The economic recession has already had a significant impact on the City of Dublin. The City of Dublin anticipates that its budget will be greatly affected not just for the next year but also in the years to come. With a projected deficit of up to $4.6M for fiscal year 2010-2011, Dublin is seeking input from residents as it tries to balance the budget.

If you received your Summer 2010 Dublin Guide this past weekend, you may have noticed a community survey with a handful of questions on the back of the Guide. Residents can choose to fill out the paper survey or complete the survey online. If you don’t see a short survey, that means Survey Monkey has already received a completed survey from your computer. The City of Dublin will use the data collected to determine the best approach to balancing the budget.

In terms of cost reduction, this survey will help identify the services residents are willing to forgo and those considered absolutely essential. The survey results will also help the City in crafting the optimal marketing strategy for the new local tax that is likely to appear on the upcoming November ballot. If residents indicate, for example, that maintaining the current level of police and fire services is top priority for Dublin, the City may position the new local tax as the only way to keep residents and business owners safe. Additionally, the City can draft the ballot measure such that proceeds from the new local tax would be earmarked for specific uses like police and fire services. The ballot measure will probably do little to address the underlying cause of Dublin’s skyrocketing police and fire expenses.

California’s current sales tax rate is set at 7.25%. Alameda County tacks on an additional 1.5%, while the City of Dublin tops off the final 1% of our combined 9.75% sales tax rate. On top of the 1.1% property tax rate, home owners in Dublin also pay a slew of special charges that include the East Bay Trails Landscaping and Lighting District Assessment and the Measure L Parcel Tax.

Please contact the City Manager’s office at (925)833-6650 for additional information regarding this survey.