City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: July 18, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, Director, Finance Department, Revenue Subject: Award RFP No. 363 and enter into Agreement with TeamCivX to provide strategic advisory and communication services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Award RFP 363 to TeamCivX, LLC, to provide strategic advisory and communication services regarding potential ballot measures for the Finance Department.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with TeamCivX, LLC, a California Corporation, in an amount not to exceed $400,000 for a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
As the City continues its economic recovery, it is imperative to seek additional revenue streams to advance City services and Council priorities. The City is considering potential revenue ballot measures, including, but not limited to, business license tax modernization. To provide expert advice and strategy for this work, the City seeks the services of a strategic advisor. Staff recommends a five-year agreement with TeamCivX in an amount not to exceed $400,000 to provide strategic advisory and communications services regarding potential ballot measures.
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Discussion
As the City focuses on mobilizing its resources to finance priority areas identified by Council and increase services, additional revenue streams are needed to fill the financial gaps that are attributed to the pandemic and legal settlements. TeamCivX would provide strategic advisory and communications services to help the City evaluate the feasibility of local funding measures, design approved measures for the November 2024 ballot that align with community priorities and implement informational communication efforts to raise awareness of the City’s needs and potential ballot measures.
TeamCivX is a new company, but its core personnel have worked with the City on several successful ballot measures in the past. The scope of service would include working with City staff to discuss the feasibility of revenue ballot measures, assistance in planning for and evaluating expected voter acceptance of prospective revenue measures, and recommended approach for potential measures based on available data and professional expertise. They would also assist with the prioritization of multiple options and determine the support threshold for potential measures. This would include communication to educate voters on revenue measures and provide transparency.
TeamCivX would also partner with the City’s existing polling consulting firm to design and evaluate a statistically reliable poll of voters in Santa Monica to test potential revenue measure strategies and messaging for the November 2024 ballot.
The five-year agreement with TeamCivX would span three election cycles. Staff estimates $270,000 ($7,500 per month) spent on strategic advisory and communications services, plus $130,000 allocated for three years of mailers, for a total amount not to exceed $400,000.
Consultant Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best and Only
Bidder
TeamCivX
Evaluation Criteria Experience with similar projects and working with municipalities, technical competence, value added-breadth of services, ability to 3 of 4
meet work plan/timelines, and cost of services.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFP Data
Date Posted Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter &
SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
5/10/2023 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily
Press
15 5/31/2023
Environmental Review
The award agreement is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The award agreement is covered by the common sense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The award agreement will provide strategic advisory services to the City. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the agreement would not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such, is categorically exempt from CEQA.
Additional Vendor Outreach & Justification to Award
Staff reached out to several firms that downloaded the RFP for feedback on why they did not submit a proposal. Some firms that downloaded the proposal later determined that the scope of service did not fit with their firms’ business, inadvertently forgot to submit the proposal, or declined to comment.
Based on the evaluation criteria described above and criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends TeamCivX as the best qualified person or firm due to their team of seasoned professionals with many years of experience working with municipalities. TeamCivX is a new company, but its partners have assisted with 500 local revenue ballot measures in California since 2001, raising tens of billions of dollars in voter-approved local revenue. Approximately 90% of the measures for which they have provided assistance have been approved by voters. Locally, in the past, their staff has worked with the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica-Malibu USD (multiple bonds and parcel taxes since 2008) and Santa Monica College (two most recent bond measures). They have also helped three Los Angeles County agencies with public education programs related to successful countywide funding measures.
Statewide, they have helped Cities with sales taxes, transient occupancy tax measures, business license tax measures, documentary/real estate transfer taxes, cannabis-related measures, and others.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the General Fund to award a five-year agreement with TeamCivX for strategic advisory and communication services regarding potential ballot measures.
Agreement Request
FY 2023-24
Request Amount Future Years Amount Department Account # Total Contract Amount $133,333 $266,667 01300005.552010 $400,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: David Carr, Assistant City Treasurer
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. TeamCivX OAKS INITIATIVE FORM