Memorandum 15-104 Core Service Survey and Town Hall Meeting

Memorandum 15-104

TO:                       Mayor Wythe and Homer City Council            

THROUGH:       Katie Koester, City Manager                

FROM:                 Patrick Lawrence, Assistant City Manager

DATE:                  June 24, 2015

SUBJECT:         Core Service Survey and Town Hall Meeting   

The purpose of this memo is to update the Mayor and Council on the status of the Town Hall meeting being held to discuss the budget shortfall. Prior to the Town Hall Meeting, the public will have the opportunity to provide feedback using the survey described below. The information collected from the survey will inform the discussion at the Town Hall Meeting.

We propose going live with the survey July 7th. Staff will advertise the survey on the radio, in the newspapers, and on the City website. The survey will run until August 8th, at which point we will compile the results and present the findings at the Town Hall meeting on August 15th, during which a discussion will be had with the public regarding the results.  We propose to utilize keypad polling to gauge the stance of the audience and help spur further discussion.  The results of the survey and the keypad polling will then be tabulated and presented to the Council on August 24th.    

Survey:

The intent of this survey is to gather information from the public on which City-provided services they consider to be a Core Service as well as what revenue generating ideas they are most in favor of.    

A Core Service is one that is vital to the health, safety, and strength of the Community. They tend to reflect large City investments, cannot be duplicated, represent a large segment of the community, and are typically a City Council priority. A Core Service is indispensable.

Where do you live?

Homer City Limits
Kachemak City
Anchor Point
Diamond Ridge
Fritz Creek

f-Other

What services the City of Homer provides do you consider a Core Service or essential? Rank 1-11 in importance to you, 1 being the most important, 11 being the least.  

___Park and Recreation
___Road maintenance
___City Administration
___Police
___Fire and EMS
___Library
___Planning and Zoning
___Economic Development  
___Boards and Commissions (used to collect the public’s input)
___Non-Profits (Chamber of Commerce, Pratt Museum, etc.)
___Airport
___Animal Shelter

(Port & Harbor and Sewer & Water are not included due to the self-sustaining nature of their operations)   

The City has already made spending cuts and further cuts will be required to correct the deficit. What City provided services would you recommend reducing?

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Generating revenue will help keep many of your Core Services operational. Please rank these revenue generating designs from 1-7, 1 being most in favor of seeing enacted.

___Increase the Mill rate
___Introduction of a Room Levy
___Increase Sales Tax Cap from $500 to $1,000
___End seasonal non-prepared food tax holiday
___Increase Fees and Fines
___Increase the Sales Tax
___Lower exempt portion of taxable property value

Please share any additional revenue-generating ideas.

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Recommendation:

Provide staff with feedback on the proposed Town Hall Meeting and Survey questions. Approve the timeline for rollout of the Survey and Town Hall.