CITY OF RICHMOND VACANT PROPERTY TAX
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY
OF CITY‐WIDE REGISTERED VOTERS
JANUARY 2022
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REPARED FOR:
CITY OF RICHMOND
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REPARED BY:
SCIConsultingGroup
4745 MANGELS BOULEVARD
FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA 94534
PHONE 707.430.4300
FAX 707.430.4319
www.sci‐cg.com
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CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This Opinion Research and Survey report was prepared by SCI Consulting Group under contract with the City of Richmond.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including any photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems, without permission of SCI Consulting Group.
SCI Consulting Group
4745 Mangels Boulevard
Fairfield, CA 94534
Phone: 707.430.4300
www.sci-cg.com
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
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CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE........................................................................................................................ 1 FUNDING OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 2 ABOUT VACANT PROPERTY TAXES ......................................................................................... 2 SURVEY METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 3 SAMPLE .......................................................................................................................... 3 DATA COLLECTION METHOD ............................................................................................. 3 ACCURACY ..................................................................................................................... 4 SURVEY FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 5 BALLOT QUESTION .......................................................................................................... 5 SUPPORT OF BALLOT QUESTION ....................................................................................... 5 DETAILED SUPPORT OF BALLOT QUESTION ........................................................................ 7 SERVICE PRIORITY QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 8 OTHER FINDINGS ........................................................................................................... 10 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................ 11 THE PROPOSED VACANT PARCEL TAX IS WELL-SUPPORTED AND POLITICALLY VIABLE. ....... 11
BLIGHT ABATEMENT, ILLEGAL DUMPING RESPONSE, AND CODE COMPLIANCE SERVICES ARE DESIRED ....................................................................................................................... 11 ANNUAL CPI INCREASE, AND SUNSET RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................... 11 SPECIAL TAX VS. GENERAL REVENUE TAX CONSIDERATIONS ........................................... 12 INFORMATIONAL OUTREACH ........................................................................................... 12
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OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1 – PROPOSED ANNUAL RATES TESTED IN SURVEY ...................................................... 3 FIGURE 2 – OVERALL SUPPORT .............................................................................................. 6 FIGURE 3 – DETAILED SUPPORT .............................................................................................. 7 FIGURE 4 – DETAILED SUPPORT BY PROJECTS AND ISSUES ...................................................... 9 FIGURE 5 – COMMENTS RECEIVED BY RESPONDENTS IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSED MEASURE .. 10 FIGURE 6 – COMMENTS RECEIVED BY RESPONDENTS AGAINST THE PROPOSED MEASURE ........ 10
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
This report presents the findings of a scientific survey of registered voters within the City of Richmond (“City”) conducted by SCI Consulting Group (“SCI”) from November 25, 2021 to January 6, 2022. The City is interested in establishing a vacant property tax (VPT) that would help to achieve the City’s goal of actively addressing budget shortfalls, blight, illegal dumping, and code compliance, and encourage the optimal use and development of vacant properties.
The primary purposes of the survey were to:
Evaluate the support, desires, and priorities of registered voters within the City by voter demographic, with res pect to the proposed Vacant Property Tax.
Measure the level of voter support fo r a Vacant Property Tax to address budget resources, blight abatemen t, code compliance and illegal dumping services, and development of vacant properties.
Survey questionnaires and a survey guide doc ument were mailed to randomly sampled registered voters in Richmond. The surv ey guide provided an overview of the proposed vacant property tax, as well as provided information about the b light and illegal dumping challenges, and the City’s efforts to addre ss them. There was information provided regarding how the funding gener ated by the prosed tax coul d be used, should a revenue measure pass. Every effort was made to keep the information factual and to avoid the impression of advocating for a potential measure.
After a brief overview of a VPT and the met hodology employed in the survey, this report presents a summary of the key survey findings.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
FUNDING OVERVIEW
VPTs can be implemented as “general taxes” (no designation as to use of the revenue) or as “special taxes” (strict designation as to use of the revenue) – both approaches were considered in this study. These taxes are le vies on real property that can be based on either a flat or tiered methodology for the services to be funded by the levy.
Both a special tax and a general tax are decided by registered voters in the City, typically in a regularly scheduled one-day election including mail-in ballots, such as a statewide primary election or general election. A VPT is considered a parcel tax and therefore a VPT enacted as either a special tax or a general fund tax requires 66.7% voter support. In an election to approve a special tax or a general tax, only registered voters are eligible to vote.
To be clear, a special tax is required to us e revenue proceeds for s pecific governmental purposes. The specific purposes to be funded by a special tax must be identified in the balloting material provided to vo ters at the time of the spec ial tax election. General tax revenues may be used for any governmental purpose.
ABOUT VACANT PROPERTY TAXES
Multiple benefits can be derived from a well-implemented VPT, including:
Revenue generation
Property owner behavior modification and improvement
Currently, VPTs are not common but have re cently been successfully implemented in Vancouver, BC and Oakland; and a growing numb er of California cities are considering implementation. In both Va ncouver and Oakland, the VPT ge nerates significant revenue, but it does require considerable parcel research and analysis, administrative resources, and community outreach.
VPTs are taxes placed upon un-used and unde r-used properties. They are collected annually on property tax bills based upon the City-determined vacancy status of the property.
The general annual collection process involves identifying potentially taxable parcels, communicating with the owners of those parce ls, and providing specific opportunities for these owners to petition the vacancy determination and/or apply for an exemption.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The survey was designed to test the universe of the registered voter response pool, and the data collection methods of the survey mirror the actual ballot procedures of an election mechanism as closely as possible. In this wa y, the survey results will be predictive in evaluating the support levels a vacant property tax election would likely receive in a City election.
Figure 1, below, shows the various rates included with the survey questionnaires:
F
IGURE 1 – PROPOSED ANNUAL RATES TESTED IN SURVEY
SAMPLE
SCI created a stratified, randomly sampled pool that included only registered voters in the City. The sample was designed to draw from t he eligible voters to participate in the tax election for a VPT.
DATA COLLECTION METHOD
On November 25, 2021, about 7,007 surveys were mailed to registered voters within the City. The survey mailings included general info rmation (i.e. a survey guide) about vacant property taxes, blight, illegal dumping, blight abatement and code compliance services, and a questionnaire with an enclosed postage-paid return envelope. Survey recipients were also given the option to respond to the survey online. This data collection method has proven to be highly reliable for predicting the results from an actual funding measure.
To date, 638 total surveys have been receiv ed from the property owners and registered voters, representing a response rate of 9.1%. This response rate is generally consistent with SCI’s experience from other similar survey projects.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
ACCURACY
The statistical margin of error for the results presented in this report is about 3.86%. This margin of error means that there is a 96.14% certainty that the actual levels of support in the City are +/- 3.86% from the results presented in this report.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
SURVEY FINDINGS
BALLOT QUESTION
The first survey question, often called the “ballot question,” models the question as it would likely be presented on a ballot:
In order to:
Address blight and illegal dumping; and
Enhance general revenue resources to provide long term fiscal sustainability,
would you support enacting a Vacant Property Tax on vacant parcels used less than 30 days per year at the below an nual rates, raising about $2,000,000 annually; with exemptions for very low income, low-income seniors and hardship?
SUPPORT OF BALLOT QUESTION
As noted, rates tiered by property type and size were tested for this project in the table shown above. Figure 2 below shows the overall leve l of projected support for the tiered annual vacant property tax rates tested. This chart shows that the overall level of support is 70.15%, which is just over the two-thirds threshold for a special tax.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
FIGURE 2 – OVERALL SUPPORT
70.1%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%% Support
Percent
Support
Percent
Oppose
70.1% 29.9%
66.7%
Threshold
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
DETAILED SUPPORT OF BALLOT QUESTION
Figure 3 below shows the detailed level of projected support for a vacant property tax. This figure shows that about 40% of the respondent s for the proposed VPT are a strongly in support of the proposed measure (in dark green) , and that 30% of the voters are in the “Probably Yes” category, which may indicate that they could be influenced by a community outreach campaign.
The number of voters who responded definitively that they would not vote for a funding measure were less than the “Definitely Yes”, however, that number is still very significant with 22.2% of the voters responding with “Definitely No.” Unfortunately, SCI has found that most often these respondents will vote “No” on the actual ballot measure regardless of any further information presented to them.
7.6% of respondents were somewhat undecided, responding “Probably No”. Similar to the “Probably Yes” respondents, additional information and outreach to more fully inform voters about a vacant property tax and its impact on City budget and blight abatement and compliance services should serve to improve support over time.
F
IGURE 3 – DETAILED SUPPORT
39.7%
30.4%
7.6%
22.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%% Support
Definitely No
Probably No
Probably Yes
Definitely Yes
66.7%
Threshold
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
SERVICE PRIORITY QUESTIONS
After indicating their degree of support for t he measure, registered voters were presented with a list of VPT issues and City services and were asked to indicate their degree of support for each issue or service. These questions were asked even of those voters who indicated that they intended to vote against the measure. This ensures that the VPT issue and service priority ratings reflect the overall community pr iorities, not just the interests of those who intend to vote for the measure.
As the figure on the following page illustrates, many of the issues presented received support, but the top priorities and features gar nering 70% threshold or higher for the “More Likely” to support the VPT measure were:
Blighted properties and illegal dumping seve rely damage the vitality, safety and economic progress of the City. We need to do something about it. This measure would provide the funding for the City to address illegal dumping, by enhancing illegal dumping prev ention techniques, monitoring and providing faster clean-up response.
These project priorities provide important insight into the community. The top priorities relate to funding additional blight abatement and illegal dumping response services and programs.
The results for all the projects, issues and arguments are summarized in Figure 4.
Definitely
Yes
Probably
Yes
Probably
No
Definitely
No
39.7% 30.4% 7.6% 22.2%
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, NOVEMBER 2021
FIGURE 4 – DETAILED SUPPORT BY PROJECTS AND ISSUES FOR ALL RESPONDENTS
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
OTHER FINDINGS
The survey included a section for respondents to indicate any other opinions and feedback regarding the proposed funding measure, as wr itten comments. Figures 5 and 6 show a summary of the comments received from respondents in favor of and against the proposed measure, respectively.
FIGURE 5 – COMMENTS RECEIVED IN FAVOR OF THE PROPOSED MEASURE
Comments from Respondents In Favor of a VPT
Comment Topic # of Comments
Support uses of revenue/tax 54
Targets of the tax 6
Offenders should be fined or taxed 6
Suggestions 7
Would like more information 8
Miscellaneous 32
Total in Favor Comments 113
FIGURE 6 – COMMENTS RECEIVED AGAINST THE PROPOSED MEASURE
Comments from Respondents Not In Favor of a VPT
Comment Topic # of Comments
No more taxes 99
Mistrust of City 25
Suggestions 15
We need more information 4
Status / Actions of City are a Concern 4
Miscellaneous 14
Total Not in Favor Comments 161
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
RECOMMENDATIONS
This survey indicates that blight abatement, illegal dumping response, and code compliance services are highly valued by the local comm unity, and the level of support by registered voters in the City is marginally above the required 66.67% ballot threshold at the proposed tiered vacant property tax rates. The survey respondent pool closely parallels the likely universe of registered voters who will vote in a parcel tax ballot election proceeding, and the survey results presented in this report have been adjusted to account for the projected ballot participation. Therefore, the ov erall results presented in this survey should be reflective of the actual ballot outcome from a parcel tax ballot election, assuming the measure does not receive organized opposition.
SCI makes the following recommendations regardi ng a vacant property tax ballot election proceeding.
T
HE PROPOSED VACANT PARCEL TAX IS WELL-SUPPORTED AND POLITICALLY VIABLE.
There is support for the pr oposed VPT. Following a strong co mmunity outreach effort to garner additional voter support, the City should consider proposing a vacant property tax to the community within the City of Richmond at or below the proposed rates.
BLIGHT ABATEMENT, ILLEGAL DUMPING RESPONSE, AND CODE COMPLIANCE SERVICES ARE
DESIRED
The survey findings support the fact that blight, illegal dumping, code compliance, and the impact of vacant properties are highly prioriti zed by the community, and that projects and services to address these issues are currently desired by the community. The survey shows strong support for continued and improved methods and services to address blight, illegal dumping, code compliance and development of vacant properties.
ANNUAL CPI INCREASE, AND SUNSET RECOMMENDATIONS
An annual rate adjustment limited by the annua l change in the Consum er Price Index is recommended. This rate adjustment would provide the City with additional ongoing revenue flexibility. If this measure is approved, on a year ly basis the City could establish a rate that is equal to or less than the maximum authorized rate, as increased by the CPI adjustment.
Although there is support for an annual CPI increase, it may cause a small drop in support.
An expiration date for the parcel tax, comm only known as a “sunset,” may be considered, due the VPT’s purpose to encourage the devel opment and use of vacant and underused
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
properties. An expiration date to the VPT would reflect the City’s position that, if successful, the VPT should result in a reduction of taxed properties over time.
SPECIAL TAX VS. GENERAL REVENUE TAX CONSIDERATIONS
A special tax requiring 66.67% support includes t he provision that all tax proceeds pay for specific governmental programs. The specific purposes to be funded by the special tax must be identified in the balloting material provided to voters at the time of the special tax election.
Benefits of imposing the VPT as a special tax include natural enhancement to the VPT’s messaging by emphasizing the nexus between the funding purposes of the tax and the underlying issues surrounding vacant properties such as blight, illegal dumping, and code compliance, etc. Opponents of a VPT may argue that the imposition of a VPT upon the very small number of vacant properties that would be subject to t he tax, in comparison to the population of voters who will decide the election of the tax, is unfair. A VPT enacted as a special tax would create a stronger link bet ween the VPT’s purpose of encouraging the optimal use and development of vacant properti es, and the societal effects of vacant properties within the community, while prov iding the resources to better address the challenges associated with blight and illegal dumping.
Enactment of the VPT as either a special ta x or a general fund tax requires the support of
66.67% of registered voters. Enactment of the VPT as a special tax may be preferred by the community and is recommended due to the reasons provided above.
A general fund tax requiring 66.67% support of r egistered voters may utilize proceeds from the tax for any governmental purpose. A general tax has t he advantage of supporting the City’s goals of a structurally balanced budget in addition to the ability to allocate funding to other identified projects such as blight abatement and code compliance programs.
INFORMATIONAL OUTREACH
If the City decides to proceed with a funding measure, efforts must be taken to inform the entire community, including single family homeowners, and the business, apartment owner, and community service communities, about the VPT and types of services and programs that would be provided and how these projects would be implemented.
C
LEAR AND AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION
The City should conduct traditional outreach messaging that highlight s increasing blight abatement, response to illegal dumping, and code compliance programs, etc, and the association of taxation of vacant properties.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
Voters today demand straightforward, aut hentic, clear, quantitative, face-to-face communication based upon rigorous analysis and planning. E-mails and social media posts from known residents are also very effective. Expensive-looking and slick mailers and signs are only marginally effective today. Once the re sidents know and trust their local City, they will be more likely to support it and help it financially.
Q
UANTITATIVE INFORMATION INCLUDING DETAILED BUDGETS AND SERVICE LEVEL REQUIREMENTS Today’s voters respond well to detailed, quantitative information rega rding operations and finances. For example, messaging should in clude a list of major program expenditures including blight abatement, and code compliance, etc. Financial information should be well- disseminated including 5- and 10-year fore casts. Broad, unsupported statements about needs, without supporting detail are not well received.
ADDRESS THE KEY ISSUES AND FORM A CONSISTENT MESSAGE
The City will need to address the key issues raised in the survey and form several concise messages to present to the public during the coming months of informational outreach.
These messages should be designed to furt her inform the public about the proposed VPT and associated improved services, with particu lar emphasis on the cost cutting measures already taken and the reasons for the need for more revenue.
It is vital to focus on the basic message that a vacant property tax measure would fund the fundamental blight abatement, illegal dumpi ng response, and code compliance services currently expected by the community. Addr essing blight, illegal dumping, and code compliance and encouragement of vacant property development are the top priorities of the community based on survey responses.
U
SE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA AS CONDUIT
Work with local media including local newspapers (e.g., local weekly publications), as well as social media, including Facebook, In stagram, e-mail lists, and Nextdoor to raise community awareness of the proposed VPT and associated services. The message to the media should be consistent with the main message summarized previously.
I
NVOLVE COMMUNITY LEADERS
Identify important community leaders and enlist them to assi st with the planning and outreach efforts.
CITY OF RICHMOND
OPINION RESEARCH AND SURVEY, JANUARY 2022
INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
Community stakeholders are those who may benefit most significantly by addressing blight and illegal dumping issues. These stakehol ders could include homeowners’ associations, schools, and service organizations.
Other stakeholders likely to be opponents to the measure include landlords, real estate developers, real estate agents, and owners of vacant properties.
MOST EFFECTIVE OUTREACH MECHANISM FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
The best way to enlist support fr om your constituents is via face to face, one on one communication from a known, credible source . Human contact is by far a much more effective way to communicate than flyers, maile rs, yard signs, e-mails or even phone calls.
This can be a challenge presently due to Covid restrictions. Consider the following ideas that have been successful in other Cities, w hen planning your local community outreach:
Zoom conferences, tabling at local s upermarkets, neighbor hood groups, neighborhood watch groups, any type of community meetings, s enior center events, social media, e-mail lists, etc. While this outreach is not ex pensive, it is time consuming and requires organization, coordination, message discipline and volunteer commitment.