Title
Staff Report for Resolution of the San Leandro City Council to Appropriate $95,000 from the General Fund for Consulting Services Assistance Associated with Exploring a Potential Public Safety Parcel Tax
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
At the May 7, 2018 City Council meeting, the City Council directed staff to proceed with polling and related tasks related to a potential public safety parcel tax for the November 2018 ballot, contingent upon commitments from the Local 55 Chapter of the Alameda County Firefighters and San Leandro Police Officers Association to share in the cost of a public opinion survey.
Per the City Council’s direction, staff is now moving forward with efforts associated with exploring the viability of a potential public safety parcel tax as part of the November 2018 election. As highlighted at that meeting, implementation requires the assistance of multiple consultants, with technical expertise in public affairs, financial analysis, and polling.
Based on feedback subsequent to the May 7 Council meeting, the approximate costs of assistance and related efforts are as estimated as follows:
Public opinion survey: $40,000
Financial Consulting Assistance: $10,000
Public Affairs Consulting Assistance: $35,000
Factual Information mailer and postage: $10,000
Total: $95,000
Staff will return to the City Council with additional updates once the public opinion survey has been completed and the results have been tallied. Staff tentatively expects survey work to commence the second or third week of June, following the June primary election. If at any time during the process, the City Council elects not to move forward with this measure, staff will cease these tasks to limit any unnecessary expenditures. With that said, having the funding appropriation in place will enable staff to move forward as quickly as possible, given the extremely tight timeframe available to complete all required tasks in order to qualify for the November election.
Per the direction of the City Council, staff has also met with representatives from the Local 55 Chapter of the Alameda County Firefighters and San Leandro Police Officers Association and requested confirmation as to whether they would be willing to provide a voluntary financial contribution that would equitably share in the cost of the public opinion survey. To date of writing of this staff report, staff has not received written confirmation from these organizations in response to this request. However, staff will report to the City Council with relevant updates as new information becomes available.
Fiscal Impacts
The cost of anticipated consulting services agreements and related outreach efforts will require the appropriation of $95,000 in one-time costs from the General Fund Economic Uncertainty Reserves to account 010-12-020-5120. In the event the public safety parcel tax ultimately moves forward and is authorized by two-thirds of the electorate, it is estimated that it could generate in the order of several million dollars per year in new revenue for public safety services before sunsetting.
PREPARED BY: Eric Engelbart, Deputy City Manager, City Manager’s Office