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Pleasanton council declines immediate polling but unanimously directs staff to begin talks on raising hotel tax
Summary
After months of budget shortfalls, council debated professional polling on potential new revenue measures; a motion to fund polling failed for lack of a second, but council later voted unanimously to direct staff to begin stakeholder discussions on a transient occupancy tax (TOT).
Pleasanton — The City Council spent more than two hours Aug. 5 debating whether to pay a consultant $31,000–$50,000 to conduct statistically valid voter polling on possible revenue measures including a hotel tax increase, a sales tax, a parcel tax and general‑obligation bonds.
The polling proposal would have tested up to three options, measured messaging, and assessed likely voter support and tradeoffs. "Professional polling would test initial support levels, measure impact of messaging, and determine which city services residents value most," City Manager Aron Zavala told the council.
Council split on strategy. Vice Mayor Nybert introduced a motion to authorize polling; the motion was seconded but later failed for lack of a sustained second. A separate motion — to begin formal discussions with hotels and other stakeholders…
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