City Council
MEETING DATE: 3/9/2016
TITLE:
Title
Professional Services Contract with FM3 to conduct an Opinion Research Poll
End
FROM:
Tami Scott, Administrative Services Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with FM3 (Fairbank, Maslin, Metz & Associates) to provide opinion research services regarding whether to place a City Charter before the voters of Cathedral City.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The City Council has been discussing in public meetings the process and possibility of moving from a General Law City to a Charter City and what those changes may look like.
DISCUSSION:
At the February 24, 2016 Council Meeting, Council directed the City Manager to bring back to them for consideration of moving forward with Fairbank, Maslin, Metz & Associates aka "FM3" the request for FM3 to conduct a public opinion research pole on what the voters of Cathedral City might like to see in a Charter City and if they agreed with the direction the City Council was considering.
To provide the City Council with the information necessary to make informed decisions, FM3 would conduct a survey of 400 Cathedral City registered voters wo are likely to participate in the November 2016 general election using innovative dual mode (telephone and internet) survey methodology. Although the design of the survey questionnaire itself would be conducted in close coordination with the City, we envision the final survey would address some of the following issues:
•Do voters feel that Cathedral City is headed in the right direction, or off on the wrong track?
•What are voters' perceptions of City government, its management practices and the quality of service it provides?
•How do voters respond to various potential ballot label language options for the charter measure?
•Do voters want their City government to have greater authority than it has now? If so, in what specific areas?
•Are voters receptive to instituting political and/or management reforms in City government? If so, what specific reforms are they most supportive of?
•Of the specific provisions of the proposed city charter, how do voters respond to each one?
•How do voters respond to various legally-permissible, non-advocacy information statements about the proposed charter?
•What are the impacts of various oppositional messages against the charter measure that are likely to be utilized by charter opponents?
•Who/what are the specific individuals and organizations that would have the greatest credibility to speak out publically regarding the proposed charter?
In addition, the City is currently establishing a new Maintenance District with the intention of using Proposition 218 property owner vote-by-mail election process to obtain authorization for levying a street repair assessment on Cathedral City property owners. FM3 suggests that the City may wish to consider adding a handful of questions addressing this topic to the survey as well. The city may also wish to add a couple of questions related to the possibility of increasing the utility users tax by 1/2 percent as a revenue source to provide an ongoing stable source of support for our senior center.
The polling will be done in both English and Spanish surveys to ensure proper inclusion of the City's Latino voter population.
FISCAL IMPACT:
An amount not to exceed $35,000
ATTACHMENTS:
None