Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: PRESENTATION OF COMMUNITY POLLING RESULTS
Date: February 13, 2024
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council receive and discuss the community polling results.
Background
The City has used Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) in the past to conduct surveys of the community to determine satisfaction with City services as well as polls prior to placing Measure S on the ballot.
In polling conducted in November 2020, the City Council directed staff to continue periodic polling, generally using the same questions to track changes in community sentiment over time.
Unlike a self-selected survey, which can provide a general sense of community sentiment, continuing the proposed polling program provides statistically valid information within certain margins of error to determine what follow up actions should be explored further.
On September 26, 2023, the City Council authorized an agreement with FM3 to continue the polling effort, largely modeled on the 2020 polling effort. In addition to authorizing the contract, the City Council appointed an ad-hoc committee of the City Council (then Mayor Harvey and Councilmember Lemus) to review the draft polling questions with staff and FM3 prior to initiating the public polling. The public polling was conducted from November 10-December 4, 2023.
Prior polling information can be found on the city website here <https://www.cotaticity.org/168/Community-Survey-Results>.
Analysis/Discussion
For the community polling, 441 people over the age of 18 responded to the survey. This resulted in an overall margin of error of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. All households were contacted, and interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.
By a large margin, the most pressing issue for residents is the availability of housing that working families can afford. Other issues that showed marked increases from 2020 are traffic congestion, crime in general, and potholes and maintenance of local streets. Concerns about the risk of wildfires and impacts of climate change saw decreases from 2020.
An overview summary of the conclusions is included in the attached slide deck.
Financial Considerations
Not applicable.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.