Title:
Title
Measure U Community Advisory Committee Recommendations to Implement Participatory Budgeting and Conduct an Annual Public Opinion Poll
End
FileID
File ID: 2020-01000
Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation:
Recommendation
Receive, review, discuss, and provide direction to the City Manager regarding recommendations of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee.
FileName
Contact: Michael Jasso, Assistant City Manager, (916) 808-5704; Ash Roughani, Development Project Manager, (916) 808-7751, Office of Innovation and Economic Development
Body
Presenter: Members of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-July 27 Recommendations to Implement Participatory Budgeting
3-August 28 Recommendations to Conduct an Annual Public Opinion Poll
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The Mayor and City Council established the Measure U Community Advisory Committee (“Committee”) in 2018 to ensure that the expenditures of City resources reflect Council and Community priorities (Resolution 2018-0393).
At its July 20, 2020 meeting, the Committee approved a series of recommendations related to Measure U expenditures. The scope of this report concerns two sets of recommendations approved at that meeting regarding: 1) the implementation of participatory budgeting, and 2) the administration of an annual public opinion poll to identify resident priorities for Measure U spending. The recommendations are provided in more detail below.
Participatory Budgeting
The Committee’s recommendations to implement participatory budgeting are as follows:
1. Re-allocate $15 million dollars in this budget year previously allocated to the Police Department, Fire Department, and Other CIPs, MYOPs & Debt Service line items in the Approved Fiscal Year 2020/21 Measure U Budget to let residents determine how to spend this portion of Measure U tax revenue (“Participatory Budgeting”);
2. Commit to increasing this investment annually by $5 million until the total amount allocated to Participatory Budgeting (PB) equals at least 50% of revenue from the second 0.5 cent sales tax;
3. Make the voter determined PB funding priorities binding, as a demonstration of good faith; and,
4. Codify this commitment to democratic decision-making by incorporating participatory budgeting into the City’s Charter, to ensure PB becomes a part of the fabric of city budgeting.
Annual Public Opinion Poll
The Committee’s recommendations to conduct an annual public opinion poll to determine resident needs and priorities regarding Measure U budget expenditures are as follows:
1. The Mayor and Council allocate $25,000 to pay for city-wide polling to be completed by October 31, 2020 so that the results can inform the body’s consideration of mid-year adjustments to the annual budget;
2. A standardized polling process be used but that underserved and underrepresented neighborhoods and communities be oversampled to ensure that no communities are left behind;
3. That this body institutionalize annual Measure U Polling in conjunction with the Participatory Budgeting process and embed a budget line item for this process of at least $25,000 per year; and,
4. The Measure U Community Advisory Committee be engaged in drafting and reviewing polling questions.
The full letters from the Committee to the City Council containing these recommendations are included as Attachments 2 and 3 to this report.
Policy Considerations: City Council Resolution 2018-0393 adopted October 2, 2018 outlines the purpose, and the powers and duties of the Measure U Committee. Specifically, the Resolution states, to ensure that the expenditures of City resources reflect Council and community priorities, the Committee shall review, report, and make non-binding recommendations on revenue and expenditures of certain funds from the Transactions and Use Tax (Sacramento City Code chapter 3.27.).
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: None.
Sustainability: None.
Commission/Committee Action: The recommendations in this report were approved by the Measure U Community Advisory Committee on July 20, 2020.
Rationale for Recommendation: The City Manager would need direction from Council to implement any of the recommendations in this report.
Financial Considerations: Without the redirection of existing resources included in the FY2020/21 Approved Budget there are inadequate resources to fund PB.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): None.