AGENDA
ITEM
10 AGENDA
CALEXICO California ITEM
COUNTY. WHERE CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO MEET
10 CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 18, 2026
TO: Mayor and City Council
APPROVED BY: Benjamin Martinez, City Manager f
PREPARED BY: Benjamin Martinez, City Manager M
SUBJECT: Authorize the City Manager to enter into an Agreement with FM3 Research to conduct Public Opinion Research for the City of Calexico Recommendation:
1. Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into an Agreement with FM3 Research to conduct Public Opinion Research for the City of Calexico using the City of Calexico's Standard Agreement, subject to any non-substantive changes as is necessary by the City Manager.
Background:
At the City Council Meeting of February 4, 2026 the City Council gave direction to staff to prepare an initial report regarding the possible placement of a Public Safety Special Sales Tax revenue measure for the November 2026 General Election. Such a measure would require a two-thirds vote of the electorate for implementation and, if approved, the revenue can only be used for public safety-related expenditures. In comparison, a General-purpose measure requires only 50% of the electorate plus one vote and can be used for any local municipal purpose.
FM3 has extensive experience conducting research for a wide variety of successful statewide & local ballot measures for hundreds of government agencies throughout California.
Discussion and Analysis:
The goal of the survey work proposed by FM3 is to assess Calexico residents' satisfaction with City services and policies, identify community needs and priorities, as well as test the viability of a Public Safety Special Sales Tax revenue measure in the 2026 General Election. If desired, FM3 can also provide the City the ability to comparatively examine the 2026 General Election potential with the 2028 General Election.
In addition, a renewal of Measure H, set to expire in 2030, can also be analyzed by FM3, if directed by the City Council. Measure H, a half-cent sales tax general purpose measure, was approved by
Calexico voters in 2010. Or alternatively, FM3 can provide an analysis for a General-purpose measure for the 2026 and/or 2028 General Elections, as directed by the City Council. However, they will not be able to do both given the sample size and proposed survey length.
Fiscal Impact:
The total cost of the Agreement with FM3 Research will not exceed $29,125. Funding for these services has been allocated within the current fiscal year budget under the City Manager's professional services account. Therefore, approval of this Agreement will not have an additional fiscal impact on the City's General Fund beyond what has already been budgeted. , Alternatives:
Provide alternative direction to staff.
Coordinated With:
City Manager
City Attorney
Fire Chief
Police Chief
Attachment(s):
1. Research Specs and Costs Proposal
2 ATTACHMENT NO. 1
FM3
RESEARCH
TO City of Calexico
FROM Richard Bernard, Ph.D., Partner
FM3 Research
RE: Proposal to Conduct Public Opinion Research for the City of Calexico DATE March 10, 2026
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) is pleased to submit this short scope of work to conduct a survey on behalf of the City of Calexico. The goals of the survey will be to assess City of Calexico residents' satisfaction with City services and policies, identify community needs and priorities, as well as test the viability of a potential revenue measure. To achieve these goals, FM3 proposes to conduct a 15-minute dual-mode (online and by telephone) baseline survey among a random sample of up to 300 City of Calexico registered voters likely to vote in the November 2028 General Election. FM3 will also use the survey results to examine the viability of a potential measure in the November 2026 General Election. The survey's results will provide the City the ability to comparatively examine potential election outcomes in both aforementioned election scenarios. FM3 also recommends offering the survey in English and Spanish both online and by telephone.
Research Specs and Cost
Methodology Dual-mode survey using a combination of telephone (cellular and landline) and online interviews
Contact Methods Phone calls, emails, and text messages
Sample Voters: FM3 recommends conducting this research among up to 300 registered voters in the City of Calexico, who are likely to vote in the November 2028 General Election. Given the modest size of the likely November 2028 electorate (approximately 15,951), we will do our best to achieve up to 300 completes. If we are unable to achieve 300 completes among this slightly limited population, we will prorate our costs to reflect the actual number of interviews obtained. Any interviews beyond 300 will come at no additional cost to the City.
Below we provide costs for sample sizes of 200, 250, and 300.
We anticipate that among the 300 likely November 2028 voter survey completes, there will be approximately 232 likely November 2026 voter survey completes. Similarly, if 250 likely Los Angeles Office Berkeley Office
12100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 350 2054 University Avenue, Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Berkeley, CA 94704
FM3
RESEARCH
After FM3's final deliverables have been completed, we will remain available to answer follow-up questions and to present results to additional key stakeholders. We view the responses to the survey as an ongoing data resource; if needed, FM3 can conduct further analysis to provide answers to any follow-up questions.
Thank you for taking the time to review our proposal. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Richard Bernard, Ph.D. Partner
[email protected]
(310) 428-1809 (cell)
...
Los Angeles Office Berkeley Office
12100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 350 2054 University Avenue, Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Berkeley, CA 94704