REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of February 22, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBJECT: Extension of Contract with Lew Edwards and FM3 Contract to the Lew Edwards Group for Polling and Strategic Communication Services for Ballot Measures to Extend the Utility Users Tax, and the Viability of Becoming a Charter City for the Limited Purpose of Increasing the Real Property Transfer Tax RECOMMENDATION ACTION:
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement for Election Opinion Poll Services with the Lew Edwards Group for an amount not to exceed $131,250 subject to the City Attorney’s review and available budget appropriations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total contract extension costs for the next phase of Polling and Strategic Communication Services is a not-to-exceed amount of $131,250. Task one services, detailed in Exhibit A, shall not exceed $63,750, and project management services will be charged a rate not to exceed $7,500 per month for a 9-month period, or $67,500.
The cost of designing, printing, and mailing informational mailers is not included in the contract extension. The proposed Lew Edwards Group scope of work presumes that the consultant will provide word copy content for educational materials and the City will procure for design/print/mail services separately. Staff will return to Council for an additional allocation for educational materials in the near future.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In late 2021, the City awarded a contract to the Lew Edwards Group, and FM3 Research to determine the public opinion of registered voters regarding 1) the feasibility of going to the voters in November 2022 or November 2024 to extend the existing Utility Users Tax (UUT) prior to its expiration on January 1, 2025, and 2) the viability of becoming a charter city for the limited purpose of increasing the Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT).
Lew Edwards and FM3 Research completed the public opinion survey and made a presentation about their findings and recommendations related to the UUT and RTTP initiatives on February 9, 2022. A summary of the polling results and the associated PowerPoint presentation is attached for your review (Attachment 1 and Attachment 2).
The results of the public opinion survey revealed that City is in a strong position to renew its existing, voter-approved utility users tax (UUT) measure in November 2022. The public opinion of Hercules becoming a Charter City for the purpose of adopting a local Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) was mixed. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters polled were in support, thirty-nine percent (39%) were opposed, and twenty percent (20%) were undecided. Based on these findings, Lew Edwards recommended that the City further educate and engage the community around the potential Charter City/RPTT measure and conduct another public opinion survey to further evaluate its feasibility for placement on the November 2022 or 2024 election ballots.
After receiving the report, Council directed staff to return with a proposal from Lew Edwards and FM3 for additional education and polling services.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS:
The Lew Edwards Group and FM3 propose to provide the following consulting services to the City of Hercules (beginning March 1, 2022, and projected to end on November 15, 2022):
Through subcontractor FM3 Research, develop a second dual-mode survey questionnaire of approximately 20 minutes for up to 400 City of Hercules respondents to assess additional measure viabilities (phone interviews will have English/Spanish language capacity) Design, recommend and provide word copy content for Communications Toolkit and informational materials/outreach (City to design, print and mail at its own expense outside of this agreement) Review survey data, analyze results, and present a detailed analysis of poll findings Prepare briefing materials to the City Council and complete a Final Report Review and advise on all ballot measure components and staff reports.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement Extension with the Lew Edwards Group and FM3 Research for an amount not to exceed $131,250 for Tax Measure Advisory Work Attachment 2 - Exhibit A – Task One Scope of Services & Exhibit B – Comp Schedule for Task Two Attachment 3 - Summary Report of January 2022 Community Survey Result Attachment 4 – Council Presentation on January 2022 Community Survey Result Attachment 5 - January 2022 Community Opinion Survey Questions Attachment 6 - November 9, 2021 Award of Contract to the Lew Edwards Group