To: Hercules City Manager Dante Hall
From: Lew Edwards Group and FM3 Research
Date: February 4, 2022
Re: Summary Report of January 2022 Community Survey Results
INTRODUCTION
Together with City Executive Staff, Lew Edwards Group (LEG) and FM3 Research (FM3) designed an updated 2022 City of Hercules Community Survey to evaluate customer satisfaction, resident priorities for services, and community interest in potential local funding measures.
Survey interviews were conducted by FM3 January 3 -17th. LEG/FM3 is pleased to report 324 completed interviews, which is more tha n the 245 respondents willing to respond in the last survey conducted in the City in 2015 . The Margin of Error on the full sample is +/ - 5.4% at the 95% confidence level.
VIEWS OF THE CITY
Having serv ed the City ’s sustainability needs over the course of the past decade, LEG /FM3 have a unique view on how resident perspectives have evolved over time.
2022 survey respondents clearly view life in Hercules through a more positive lens. Today, those who say things are off on the wrong track are at a record low, and 56% of respondents feel the City is headed in the “right direction” -- a 25 point increase from when we started our collaboration with the City in 2012.
A majority of respondents feel the City is doing an “excellent” or “good” job providing services, and a plurality believe the City is doing a good job managing its budget and finances . At the same time, perceptions of city inefficiency and corruption have continued to steadily decline since 2012 , with perceptions of c orruption, cronyism, waste, or inefficiency dropping from a high of 63% in 2012 to 24% today.
While confidence has softened since our 2015 collaboration, it is still stronger than many other cities are currently experiencing and is likely due to the uncertain COVID times . This is a testament to City leadership’s hard work during these trying times.
MEASURE VIABILITIES
There were three measures evaluated in the 2022 study.
Renewal of Existing Voter-Approved UUT, with No Increase in Tax Rate
The City is in a strong position to renew its existing, voter-approved utility users tax (UUT) measure in November 2022 . The following ballot question (reviewed and approved by the City Attorney) was tested three times in the study:
CITY OF HERCULES NO TAX INCREASE/FINANCIAL STABILITY MEASURE: Shall an ordinance to maintain Hercules’ long -term financial stability and essential city services, such as neighborhood police patrols; crime prevention; street and pothole repair; and youth an d senior programs, by renewing an existing, voter -approved 8% utility users’ tax, generating approximately $3,600,000 annually until ended by voters, with no tax increase, low -income exemptions, independent citizens’ oversight, annual audits, and funding that cannot be taken by Sacramento, be adopted?
This simple majority requirement measure be gins with a 67% viability threshold on the first ballot test, stays consistent at 69% on the second test, and remains at 66% on the final, third ballot test. As there is no statistical difference in these perce ntages, this measure is strongly supported by respondents and remains remarkably consistent through the entire progression of the survey.
Based on this evaluation, LEG/FM3 recommend the City proceed with planning for placement of this measure on the City’s regularly scheduled Municipal Election.
City Charter Measure
Each of the two following measures were tested once in the study:
CITY OF HERCULES CITY CHARTER/LOCAL CONTROL MEASURE. To enhance local control over funding essential city services, shall the City of Hercules Charter be adopted to establish Hercules as a Charter City with the ability to adopt a local real property transfer tax, subject to voter approval? The City Council’s powers otherwise remain unchanged and are limited by State general law, and any other powers as a charter city would have to be approved by voters. Do yo u think you would vote “yes” or “no” on this measure?
This simple majority-requirement Charter measure receives 39% support. While this percentage is not unusual for other LEG cities who have enacted similar measures, it bea rs noting that in Hercules's case, the percentage opposition to this measure is also 39%, whic h is far higher than in our other successful cities. The percentage of undecideds are therefore much lower in Hercules (around 20%) than in other successful jurisdictions.
Based on t he community ’s current reaction to this measure LEG/FM3 advise a longer runway of preparation for the 2024 election cycle to provide time for the City to educate the community about this measure concept if desired.
Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) Measure
The following companion rev enue measure to the Charter Measure was also tested once in the survey:
CITY OF HERCULES ESSENTIAL SERVICES PROTECTION MEASURE. Shall an ordinance to expand locally controlled funding for essential city services such as improving 911 r esponse times, disaster preparedness/ safe routes to school; retaining/ attracting businesses; keeping public areas/ parks safe/ clean; by enacting a real property transfer tax (paid only by buyers and sellers of property at the time of sale), until ended by voters and requiring annual audits, no funds for Sacramento, be adopted?
The test of t his simple majority-requirement companion RPTT measure is at 53% which is within the MOE for the survey. As this type of funding mechanism is reliant on the companion Charter Measure being adopted, as noted above, deferring consideration of this measure package until 2024 is strongly advised due to the relatively low scoring reactions to both at this time.
TOP SCORING COMMUNITY PRIORITIES
An extensive battery of City services /objectives was evaluated in the study . The following seven services/objectives scored the most intensively and highly:
▪ Maintaining long-term financial stability - 88%
▪ Preventing funds being taken by Sacramento - 87%
▪ Meeting water quality health standards - 86%
▪ Maintaining fiscal accountability - 86%
▪ Maintaining 911 response times - 85%
▪ Keeping public areas and parks safe and clean - 84%
▪ Keeping funds local - 81%
INFORMATIONAL STATEMENTS
The following paraphrased informational facts resonated most strongly and effectively with survey respondents.
Budget Implications: Without this funding, the City will lose $3.6 million every year, which is over 20% of the City's budget. T he City may have no choice but to slash basic city services just to balance its budget, including police and neighborhood patrols, street maintenance, parks, senior services, youth programs, economic development, and others.
Maintaining Local Public Safety Services : Measure C has maintained police services. I f it is not renewed, the City will be forced to seriously consider major cuts to our police department, which could impact crime prevention and 911 response times.
Quality of Life: Hercules is a place where people desire to live and raise families. If the City is forced to continue cutting basic city services, the character of our community and its quality of life will decline. Renewing local funding helps protect and maintain esse ntial City services that make our community a safe, well-maintained place to live.
Finally, it b ears noting that the study found that virtually half of Hercules respondents were concerned about the am ount they were paying in utilities -- viewing it as an “extremely” or “very” serious problem. In these uncertain COVID times LEG/FM3 would caution the City about over - reaching to consider any increase or changes to the actual UUT rate . These results show your constituents clearly value maintaining existing voter-approved funding for the City’s long-term fiscal stability with no tax rate increase, but do not speak to the viability of a potential increase in the rate.
RECOMMENDATIONS/ NEXT STEPS
Educating and engaging your residents around the City’s budget, service needs and local priorities is vital to maintaining measure viability. LEG/FM3 re commend the City educate and engage the community during the upcoming budget process to collect more input and keep the public updated on your challenges.
As in past collaborations with the City, LEG’s recommended Public Information toolkit will include the following:
▪ Informational Speakers’ Bureau : City staff should visit those organizations in -person or through their scheduled online meetings to solicit feedback and provide information , which was highly effective and well-received by the community in past collaborations.
▪ Opinion Leader Communications and Outreach : Communicating the results of this survey provides the City with an opportunity to engage opinion leaders and expand the conversation with high-level leaders.
▪ Website/Newsletters/Social Media: Facts and information about the City’s financial condition should be placed on the City’s website, Facebook Page and Twitter feed. LEG will be recommending an E -Update & Social Media Plan to engage the public, get more feedback, and provide information.
▪ Media Response & Earned Media: Any opportunity to respond to the media should be treated with high importance and an opportunity to share information with the community.
▪ City Newsletter: Producing and mailing printed City Newsletters are recommended to engage and inform the Community about City service needs and priorities. While the Speakers’ Bureau and Opinion Leader letters are extremely effective forms of communication, direct mail remains one essential component of a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary communications plan especially for seniors.
▪ Citizens Advisory Committee engagement: In LEG /FM3’s past collaborations with the City, the Her cules Citizens Advisory Committee has always been involved a s a highly credible community messenger, and we look forward to collaborating with the Committee again.
THUMBNAIL TIMELINE IF PREPARING FOR A NOVEMBER 2022 PLACEMENT
LEG/FM3 are looking forward to finalizing a graph presentation of Community Survey highlights for presentation to the City Council on February 8th. The following is a thumbnail outline of the timetable and key activities if planning for a November 2022 measure:
February – May: Update City Council, authorize continued project planning Engage Influentials and Community at Large
Solicit additional community feedback, report back to public Utilize budget consideration/adoption engagement and
messaging opportunities
June – July: Prepare ballot measure documents
Place measure on Municipal Election ballot
August – November: Submit ballot measure documents to County ROV Develop Municipal Election Communications Toolkit
Provide Municipal Election/Measure Information to public Thank the community for participating
November – December: Evaluate 2022 activities
If desired, commence assessment, planning and engagement for charter/RPTT activities