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Following the Finance and Audit Sub-Committee’s discussion on potential revenue <br />measure options at the October 2, 2017 Sub-Committee meeting, staff hired two <br />consultants to help the City assess the feasibility of placing revenue measures on the <br />November 2018 ballot. The City retained the services of TBWB Strategies, a strategy <br />and communications consulting firm that assists local government agencies with <br />designing winning revenue measures for the ballot and implementing the <br />communications strategies required to maximize success. The City also hired a polling <br />firm, EMC Research, to gain an understanding of the opinions of Redwood City voters <br />and provide the City with statistically reliable and scientifically sound data to aid in <br />determining the feasibility of a variety of revenue measures for the November 2018 <br />ballot. <br />This report provides details on the City’s revenue measure polling results, the feasibility <br />for placing a revenue measure on the November 2018 ballot, and a proposed public <br />engagement and outreach plan to educate the public on the City’s financial needs. <br /> <br />ANALYSIS <br />The City retained TBWB Strategies and EMC Research to conduct a voter opinion <br />survey to gauge the feasibility of a sales tax measure and transient occupancy tax <br />measure on the November 2018 and November 2020 ballots. Over the past two <br />months, TBWB and EMC have worked closely with City staff and a City Council ad hoc <br />committee to draft the survey questionnaire, refine the list of potential City activities to <br />receive funding, and develop two potential ballot questions for the purposes of the <br />survey. <br /> <br />The poll was conducted from March 5-13, 2018 using a mixed-mode email-to-web and <br />telephone survey methodology. Results were compiled from 434 completed interviews <br />(234 online and 200 phone) of likely November 2020 Redwood City voters, with a <br />subset of likely November 2018 voters. The margins of error for these two universes are <br />+/- 4.7 percent and +/- 5.6 percent, respectively. Interviews were conducted in both <br />English and Spanish by trained, professional interviewers. <br /> <br />Findings from the survey indicate that Redwood City voters positively rate City services <br />and believe that Redwood City offers a very good quality of life. A majority of <br />respondents also recognize the City’s need for additional funding and agree that the <br />City should invest in maintaining essential City services, even it means raising local <br />taxes. There is sufficient support for a sales tax measure and it is recommended that <br />the City continue pursuing November 2018 as a viable election option for a sales tax. <br /> <br />8.B. - Page 2