15 Exhibit A to Attachment 1 - Scope of ServicesStatement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 3
4.Project Approach
Summary of Approach
NBS will communicate with the Town staff throughout
the duration of the project to clarify the Town’s goals,
identify any special circumstances, and develop a realistic
project schedule. The following Work Plans detail the steps
needed to put the Town in the best position to propose a
viable local funding ballot measure for the November 2024
election.
Although not mentioned in the Town’s Request for
Qualifications, an additional service we can provide is
Revenue Measure Modeling to calculate financial benefit
to the Town of a Special Financing District. This is
listed as an optional item in our proposed budget.
Phase 1 | October - December 2023 | Issue Research, Polling, Community Survey
NBS will work with your team to understand the specific needs for, and demand on, the Town’s programs
and services, and will provide an analysis of various tax models for the Town to understand potential
options.
Develop Stakeholder Outreach and Public Engagement Messaging: NBS will work with staff, elected officials
and stakeholders to develop agreed-upon messaging that will ensure the sharing of consistent ideas and
concepts with the community during Phase One services such as polling. Standard messaging will provide
clarity to community members and prevent confusion.
NBS will partner with the Town Manager, Town team, and our subconsultant GBA to provide the research
needed for the Town to understand its most viable revenue measure options.
Voter Poll: Working with NBS and the Town team, GBA will draft a survey questionnaire for Town approval,
and conduct a poll among likely voters within Los Gatos that will achieve the following objectives:
• Explore the current image of the Town of Los Gatos, voters' attitudes towards the Town, and their
assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of local government;
• Determine voter perceptions of the needs of the Town and the priorities that voters set for those
needs;
• Determine voter attitudes towards various revenue measures for the Town, and the optimum
amount to place before the voters;
Exhibit A: Scope of Services
Exhibit A
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 4
• Evaluate voters' top priorities for money raised in order to design a measure that best addresses the
desires of the community;
• Determine the most effective and important reasons for your voters to support a ballot measure;
• Develop a demographic profile of Town voters, including how various demographic groups differ in
their opinions and attitudes towards a possible ballot measure.
Polling Methodology: Our subconsultant, GBA, will select the survey sample from highly sophisticated
and up-to-date voter registration files. This information, when combined with the answers to our survey
questions, is essential as we identify voters who are most likely to vote in general, primary, municipal,
special, or mail-only elections. It is critical to remember that any survey must interview only likely voters.
Being a registered voter is not enough. Those likely to vote will have demonstrated their interest in
voting through their history in previous elections.
The sample will be drawn from lists of registered voters which have been matched with telephone
directories and other lists to maximize the quantity of available telephone numbers. Since this is a small
city, we would expect that a smaller sample of voters will be adequate, even if it is no more than 100-200
completed interviews.
GBA believes that it is of the utmost importance to go beyond simple questions and simple answers. For
example, you will never see us ask if a problem is serious or not serious. We require differentiation
between those with strong opinions and those with weaker opinions, those who say the problem is
"extremely serious," or "very serious" rather than those who say it is only "somewhat serious" or "not
too serious." Therefore, virtually all questions in our polls will delve into the intensity of feeling that
voters bring to an issue. Only in this way can we separate those voters with a general opinion on an issue
from those who are moved to take action because of that same issue (even if the "action" is just voting
"yes" or "no").
Telephone interviews are conducted by a regularly employed staff of full-time professional interviewers
who specialize in conducting interviews for public opinion surveys. GBA supervises the interviewing
process and verifies that interviews are conducted according to specifications. Supervisory procedures
include continuous on-site and telephone monitoring of interviews. GBA follows established industry
standards for call backs of busy or "not-at-home" numbers designed specifically to maintain the
randomness of interviewee selection and the validity of the survey. A regularly employed staff of full-
time professional interviewers conducts interviews in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese,
Mandarin, and other languages.
To summarize, we will provide to the Town of Los Gatos:
• Random telephone and on-line survey of likely voters
• Consultation solely with principal of Gene Bregman & Associates
• Assistance in developing topic areas to be investigated
• Development of survey questionnaire
• Scientific sample selection to assure reaching an accurate representation of the voting population
• Pre-testing of questionnaire
• Conduct of field work from our central phone bank, as well as surveys completed from text and
email contacts
• Editing, coding, and electronic data processing
• A full computer printout of all cross-tabulated data
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 5
• Analysis of survey results
• On-going strategy and consultation
Feasibility Analysis of Ballot Measure Options and Expenditure Plan: Incorporating polling data, NBS and
GBA will make recommendations to the Town team on a proposed ballot measure amount and ballot
measure expenditure plan elements. If polling is favorable for a potential funding measure, this would be an
optimal time to present polling data to the Town Council for discussion and recommendation to draft ballot
measure language. This allows time for community outreach, input and consensus building among key
stakeholders prior to finalizing the proposed ballot language and the resolutions Council must adopt to
officially place a measure before voters.
Decision from Council to move to Phase 2.
Phase 2 | January 2023 – July 2024 | Message Toolkit, Stakeholder
Outreach and Public Engagement
Outreach to key stakeholders (business, labor, and other community
leaders) before a measure is officially proposed can be key to the success
of its passage. This is where potential bumps in the road are uncovered,
and ideally resolved. NBS will work with the Town team to develop a
Stakeholder Outreach Plan and strategy to help build community
consensus around the need for a ballot measure to maintain the quality of
life that Los Gatos residents desire.
NBS will work with the Town team to create a Key Stakeholder Outreach
Plan and a list of key stakeholders and media outlets, develop website
content, and an Informational Toolkit (fact sheet, Q&A, PowerPoint
presentation) that can be used to educate and engage leaders in the public and private sector, business
community, and community-based organizations about the need for additional funding for essential public
services.
Once the Council acts to place a measure on the ballot, the Town may consider some informational
outreach to educate residents on the proposal itself through online and news media communications and
through the mail. Working with your staff and legal counsel, we can assist with crafting and implementing
that communications program.
Community Survey: In addition to the quantitative research conducted by GBA, CivicMic can conduct
qualitative research in the form of a community survey of residents at large. This outreach through email and
social media will be comprised of an abbreviated survey asking residents to weigh in with their priorities for
town services and programs. This community engagement effort provides additional perspectives to the
research and can be helpful in conveying the Town’s commitment to inclusivity and transparency.
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 6
Finalize Ballot Measure Language and Ballot Argument
To place a ballot measure on the November 5, 2024 ballot, all election-related Council action and
resolutions must be completed and noticed to the County by August 9, 2024, providing an important
window of time for informing and engaging community members around the need for additional revenue
before officially proposing and finalizing the ballot measure language.
NBS will work with the Town Manager and Town Attorney to draft ballot measure language and
accompanying resolutions for Town Council approval.
Engagement Activities
Aiming to reach residents with diverse backgrounds allowing for unique
perspectives, CivicMic would:
Create a customized webpage for your project on civicmic.com. This site
would feature a variety of engagement tools and informational materials.
Develop an email campaign strategy to reach out to community members and stakeholders who
may not have access to social media or may not regularly visit the Town website.
Include specialized mapping and graphics on CivicMic.com, such as sample maps showing
community participation in the survey.
Design content related to the Town’s challenges in maintaining high services levels for resident
programs and services.
Coach various Stakeholders on ways to share educational materials with community members
through workshops and printed materials.
Create an email list of community members who have expressed interest in receiving updates.
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 7
DRAFT TIMELINE
The following is an overview of our proposed project schedule. We will discuss a detailed schedule at the kick-off meeting, along with the expected
timing for individual tasks. Note: This page is intentionally formatted differently to improve legibility of the table contents.
Apr '24 May '24 June '24 Jul '24 Aug '24 Sep '24 Oct '24 Nov '24
Phase 1 – Issue Research, Polling, Community Survey
Kickoff Meeting
Revenue Modeling (optional financial analysis)
Develop Stakeholder Outreach and Public Engagement Messaging
Public Opinion Research
Draft Poll Questionnaire
Poll in Field
Initial Results
Crosstabs Available
Complete Full Analysis of Survey Results
Present Poll Results, Feasibility Analysis, Recommendations to Council
for discussion (not action)
Phase 2 – Messaging, Stakeholder Outreach, Public Engagement
Community Survey
Develop Message Toolkit
Stakeholder Outreach (key community leaders, businesses, orgs)
Public Education/Engagement (Community Mtg, Email, Social Media)
Finalize Ballot Language / Resolutions for Council Action
Work Plans
Feb '24 Mar '24PROJECT SCHEDULE - TOWN OF LOS GATOS Oct '23 Nov '23 Dec '23 Jan '24
Deadline for Council to
submit measure-related
documents to County:
8/9/24
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 8
5. Costs
Our professional fees are based on our understanding the Town’s needs and the effort we believe is necessary to complete the scope of
services described.
Director
(Wood)
Project
Manager
(Lewis)
GBA
Flat Fee
NBS
Consultant
(Argerich-
Valentine)
NBS Senior
Consultant
(Dayhoff)
NBS
Specialist
and Analyst
(Savage)
Consultant
Labor (Hrs.)
Consultant
Costs ($)
with
Optional
Services
Consultant
Costs ($)
without
Optional
Services
$250 $200 $30,000 $175 $200 $150
Work Plans
Phase 1 – Issue Research, Polling, Develop Communications Plan
Kickoff Meeting 1.0 1.0 - 1.0 1.0 - 4.0 825$ 825$
Revenue Modeling (Optional)2.0 2.0 - 2.0 30.0 - 36.0 7,250$ -$
Develop Stakeholder Outreach & Public Education Messaging 7.0 7.0 - 5.0 - 8.0 27.0 5,225$ 5,225$
Public Opinion Research* (design voter poll, analyze data)2.0 4.0 1.0 - - - 7.0 31,300$ 31,300$
Total Phase 1 44,600$ 37,350$
Phase 2 – Messaging, Stakeholder Outreach & Public Engagement
Community Survey Implementation (Optional)4.0 10.0 - 10.0 - 20.0 44.0 7,750$ -$
Complete Stakeholder Outreach & Public Education Plan 8.0 8.0 - 5.0 - - 21.0 4,475$ 4,475$
Create Informational Toolkit (e.g., webpage content, Fact Sheet, FAQ)4.0 12.0 - 12.0 - 4.0 32.0 6,100$ 6,100$
Stakeholder Outreach & Public Education (meetings, flyers, social media)8.0 40.0 - 20.0 - 20.0 88.0 16,500$ 16,500$
Draft Ballot Language 5.0 5.0 - - - - 10.0 2,250$ 2,250$
Finalize Ballot Language / Resolution for Council 5.0 5.0 - - - - 10.0 2,250$ 2,250$
Total Phase 2 39,325$ 31,575$
GRAND TOTAL FEES 46.0 94.0 1.0 55.0 31.0 52.0 279.0 83,925$ 68,925$
ESTIMATED EXPENSES
Travel Costs Per In-Person Meeting (not to exceed)1Mailing and printing costs 12,000$ 12,000$
Travel and meeting expenses 3,500$ 3,500$
TOTAL INCLUDING ESTIMATED EXPENSES 99,425$ 84,425$
OPTIONAL SERVICES PRICING
Labor & Travel Costs Per Optional In-Person Meeting 2,000$ 2,000$
Cost associated with the design/print/postage per mailer
Grand Totals
1. Travel-related cost and direct reimbursable expenses; all other expenses are included in labor rates. This cost will be $0 if all meetings and presentations are held remotely.
FEE SCHEDULE
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
Hourly Rate
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 9
ADDITIONAL POLLING INFORMATION
Three major factors determine the cost for a survey: the number of interviews to be completed; the average length of each interview; and how easy or
hard it is to reach and complete interviews with qualified voters. Of course, the more interviews that are completed, the more reliable is the data, as
shown by the changes in sampling tolerance, or margin of error (MOE), at different completion rates. The following table shows how the MOE changes
with the number of completes:
200 completed interviews = Margin of Error +/- 6.9%
300 completed interviews = Margin of Error +/- 5.7%
In addition, when the overall sample size increases, the sample sizes for various voter sub-groups will also increase, and their margins of error will
decrease.
HOURLY RATES
Title Hourly Rate
Director / Senior Review $250
Associate Director / Engineer $225
Senior Consultant $200
Consultant $175
Project Analyst / Specialist $150
Project Resource Analyst $130
Clerical / Support $110
TERMS
Public Engagement services are invoiced on a monthly basis. Expenses will be itemized and included in the next regular invoice. If the project
is prematurely terminated by either party, NBS shall receive payment for work completed. Payment shall be made within 30 days of submittal
of an invoice. If payment is not received within 90 days, simple interest will begin to accrue at the rate of 1.5% per month. Either party can
cancel consulting contract with 30 days’ written notice.
Statement of Qualifications for Town of Los Gatos NBS | 10
EXPENSES
Customary out-of-pocket expenses are billed at actual cost to NBS. These expenses may include, but not be limited to, boundary map and
assessment diagram preparation (time, materials, plotting and all related costs), mailing fulfillment, postage, supplies, reproduction,
telephone, travel, meals and various third-party charges for data, maps, and recording fees.