2008-06-23 Study Session - ballot issues

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MINUTES OF UNIVERSITY CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION June 23, 2008 The Council Study Session, held in the Chambers of the City Hall, on Monday, June 23, 2008, was called to order by Mayor Adams at 5:30 p.m. In addition to Mayor Adams, the following members of the Council were present: Mr. Byron Price Mr. Robert Wagner Mr. Terry Crow Mr. Michael Glickert Mr. Arthur Sharpe, Jr. Ms. Lynn Ricci had an excused absence. Also present was the Finance Director/Deputy City Manager Janet Watson. The Study Session was planned for discussion of ballot issues. Ms. Lee Falk, a ballot issue consultant, gave Council a presentation on building support for public funding. She offers comprehensive communication services which focuses on strategic planning, public engagement and branding. Ms. Falk’s business focus is now on funding through public engagement and informational and advocacy campaigns. She stated it takes a lot of ground work and polling before is important. Ms. Falk said it is hard to determine what Real Estate Tax is going to be anymore, so it is hard to predict its outcome. Mr. Price asked her of some of her past experiences in working with tax increases. Ms. Falk stated she had worked with Kirkwood which had previously failed and when she came on board it did pass. The same was true in Webster. Ms. Falk mention the importance of Town Hall meetings where complex issues can be discussed and it helps to build credibility with the residents. She said this would be easier in the summer to get people to attend. Ms. Falk said that it is easier to appeal to the emotions rather than numbers. This can be done by compare strengths and weakness, “Need because of__________.” Ms. Falk suggested using a telephone survey before any decisions, in order to pre- determine residents’ response. She mentioned Terry Jones at UMSL as a person who conducts such a survey. The questions would be, “If……….would you………” Ms. Falk said citizen groups are good and can help to generate money and be spokespersons. She stated that November election is not ideal and she said that it would be hard for the City to run the campaign without any help. Ms. Falk’s suggested cost for the citizen group funding would be $20,000 to $30,000. The Council thought that maybe the citizen group could come through the Boards and Commissions of University City. Work by citizen groups has the advantage of having more time and understanding of the needs. Ms. Falk also reminded the Council that any advertisement asking for a “yes” vote cannot be funded by the City. The City can pay for a survey and education material only.