November, when voters could vote on a general sales tax measure.

A representative from True North Research - an Encinitas-based firm specializing in public opinion polls - presented the results of a poll Tuesday thatsurveyed 400 registered Redlands voters between March 2 to 7 by telephone.
The poll cost the city $19,078.

"I do feel that this has been a needed exercise for this budget year," said City Councilman Pete Aguilar.

The City Council ordered the poll in December to better understand the community's needs, priorities, what services or projects residents would to fund through ballot measures.

"I think people generally like being asked questions about their community," Aguilar said.

The city is now battling a $2.1 million budget deficit and has had major budget deficits every year since 2007.
The City Council hopes voters will pass a general sales tax measure in November to help solve Redlands' perpetual cash flow problems.

If voters passed a measure that added an extra half a percent point to sales tax, it could generate up to $4 million per year, said Tina Kundig, the city's finance director.

"A quarter cent would add approximately $2.2 (million)," she said.

But convincing voters to willingly pay more in sales tax won't be easy.
"Make no mistake, it's very difficult to pass tax measures in the state of California," said Tim McClarney, president of True North Research.

McClarney said 81 percent of the people polled said they were satisfied with the city's overall performance.
And that could be a good sign, he said.

"What we tend to find is that the number one predictor of whether someone's going to support revenue measure is how they feel about you as an agency," McClarney said. "Those people who are happy with your performance are much more likely to support a revenue measure because they like what you've done with the money thus far."

About 58 percent of the people polled said they would support a general sales tax measure. McClarney said the number is a good indication that a measure could pass if voters are given the choice.

"Typically, it's a little lower than that," he said.

But the poll percentages aren't guarantees that voters will support a general tax measure, McClarney said.
"A poll is a snapshot in time - not a crystal ball," he said. "A lot of things can happen between today and the election that can affect the outcome."

A new police station - for a force that has been without a home since September 2008 - ranked very low in the priorities for polled residents. McClarney said facilities can be difficult to sell to the public.

"[b]It has nothing to do with the community having a poor opinion of the police department,"[/b] he said. " when you ask the voters what they want, facilities has always been a challenge."

Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Bean suggested that some residents may not realize how badly the city needs a new police station because they are simply unaware of the problem.

Residents polled claimed public works and public safety as their top priorities, McClarney said. He encouraged the council to spread any revenue generated from a sales tax measure in the direction of the two departments.

City staff will now work with a City Council subcommittee - made up of Bean and Aguilar - to use the poll results to come up with revenue-generating measures that could appear on a ballot for November.


E-mail Staff Writer Jesse B. Gill at jgill@redlandsdailyfacts.com

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/news/ci_14834992