MUNIMIXBOARDThe Municipal Mixing Board

THE FADER SCALE · SAMPLE

ONE SERVICE, FIVE LEVELS, ONE CLEAR CHOICE.

Every service in the city gets a card like these. A council member can say "we're at a 3, going to a 4 costs this much," and a community member can follow along. These are samples; each city sets its own levels with its departments.

STREETS

Pothole repair

5
Next dayRepaired within 24 hours
4
Two days48 hours
3
This week5 business days
2
Two weeks10 business days
1
Emergencies onlyOnly safety hazards

THE METER

Share of potholes repaired within the target time.

FIRE

Keep it in the room where it started

5
Best in class85% or more of home fires confined to the room of origin
4
Better than most75–84%
3
National median65–74%
2
Below median55–64%
1
Falling behindUnder 55%

THE METER

Share of one- and two-family home fires confined to the room of origin.

POLICE

Cases actually solved

5
Best in class60%+ of violent and 25%+ of property crimes cleared
4
Better than most50–59% and 20–24%
3
National average40–49% and 14–19%
2
Below average30–39% and 10–13%
1
Falling behindUnder 30% and under 10%

THE METER

Clearance rate.

PARKS

Is the tree canopy growing?

5
Growing fast3 trees planted for every 1 lost; 5-year pruning
4
Growing2 for 1; 8-year pruning
3
Gaining3 for 2; 12-year pruning
2
Holding steady1 for 1; pruning on request
1
Shrinking1 for 2; complaint-only pruning

THE METER

Trees planted per tree lost.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

Problems actually fixed

5
Same daySame-day inspection; every rental inspected every 3 years
4
Next dayFirst inspection in 1 business day
3
Resolved in a month1–2 days; cases resolved in 30 days or less
2
Slow3–5 days; cases average over 30 days
1
Complaint onlyOver 5 days; cases average over 60 days

THE METER

Average days from complaint to fix.

Sample levels for discussion, not any one city's adopted standards. Fire and police level 3 reflect national benchmarks.