DATE:
May 3, 2022
TO:
Christine Daniel, City Manager
FROM:
Sheri Hartz, City Clerk
SUBJECT:
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Execute An Amendment To The Contract With Clifford Moss In An Amount Not To Exceed $60,000 To Assess Possible Revenue Measure Opportunities For 2022 Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the above-entitled Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an amendment to the contract with Clifford Moss to continue assisting the City in assessing and developing possible revenue measures for the 2022 election cycle.
Background
The City has seen General Fund revenue shift and decrease over time due to changes in the economy, and more recently because of the economic slowdown associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic. The City’s primary revenue sources are the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), Sales Tax, and Business License tax. All of these are uniquely vulnerable to economic fluctuations. At the same time that revenue has declined, the City is projecting increasing operational and personnel costs, including the funding of existing Unfunded Actuarial Liabilities, thus leading to projected budget deficits.
The City faced a structural deficit in the current fiscal year as well as the past year. Addressing these required the use of one-time funds and deferral of capital projects to bridge the gap between revenues and expenditures. In spring 2021, the Budget and Governance Committee requested that staff analyze some options for the City to increase revenue, including possible revenue measures to be placed on the ballot in the 2022 election cycle. The City retained a consultant to prepare financial analyses of possible revenue measures and the results were shared with the City Council at its November 2, 2021, meeting. At that same meeting, and following the report of that study, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Clifford Moss to assist the City in developing approaches to possible revenue measures for the 2022 election cycle. The scope of work included conducting a community survey in December of 2021.
At its January 18, 2022, meeting, the City Council received a presentation of the results of the survey that had been conducted the previous month. After considering this information, the Council decided not to pursue any measures for the June 2022 ballot, but to continue working on a possible measure or measures for the November 2022 ballot. The Budget & Governance Committee subsequently discussed with representatives of Clifford Moss a community engagement process to occur during spring 2022 to gather feedback from the community about their interests, concerns and priorities. That community engagement process is underway and the results will be reported to the City Council at its May 17, 2022 meeting.
Discussion
The proposed contract amendment with Clifford Moss includes funding for support of continued community engagement, including social media outreach, collecting and analyzing feedback received on a resident survey page on the City’s website and developing other materials to share information and seek community input. Additionally, should the City Council decide at its May 17th meeting to move forward with a ballot measure or measures for the November ballot, staff will recommend that a follow up community survey be undertaken. The proposed contract amendment with Clifford Moss includes funding for that follow up survey, which would be undertaken by FM3 who conducted the earlier survey in December 2021. The results of that survey, if authorized, and the additional community engagement would be presented to the City Council at its June 21, 2022, meeting, at which time the Council would be asked to decide whether it wishes to move forward with a ballot measure in November.
Fiscal Impact
The cost of the proposed contract amendment with Clifford Moss is $60,000 which includes an additional community survey by FM3. Funding for these purposes was budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 General Fund Budget (101-1900-80050).
Staff Communication with the Public
The Budget and Governance Committee has been discussing these matters at its meetings since spring 2021.
Conflict of Interest
None identified.
Conclusion
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an amendment to the contract with Clifford Moss to assist the City in assessing and developing possible revenue measures for the 2022 election cycle.
PREPARED BY: Sheri Hartz, City Clerk
Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Christine Daniel, City Manager
Attachments
Attachment A – Clifford Moss Professional Services Contract Draft Resolution
Exhibit A – 1st Amendment
Resolution Authorizing Contract Amendment with Clifford Moss for Revenue Measure Analysis City Council Meeting | May 3, 2022
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM