Report to Mayor and City Council
Monday, May 23, 2022
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
PRESENTATION FROM ADAM SONENSHEIN OF FAIRBANK, MASLIN, MAULLIN, METZ & ASSOCIATES ON A RECENTLY COMPLETED A SURVEY OF VOTERS IN THE CITY OF CARSON REGARDING COMMUNITY SATISFACTION AND PRIORITIES (CITY COUNCIL).
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I. SUMMARY
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) recently completed a survey of voters in the City of Carson regarding community satisfaction and priorities. This staff report is presentation of the results and provides Council with major takeaways from the survey.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Discuss AND provide DIRECTION to staff on whether to submit a ballot measure for consideration to the voters to continue the Utility Users Tax to the voters at the November 8, 2022 General Election.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1) DO NOT APPROVE the recommendation.
2) TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) recently completed a survey of voters in the City of Carson regarding community satisfaction and priorities. Key takeaways from the survey include:
1) More than two-thirds of respondents would support a ballot measure for the November 2022 ballot to generate funding for City services by continuing the existing Utility Users’ Tax with no tax rate increase based on a hypothetical ballot question tested in the survey. (Exhibit 1).
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they would support the measure to maintain City services. This result is far above the majority-vote threshold required for passage of the measure and well outside the survey’s margin of error. Just 22% would vote “no” against the measure, and 10% were undecided. Support for the continuation measure is broad and crosses nearly every demographic and geographic sub-group including Council District, political party, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and home ownership.
2) Nearly three-quarters of all respondents perceive that the City of Carson needs additional funding. (Exhibit 2)
One of the key drivers of support for the measure is that 74% of respondents believe the City has either a “great need” or “some need” for additional funding. By contrast, just 16% perceive that the City has only “a little need” or “no real need” for additional funding. In fact, more Carson voters think the City has a need for additional funding today than in any of the prior surveys done by FM3 for the City of Carson in the last eight years.
3) Voters prioritize local funding for protecting local drinking and environmental protection, maintaining public safety and 911 emergency response, and cleaning public areas, among other local services. (Exhibit 3)
Nearly all respondents (97%) believe that “protecting local drinking water” is either extremely or very important as a priority for Carson City government. Other priorities considered to be extremely or very important by approximately nine-in-ten respondents include “maintaining public safety” (91%), “cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater from toxic chemical runoff” (91%), “maintaining 911 emergency response” (90%), “cleaning up trash and blight on local streets” (90%), and “keeping public areas clean and safe” (89%). Exhibit 3 lists these and other services, programs and projects which survey respondents considered to be the most important to fund.
4) Additionally, the survey found that more than three-quarters of Carson voters approve the City’s response to the COVID pandemic. (Exhibit 4)
Seventy-six percent of respondents say they approve of the job the City government has done in response to the COVID pandemic, compared to just 18% who disapprove.
5) More than seven-in-ten respondents perceive that truck traffic is having a negative impact on the local environment. (Exhibit 5)
Seventy-two percent of respondents said the following statement is accurate: noise and emissions from truck traffic have a significant negative impact on the local environment. By comparison, 21% said the statement is inaccurate and seven percent were unsure. The percentage considering the statement to be accurate is 12 points higher than the results of a survey conducted for the City in November 2016.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The City of Carson’s Utility Users Tax (UUT) was originally approved by the City’s voters in 2009 and renewed in 2016 for seven years. The tax is currently scheduled to sunset June 30, 2023. The UUT is a vital element in the funding of critical city services. On average, the UUT provides 10% of the City of Carson’s General Fund revenue.
VI. EXHIBITS
1) Exhibit 1 Opinions on Carson Local Revenue Measure
2) Exhibit 2 Carson’s Need for Additional Funding
3) Exhibit 3 Highest Priorities for Carson Respondents
4) Exhibit 4 Approval of Carson City Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
5) Exhibit 5 Accuracy of Statement that Truck Traffic is Having a Negative Impact on the Local Environment
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Prepared by: Tarik Rahmani, Finance Director