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Merced council OKs more outreach and polling as staff tests support for a citywide general tax
Summary
After polling returned a 63% topline for a hypothetical general measure, council approved a supplemental contract for outreach and polling to refine a possible November tax measure; council debate split over measure scope, with one member calling outreach to test a broad general tax 'disingenuous.'
Merced City Council approved a supplemental appropriation and professional-services agreement on Jan. 20 to expand community outreach and polling after an initial consultant survey showed potential voter support for a general-purpose tax.
City Manager Scott McBride summarized the consultant team's work and told council that an initial, statistically valid poll of roughly 400 respondents returned “the polling came back at 63%” in favor of a tested general-measure concept. McBride said the report and outreach results are posted in the agenda materials and recommended a phased engagement plan that includes additional public polling and targeted outreach before any ballot authorization.
Council discussion was robust. Supporters said the survey shows a viable path to raise general revenues the city lacks — funds that could be used to address public-safety staffing, homelessness impacts, road repairs and parks maintenance. Council member Dupont urged additional community education and emphasized that a general tax requires only a simple majority, whereas a special-purpose levy (earmarked language) would require a two‑thirds threshold.
Councilmember Jeang opposed the move to spend more on outreach and polling, saying the draft language and consultant approach risked misleading residents about how revenues are ultimately spent. “I think it is disingenuous to residents where they think that money is going to very specific things,” Jeang said, expressing concern that a broad general-tax measure could be perceived as a way to direct funds to favored departments.
After debate the council voted to approve the supplemental contract with the Lou Edwards Group and partners to continue outreach and message-testing (the motion passed with Councilmember Jeang voting no). The contract funds will pay for further polling, multilingual outreach and digital communications ahead of any final decision to place a measure on a November ballot.
What happens next: staff will proceed with the agreed outreach plan, return to council with refined polling and community input, and only then will council consider whether to place a measure on a future ballot. Any actual tax measure would still require separate council action to place it on the ballot and follow state election law and ballot-timing rules.
Why it matters: polling indicates interest in more local revenue for services commonly cited by residents, but council members disagreed about transparency and specificity of any future proposal. The outreach is aimed at clarifying whether a voter-endorsed, elector-approved measure is achievable and what voters would accept.
