City of Cathedral City
Community Education &
Outreach Survey
Informal Request for Proposal (RFP)
Prepared by the City of Cathedral City
City Manager’s Office
68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
Introduction & Overview
Project Overview
The City of Cathedral City is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to conduct one (1) scientific community survey to gather resident feedback and measure satisfaction with City services and quality of life goals by the end of calendar year 2022. The selected consultant will develop an appropriate survey process and methodology to measure community input and sentiment on various topics. The consultant will be responsible for creating and administering the survey after obtaining City staff input on questions; tabulating the results; and presenting a final product to City officials in a written report and PowerPoint slide deck for formal presentations.
This Community Education & Outreach Survey is part of a larger Five -Year Strategic Plan (5YSP) that the City is exploring in an effort to align City priorities with City resources and invest in effective and sustainable long-term solutions. The information gathered from the survey will help the City better understand the community’s priorities, concerns, and needs. As the City Council continues to formalize its plans for the future, staff will simultaneously be crafting a comprehensive Community Outreach Campaign to engage the community in restructuring the future of Cathedral City. The survey will be the focus of this campaign and the first step towards creating a more inclusive vision for the future.
The goal of the Community Education & Outreach Survey is also to educate the community on the major functions and services provided by the organization, the financial realities and limitations, and the main priorities of the organization over the next five-years; thereby allowing the community to provide educated feedback on the ir classification of priorities . The City is committed to utilizing this feedback, in conjunction with the work the Executive Team and the City Council are performing, to drive real cost savings for citizens through the reduction of bureaucratic layers; to improve services through the utilization of cross -functional teams that respond to community needs by being versatile, transparent and focused; and to balance future budgets by strategically aligning City priorities with City resources.
City Background
Incorporated in 19 81, Cathedral City is the second lar gest municipality in the Coachella Valley with a population of approximately 5 5,500 people , providing a quality lifestyle and business climate for all who call it home. Located within the Coachella Valley, the City is the very essence of Southern California lifestyle , a destination of friendly neighborhoods, lush country clubs, diverse shopping and unlimited business potential.
Strategically located, with borders on both sides of Interstate 10 , the City ranks in the top three cities in the Coachella Valley in population, retail sales, and total taxable sales. Cathedral City is about 2 hours from two major metropolitan cities, Los Angeles and San Diego.
An established Charter City as of 2018, Cathedral City has a Council-Manager form of government with five City Councilmembers serving within one of the five districts for four -year terms. The City Council has a rotating Mayor appointment each December and they serve as Chair of the Council for a one-year term.
Community Profile & Demographics
A melting pot in every sense, Cathedral City is home to an incredibly diverse population. As the second most populous city in the Valley, Cathedral Cit y’s diversity is reflected in age, ethnicity, income, and education level. In 2020, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) conducted a Municipal Equity Index (MEI) evaluation and Cathedral City received a perfect score of 100. This perfect score is a testament to the equality and opportunity City leadership strives to offer to all residents regardless of the age, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
The City’s broad diversity underscores the importance of an equitably designed and thoroughly implemented survey. Below are community characteristics to help RFP respondents understand likely community needs:
Gender Income:
Male 50.6% $0 - $15,000 13.4%
Female 49.4% $15,000 - $24,999 13.1%
$25,000 - $34,999 10.8%
Age: $35,000 - $49,999 15.2%
Under 18 Years 27.7% $50,000 - $74,999 17.7%
55 Years and older 28.1% $75,000 - $99,999 11.6%
$100,000 - $149,999 11.3%
Race: $150,000 + 6.9%
White 68.6% Average Household Income $63,901
African American, Native, & Pacific Islander 3.8% Median Household Income $45,891 Hispanic or Latino 56.7% Per Capita Income $21,312
Non-Hispanic or Latino 32.0%
LGBTQ (estimate) 30% Education
Grade K - 8 11.3%
Housing Grade 9 - 11 12.1%
Total Housing Units 21,248 High School Graduate 27.5% Owner occupied 40.3% Some College, No Degree 21.6%
Renter occupied 39.7% Associates Degree 6.8%
Vehicles per household 1.88 Bachelor's Degree 10.5%
Graduate Degree 7.4%
No Schooling Completed 2.9%
Project Objectives
The City has never formally conducted a comprehensive community survey in an effort to gauge resident’ general satisfaction with City services, community aspirations and concerns, and other policy-related topics of this magnitude . The City has previously conducted surveys to poll residents on specific ballot measures. The most recent polling conducted by the Desert Recreation District (DRD) was in Spring 2022 to gauge support for the annexation of the City into the Desert Recreation District, which will require 2/3rds voter approval during the November 2022 election.
The City’s intent is to conduct a broader community survey beginning in late 2022 and may consider conducting future surveys on a two-year cycle. The initial survey should include questions that could be used as benchmarks for future surveys. The survey may also evaluate the community’s openness to considering additional revenue options for City priorities.
Input from surveying the public will help the City better understand the community, inform the Five-Year Strategic Plan, and be used to evaluate potential revenue enhancement measures that could be placed on a ballot in November 2024.
Goals include:
• Measure general attitude of residents toward City services and programs • Determine residents’ priorities and areas of concern
• Receive feedback on key policy issues
• Understand interest in increasing City revenues
• Determine residents’ views on local and regional issues
Scope of Work
The purpose of this informal Request for Proposals (RFP) is to select a qualified research firm to conduct a survey of adult residents, provide recommendations to help City staff optimize quality survey questions, and identify ways to reach the City’s diverse stakeholders.
The selected firm will:
1. Survey Development: The consulting firm will collaborate with City staff to determine the most cost -effective, reasonable and productive survey methodology. Provide recommendations on the number of survey questions and duration of survey to maximize engagement results, suggested content and questions, number of survey interviews to complete, and languages in which to conduct the survey. The firm will host meeting(s) to kick-off the project with City staff and additional meetings to finalize a survey.
a. Objective survey questions should gauge community sentiment and perceptions about:
i. Resident satisfaction with existing City services.
ii. Ideas/opportunities for additional City services.
iii. Service priorities if budget restructuring becomes necessary. iv. Willingness to fund certain services in the form of new taxes or fees. b. Make recommendations on supplementary approaches to further the research goals of the City including community outreach, utilization of focus groups, etc. c. Develop survey questions to gauge community perceptions and satisfaction levels on:
i. Quality of Life
ii. Sense of Community
iii. City Services
iv. Infrastructure
v. Land Use & Housing
vi. Economic Development
vii. Parks & Recreation
viii. Public Safety & Homelessness
ix. General City Communication
x. Important Issues Facing the City (State Mandates, etc.)
2. Survey Execution: The firm will administer the survey after finalizing the process, content, and scope of questions are developed and approved by the City. The firm will also create survey instruments, work plans and schedules, in consultation with City staff. a. Recommend appropriate methodologies and strategies for providing the best data samples, objective results and valid findings, including one or a combination of mediums such as phone, text, mail, internet, and/or in-person interviews. b. Conduct the survey(s) in both English and Spanish ideally by fall/winter 20 22.
Provide a timeline of major deliverables and how the firm plans to complete the SOW.
3. Data Analysis: The firm will provide the City with a report of the survey’s findings. draft (within 30 days of the survey’s completion) and final report of the survey’s results in both detailed and summarized form, including any conclusions or recommendations drawn from the findings.
4. Presentation: The firm will meet with City staff to review preliminary results , written report, overarching themes, and potential data conclusions. Additionally, the firm will:
a. Present the final results to City staff for review and approval. b. Present the final results to City Council and other key stakeholders identified by the City (minimum of three PowerPoint presentations, if necessary). c. All presentations will be developed in collaboration with City staff, with length and content varied based on the audience.
5. Data Access: The firm will provide all raw data from the survey, including:
a. The collected, raw data in a format the City can continue to analyze and utilize. b. Provide the data in a manner that is clear and easy to understand.
Please note, the scope of the firm ’s services may encompass additional /fewer services outside the aforementioned items that would be negotiated and mutually agreed upon by the City and firm. Any additions/reductions should be explained in the proposal based on their more cost- effective and/or reasonable methodology.
Submittal Requirements
All responses must be submitted electronically to Katherine Fuentes, Assistant City Manager, at [email protected] and include the following:
• Cover Letter: Explain the firm’s experience providing similar services for governmental entities, including experience identifying important policy options based on research and analysis. Introduce the project team and any relevant experience, particularly in the Coachella Valley or other desert communities with similar demographics. • Response to Scope of Work: Address each bullet in the above SOW on how the firm will complete, suggestions on different approaches, etc. Include a timeline of the project and cost proposal.
• References: Provide at least three (3) municipa l case studies of the firm ’s recent work.
Case studies would showcase the firm’s approach to developing surveys, format and type of questions generated, and how the data was presented. Include the name of the organization, summary of work performed and contact information. • Budget: Cost proposals to complete the above SOW , as well as any recommended alternative scope of services.
o If the fee is based on hourly rates, include rates for all team members, the expected range of billable hours, and a “not to exceed” budget. o Identify how potential options regarding methodology, sample size, number of survey questions and conducting a survey in Spanish could affect the cost. o Provide proposed incremental costs for any optional services, or other variability in services, particularly the cost for additional presentations beyond a minimum of three (3).
All proposals should be clear and concise.
Submittal Deadline
Interested parties should submit their proposals electronically by 5:00 PM on May 31, 2022.