BACKGROUND
On April 19, 2017, the City Council directed staff to proceed with a broad community engagement effort known as “Engage Roseville” to involve residents, businesses, and others who have a stake in Roseville’s quality of life, in prioritizing city services and developing options to align service levels with revenues. Engage Roseville was designed as a multi-faceted engagement and education program that included:
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Formation of the Community Priorities Advisory Committee (CPAC), an ad-hoc advisory committee charged with prioritizing the services and programs provided by five general-funded departments, including live-stream broadcast of every meeting;
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Extensive use of social media (Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter, YouTube, e-newletters, etc.);
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Informational videos and podcasts featuring City department heads, City Manager, and CFO in conversational, interesting settings;
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A series of brief, online polls regarding department services using FlashVote;
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Direct mailing to every household in Roseville outlining issues and ways to get involved;
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Balancing Act Budget Tool, an online budget game requiring users to balance an operational deficit by making choices to reduce certain programs and services;
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Various community and industry group presentations (RCONA, Chamber of Commerce, Building Industry Association, etc.);
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A “Community Conversation,” a well-attended community meeting focused on discussing and city service priorities in small groups and ranking services through real-time online surveys conducted during the meeting;
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Dedicated website EngageRoseville.com with information and links to materials, broadcasts, podcasts, polling sites, presentations, minutes, and survey results;
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Dedicated email address and phone number to receive general comments and questions;
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Flyers at public counters and city events to inform people of ways to learn and get involved;
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Promotion of EngageRoseville on digital billboards; and,
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Media relations, including by-lined columns and print and TV news coverage of the budget issue and efforts to strengthen community participation.
The effort was directed at educating residents about how shifts in consumer habits and increasing costs are negatively affecting city revenues, raising awareness of steps the City’s already taken to control costs, sharing fiscal trends, and encouraging community members to provide input on the services and programs they value most. Council directed staff to complete the Engage Roseville effort by March 2018 to inform and guide development of the FY2018-19 annual budget. This staff report captures the information gleaned from each of the engagement components, and presents common themes, value statements, and supporting recommendations.
Context and Purpose of the Engage Roseville Effort
The City’s fiscal position has been improving since the recession of 2009, but at a slower pace than the broader economy. Initial recovery from the recession meant there was lost ground to be regained, as the City prioritized maintaining quality of life services and was able to minimize cuts with strong fiscal management and deferment of improvements and maintenance. Up until the past year, sales tax revenues increased as pent-up consumer demand following the recession was satisfied, and property tax revenues increased as real estate values recovered; however, observed trends indicate that the growth in revenues is slowing while the City’s expenses are growing.
During the recession, the City kept service levels high by deferring millions of dollars’ worth of capital improvements and maintenance, and by lowering payments to key funds such as workers’ compensation and retiree health. All the while, a constantly changing legislative and regulatory environment continues to add significant uncertainty and cost to the City’s operations.
As a data-driven organization, the City uses metrics to inform its decision-making process. This approach provided for a break-even budget in FY 2016-17, where operational revenues equaled operational expenses. However, in FY2017-18 operational expenses exceeded revenues by approximately $2 million. The City is required by law to adopt a balanced annual budget. As a result, it was necessary for the City to implement reductions in service levels to bridge the $2 million shortfall. The trend looks similar for the FY2017-19 budget, with expenses expected to exceed revenues again by $2 million, requiring further reductions in service levels and programs in order to adopt a balanced budget.
While the recent service level reductions have bridged the short-term operating deficit, they do not fully address the City’s long-term liabilities, including deferred maintenance and repayment to the key funds noted above (among others). If the City were to maintain its current levels of service while also fully funding its long-term liabilities and deferred maintenance, the general fund budget would realize a $10+ million structural deficit per year, resulting in a fiscally unsustainable position moving forward.
ENGAGE ROSEVILLE COMPONENTS
Community Priorities Advisory Committee
The Community Priorities Advisory Committee (CPAC) was empaneled by the City Council in July 2017. Committee members were appointed to represent a range of viewpoints. Its representation included at-large community members, appointees from the Transportation, Planning, and Parks Recreation & Libraries Commissions, and industry focus areas including the Chamber of Commerce, Building Industry Association, and school districts. The Committee was given the following charge:
- Develop a common understanding of municipal finances and the City’s budget to provide context for recommendations about funding and levels of service;
- Review aspects of key general-funded City operations, prioritizing community expectations for the levels of service provided by five general-funded City departments: Police; Fire, Parks Recreation & Libraries; Public Works; and, Development Services;
- Review fiscal strategies and constraints associated with continued delivery of high-quality services at current or increased levels; and,
- Work in good faith to achieve consensus in developing options and recommendations.
All CPAC meetings were streamed live on YouTube, replayed on the City’s government access television station (Comcast 14, Consolidated Communications 73), and posted to www.EngageRoseville.com for viewing on-demand. Over the course of nine months and 16 meetings, the Committee received detailed information on operations and services from each of the five Departments and deliberated the relative value these functions provide to the Roseville community. The Department presentations and following discussions informed a set of prioritization exercises in which members were asked to select a certain number of services valued highly, as well as an equal number of services they considered low priority.
In addition to the tables of service priorities, the Committee generated a number of overarching value statements that flowed from themes in its discussions, along with department-specific recommendations. The Committee’s report also includes fund stabilization/revenue strategies to mitigate the need for, or extent of, service reductions. These are presented in the Recommendations Report included as Attachment 1. Common themes that resulted in overarching recommendations include the following:
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Seek to reduce rather than eliminate services. Recognizing that every service is important to someone, the CPAC expressed a desire for the City to look for opportunities to scale back but maintain services where possible, rather than eliminate them entirely.
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Prioritize efficient public safety as the cornerstone of City services. The CPAC placed a high priority on public safety services. However, they also recognized the need to provide such services cost-effectively, and recommended measures such as seeking ways to reduce overtime costs, regional solutions, evaluating response models – particularly for minor traffic accidents and medical calls - and ensuring mutual aid agreements are not fiscally disadvantageous to Roseville.
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Maintain Roseville’s competitive edge in the region, with desirable neighborhoods (schools, parks, open spaces) and a business friendly environment. CPAC members expressed that Roseville’s services and programs are what make it an attractive community that’s competitive in the region. There was concern that a significant reduction in services might counterproductively diminish Roseville’s desirability for residents and businesses.
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Maximize flexibility in staffing levels. CPAC members expressed the opinion that the City should rely on volunteers, temporary, part-time and contract staff to the extent feasible to minimize pension obligations and other benefit costs and to be able to more quickly adapt to changing economic conditions and demands for service.
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Generally, the City shouldn’t subsidize services that the private sector can provide. Members generally felt that it wasn’t appropriate for the City to directly compete with private enterprises. However, they also recognized that it may be appropriate in certain circumstances to subsidize certain programs or services that serve a public purpose or provide a greater public benefit, such as free Wi-Fi at the public libraries or at-risk youth recreation programs, among others.
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Seek opportunities for increased cost recovery for all City services, where applicable and appropriate. Committee member discussion focused on increasing user fees for recreation programs, fitness memberships, higher user fees/cost recovery for permits, facility rentals, and other services where appropriate.
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Recruit, train and deploy volunteers where appropriate. The CPAC expressed a desire for the City to increase its use of volunteers and unpaid interns, where possible and operationally appropriate, to help maintain service levels using fewer paid City staff.
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Pursue fund stabilization/revenue enhancement strategies to preserve Roseville’s quality of life. The majority of Committee members expressed support for the City to explore strategies to increase revenues through various options – including tax measures – requiring approval of Roseville voters. However, some members also stressed the need for the City to explore further reductions in programs and services in lieu of revenue enhancements.
The complete list of department-specific recommendations and service prioritization tables are contained in the attached Recommendations Report. All pertinent committee meeting materials and information is included as an appendix to the Recommendations Report and is available for download on the Engage Roseville website.
FlashVote
FlashVote is an online surveying tool designed for participants to take in just a minute or two, predominantly from their smartphone. (Desktop computer and landline users could also participate.) The surveys were designed to be brief, asking one to three questions about general knowledge of the City’s fiscal situation, and the services provided by the five general fund departments being evaluated by the CPAC. Participants were able to leave comments at the end of each survey. The City promoted FlashVote on Facebook, the bi-weekly e-newsletter, and with a YouTube video on the Engage Roseville website showing ease of sign-up. To date, more than 1,400 people have registered to participate.
Since there was not a survey combining all General Fund services, it is not possible to derive the relative support between intra-department services from the FlashVote results. However, in comments received with each survey, the most consistent response was a desire to maintain the City’s current level of services. FlashVote results are summarized below. The full results are included as Attachment 2.
Initial Survey
The initial survey was launched on Wednesday, August 20, 2017, which measured participants’ awareness of budget-related issues. The survey closed 48 hours later, and all participants received a copy of the results.
Key Takeaways:
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586 participants - a 59% response rate, with a margin of error of ± 4 percent
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Most people responded in the first hour or two the survey was open.
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61% were aware of the budget gap.
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The most important issues people wanted to know more about (pick up to three):
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79% Services being considered for cuts
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59% What we’re already done to control costs
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49% Why are revenues flattening
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Based on the results and the comments, people were most likely to provide input via digital/online means.
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Online tools (website, social media, e-newsletter) are the most intensely used methods to get information about the City, exceeding in-person meetings and media coverage.
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The older a respondent was, the more interested they were in learning why revenues were flattening.
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In contrast, the younger a respondent was, the more interested they were in learning why costs were going up.
Public Works Department Survey
The Public Works survey was sent to 1,113 participants at noon, October 17, and closed 48 hours later on October 19. Within the hour after the survey closed, all participants received a copy of the attached results. With a promise that FlashVote surveys can be completed in a matter of minutes, the Public Works survey was limited to two questions, plus the opportunity to provide comments in a third question. Participants were asked to chose their top three most important services in the following categories: Streets, Sidewalks, Stormwater, and Traffic-related services.
The most important services in Streets, Sidewalks, and Stormwater section were (pick up to three):
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89%: Pavement Maintenance: Repair roadways, fill potholes, seal cracks, and fix hazards that are safety risks
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67%: Drainage System & Flood Wall Maintenance: Maintain storm drain system and flood walls to protect the public and prevent localized flooding
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Tied for third:
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44.7%: Weed Abatement: Remove weeds along roadways and in center medians so they don’t become fire hazards or visual obstructions
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44.4%: Sidewalk Maintenance: Repair City sidewalks where there are tripping and other safety hazards and notify property owners when their sidewalks are unsafe and need attention
The most important services in Traffic-related services section were (pick up to three):
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68%: Traffic Signs & Street Markings: Maintain traffic signage and pavement markings so they are readable and provide safe direction to motorists
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64%: Roadway Improvement Project Management: City management of roadway improvement and widening projects that are completed by contractors
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60%: Traffic Management Requests: Evaluate requests from residents for traffic safety improvements such as stop signs, traffic signals, crosswalks, and on-street parking
174 open-ended comments included thank yous, suggestions for public safety—including specific streets and intersections as well as police patrol, and comments and suggestions on other areas of city services
Police Department Survey
The Police survey was sent to 1,179 participants at noon, December 5, and closed 48 hours later on December 7. Within the hour after the survey closed, all participants received a copy of the results. Similar to Public Works, the Police survey was limited to two questions with the ability to provide comments in a third question. In the first two, participants chose their top three most important services in the following categories: social service and public outreach, and patrol and traffic-related services.
The most important services in social service and public outreach section were (pick up to three):
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56.9%: Assigning officers to homeless outreach and illegal camp cleanup
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50.4%: Collaborating and coordinating social-work services with social-service providers, city and county agencies and mental-health response team
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47.6%: Assigning officers to patrol parks and trails
The most important services in Patrol and Traffic-related section were (pick up to three):
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86%: Maintaining Crime Suppression Unit focusing on gangs, lower-level drug-dealing, neighborhood drug houses, prostitution, human trafficking and special enforcement projects as needs arise
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59.9%: Assigning a detective to regional narcotics and probation taskforce to focus on high-level narcotics trafficking and supervision of known offenders (particularly those on early release from prison) in Roseville and throughout Placer County
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51.3%: Continuing to use K9 officers (officers partnered with trained police dogs) for officer protection, searches, narcotics detection and public outreach events
203 comments included thank yous, suggestions, comments, and misperceptions about operations and funding.
Fire Department Survey
The Fire survey had a 49 percent response rate, with a margin of error of ± 4 percent. It was sent to 1,308 participants at 11 a.m., February 6, 2018, and closed 48 hours later on February 8. The Fire survey was also limited to two questions, plus the opportunity to provide comments in a third. In the first two, people chose their top three most important services in the following categories: operations and support services.
The most important services in Operations were (pick up to three):
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88.2%: Fire-based emergency medical response (firefighter/paramedic)
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73.0%: Hazardous materials response (railyard spill response, gas releases, unknown spills/materials)
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54.2%: Fire-inspection program (fire inspections at schools, assembly buildings, care facilities and businesses to ensure compliance with the fire code and the safety of the building occupants)
The most important services in the Support section were (pick up to three):
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74.3%: Citywide emergency planning and training
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64.0%: Weed abatement enforcement to reduce fire hazards
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53.0%: Arson investigation program
170 comments included thank yous, suggestions, and observations and opinions (see Attachment 2).
Parks Recreation & Libraries
The Parks, Recreation & Libraries (PR&L) survey had a 52 percent response rate, with a margin of error of ± 4 percent. It was sent to 1,207 participants at 1 p.m., December 13, and closed 48 hours later on December 15. To cover the three distinct services that PR&L provides and to distinguish between recreation programs and recreation facilities, four questions were asked with the opportunity to provide comments in a fifth. In the first four, people chose their top two most important services in the following categories: Parks, Libraries, Recreation programs, and Recreation facilities.
The most important services in Parks were:
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62.8%: Trash collection and restroom cleaning
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45.4%: Fixing vandalism and cleaning up graffiti
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36.5%: Regular inspections and repairs of playgrounds
The most important services in Libraries section were:
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46.8%: Youth library programs such as storytime, homework help, summer reading, Teen Library Council
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35.5% Maintaining hours for Riley Library, providing computer access and borrowing of books
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Tied at 29%: Maintaining hours at Downtown Library, maintaining hours at Maidu Library, and Adult library programs including literacy tutors, computer classes, veterans resources
The most important services in Recreation facilities section were:
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42.5%: Maintaining hours at Roseville Aquatics Complex for swim lessons, recreation swim and high school use/swim team rentals
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40.5% Maintaining hours at Mike Shellito Indoor Pool for year round swim lessons, recreation swim and water fitness
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40.4%: Maintaining hours at Roseville Sports Center for fitness classes/equipment, open gym, climbing wall and rental space
The most important services in Recreation services section were:
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40.9%: City events in Vernon Street Town Square such as Christmas Tree Lighting, concerts, Wine Down Wednesday
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35.1%: Kids programs such as engineering, sports and cooking classes/camps
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35.0%: Playground activities and teen programs for at-risk youth
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33.8%: Senior programs such as support groups, socialization, wellness and tax services
201 comments included thank yous, suggestions, and comments ranging from unfinished parks to new development to homelessness concerns.
Development Services Department Survey
The Development Services survey had a 42 percent response rate, with a margin of error of ± 4 percent. It was sent to 1,442 participants at noon, March 8, 2018, and closed 48 hours later on March 10. Given the small number of discretionary services and the high cost-recovery rate for its services, the Development Services survey asked only one question, the least number of questions of the five departments, with the ability to provide comments in a second.
The most important services in Development Services were (pick up to two):
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79.4%: Code enforcement including nuisance abatement, public health and safety
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35.9%: Regional coordination to review other projects and initiatives that could affect Roseville
88 comments included thank yous, suggestions, and observations and opinions.
Balancing Act
In March 2018, the City launched an online gamification of the budget choices it faces using Balancing Act software. Users have to close a $2 million budget gap by cutting funding among a range of discretionary services in the Police, Fire, Public Works, Development Services, and Parks, Recreation and Libraries departments. Costs of various services were rounded for ease of use and were relative for the purposes of the exercise. Users can click on the services for more details about the service and about the consequences if funding is reduced. They can also submit comments throughout the exercise. Once they have created a balanced budget or a surplus, they can submit their suggestions.
The Colorado-based creators of Balancing Act work with cities and counties throughout the nation and were very impressed by the number of submissions Roseville had, especially for a city using this tool for the first time. Of the 1,282 page views Roseville had, 320 budget scenarios were submitted. The creators said it was one of the highest conversion rates they had seen for participation. Cities typically average a 10% conversion rate, where Roseville’s was 25%. In raw numbers, they said it was on par with cities that have three or four times Roseville’s population.
Balancing Act was different from other outreach tools that ranked services within departments since Balancing Act allowed users to shift funding among the five departments to close the budget. This resulted in a citywide prioritized list of services. The results reflected similarities among the various outreach approaches: CPAC, FlashVote, and the Community Conversation.
Attachment 5 shows which services had the lowest cuts (higher priorities) to the highest cuts (lower priorities) in the average scenario on a weighted basis as a percentage of their original value.
Of particular note are the following:
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Nearly two-thirds of participants said they are getting their money’s worth from tax dollars.
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While 30% of respondents chose to reduce service levels as the most important way to close the budget gap, a combined 44% chose to raise revenue (raising taxes and/or fees).
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Only 10% chose to eliminate services as the preferred way to close the budget gap.
The rankings, along with additional demographic data and all of the comments are included as Attachment 5.
“Community Conversation” Workshop
More than 120 Roseville residents attended the Community Conversation workshop, held from 5:30PM to 8:30PM on February 26, 2018 at the Maidu Community Center. About 40 staff members were on hand to facilitate all aspects of the meeting. All residents who had signed up, were on a waitlist, and walked-in that night were able to participate. Participants discussed their city service priorities in small groups and took real-time online surveys using their smartphones, and interacted with City department heads and staff members to ask questions and discuss priorities. Due to time constraints, the focus of the evening was on the services provided by the three departments comprising 60% of general fund expenses: Police, Fire, and Parks Recreation & Libraries Departments.
At the beginning of the meeting, participants were quizzed via smartphone survey on general topics such as how much they think the city collects from a typical $5,000 property tax bill, or how much sales tax they think the city collects from Galleria Mall sales. Each department then provided an overview of the services they provide, followed by a table discussion facilitated by City staff members. Participants then responded to a series of questions via smartphones with results projected in real time in the room. Participants were also able to submit general comments during the polling.
The complete polling results and open-ended comments are included as Attachment 3. Many participants indicated they were unaware of the fiscal challenges facing the City and the possibility of further service reductions. A common thread among comments received was that the participants think Roseville is a great community in which to live, they highly value the levels of service the City provides, and would like to maintain those levels. To close the budget gap, the majority of participants favored raising fees and taxes over reducing or eliminating services. Similar to the CPAC, participants placed the highest emphasis on emergency response services, followed by (in order of preference) roadway maintenance, parks, libraries, recreation activities, and community events. Participants felt the City’s most significant opportunity to save money was in (descending order) recreation, libraries, parks and playground maintenance, fire, and – to a far lesser degree - police. Concern over Fire Department overtime costs and staffing models were also prominent themes in comments received.
Participants expressed appreciation to the City for organizing the workshop and other outreach efforts.
COMMON THEMES
A sample of common themes from the CPAC, FlashVote, and Community Conversation include:
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Roseville is a unique community, residents value the services they receive, and would like to maintain them. Most showed reluctance to reduce or eliminate services and programs.
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Participants recognized that these are difficult decisions.
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Residents value public safety services, but recognize that more cost-effective approaches to service delivery may need to be explored, including ways to reduce overtime costs.
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Code enforcement and nuisance abatement are an important function to maintaining quality neighborhoods and should be maintained.
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Public safety social services programs are needed to address resident concerns surrounding homelessness issues.
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Continued participation in regional planning efforts is important to ensure the city’s interests are represented.
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Pools, youth programs, and libraries are highly valued. Special events, such as fun-runs, turkey trots, etc. are of lower priority.
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Crime suppression activities such as investigations, gang enforcement, narcotics, human trafficking, etc. are highly valued. Public safety outreach, education, and community relations programs are or lower priority in comparison.
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Roadway maintenance and floodplain management are important to the community; however, less support was shown for maintaining the country’s only CRS Class 1 rating for flood prevention measures and that a lower CRS rating may be more sustainable.
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The majority of participants favored raising fees and taxes to close the budget gap over reducing or eliminating services.
CONCLUSION
Engage Roseville was a staff-intensive, valuable public engagement exercise that was well-received by the community. Goals of the effort were to:
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Gather additional, broad feedback about quality of life services important to the community;
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Continue to responsibly inform residents about the City’s budget, fiscal situation and needs, including revenues, expenses and challenges;
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Provide important information to City Council and City staff about the kind of community people want to live in and which services they value;
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Highlight the trade-offs associated with allocating limited resources; and,
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Support continued transparency of the City’s decision-making process and maintain the City’s tradition and practice of community collaboration and trust.
By all accounts, Engage Roseville has successfully met these goals.