Item B: FY14 Plan on Action - City Service Fee Proposal

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in several ways about their July 2012 Survey Results collective core values and issues Rank Four Service Areas of concern, as well as about their % #1 or #2 Service Area Priority spending priorities. Responses Human Services 85% from both surveys are shown in Street/Bike Path Maintenance 62% the table. Quality of Life Services (such as parks, recreation & library) 47% Public Safety 34% At the January 14 council work November 2012 Survey Results session, the City Manager will Priority Spending for Services and Programs provide a recommendation about % Top + a package of services that would Issue 2 Priority nd be funded through the new City Maintain fire protection and ambulance services 96% Encourage economic and business development 94% Service Fee. Maintain funding for human services 89% Increase police protection 85% Accountability and Increase jail capacity 84% Transparency: It is essential to Avoid cutbacks on City parks & recreation programs & 79% facilities provide assurances to voters and Avoid cutting back further hours at public libraries 66% taxpayers that the funds provided Keep public swimming pools open 64% through a new revenue source are appropriately spent on programs that meet their expectations, and that caps are placed on revenue generation. The success of building in such assurances can be seen in the recent approval by voters of a second street bond measure that includes a number of accountability and transparency features. Survey data from July and November provide insight into some of the things that would be important for accountability and transparency. The types of features tested in the survey mirror the kinds of assurances that were built into the street bond measures and the Downtown Urban Renewal District plan amendment processes. Both surveys included questions about how the revenue source should be enacted, and about dedication of the revenues, including how much discretion the council should have in enacting the revenue source and determining how to spend the funds each year. It is very clear that the community would expect that the council would bring a proposal for a new monthly City Service Fee to the ballot, rather than authorizing the fee without a vote – 66 percent said that even a modest fee must be placed on the ballot and approved by the voters. In both July and November, voters were asked about their preferences for how the investment of new revenues should be controlled, and in both cases, respondents were willing to provide the council with some discretion in determining how those expenditures were allocated. The wording of the questions was slightly different, but used the same concepts in asking the voters their opinions, and in both cases, approximately 60 percent were willing to provide the council with some ability to determine spending allocations, as can be seen in the chart on the following page. S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130114\S130114B.doc