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City outlines long‑term financial strategy, narrows 2025 ballot focus and plans polling
Summary
Budget staff said the long‑term financial strategy is near the end of phase 1 and will enter a phase that identifies potential tax measures and develops a five‑year plan. Staff said a statistically valid poll is planned (about $40,000) and 2025 measures will focus on taking care of underfunded core needs while broader options will be explored for
City budget staff told the council the long‑term financial strategy will guide decisions on revenues, fees and program priorities and that the project is nearing completion of an initial assessment phase.
Charlotte Heskey, the city’s budget officer, said the two‑year project is organized around four work streams: (1) developing a long‑term financial plan, (2) identifying alternative funding and revenue opportunities, (3) defining core services and benchmarking, and (4) developing a multiyear tax‑ballot strategy. Heskey said phase 1 included an inventory of fees, core‑services mapping and a multiyear ballot framework; phase 2 will prioritize steps, produce a five‑year comprehensive financial plan and develop potential 2026 ballot options.
On polling, Heskey said the city plans a statistically valid voter survey to test specific ballot questions and tradeoffs: “They’re about $40,000 a piece,” she said, referring to individual polls. She and other staff said the Financial Strategy Committee has narrowed initial thinking toward a narrower 2025 approach focused on “taking care of what we have” — funding unmet and underfunded needs — and a broader, more creative slate of options for 2026.
Heskey and colleagues described two near‑term candidate measures under consideration: an extension of the community culture, resilience and safety tax and a potential public‑realm tax; both were described as capital‑focused and intended to cover infrastructure and total cost of ownership. Staff said they will commission 2025 polling, bring results to council late June, and plan voter outreach and communications tied to community engagement through May 2026 for 2026 options.
Why it matters: the work frames where city leaders might seek voter approval for revenue measures and how the city will balance tax burden and equity when evaluating options.
What’s next: staff will present more detail April 3, perform polling and return with poll results in late June; engagement through spring 2026 will inform any 2026 ballot measures.
