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Organized Collection Report August 3, 2015 Page 3 Public feedback: The Council will need to advise staff on the extent and manner to which public feedback will be sought. Naturally each of the meetings identified above will serve as an opportunity for residents to provide input and feedback, but more proactive steps can be taken. A few possible ways to solicit input and feedback are listed as follows: • Ask residents to fill out an online survey (e.g., Survey Monkey) • Ask residents to mail in a feedback form • Contract with a firm to conduct a statistically valid phone survey • Hold an informal listening session or open house • Schedule a public hearing before setting the 60-day period • Send flyer in the utility bills, ask for feedback • Ask residents to voluntarily report their garbage rates • Ask residents how much service they would like • Create a PSA that runs on the cable channel • Create an email list for “project” updates and feedback • Newsletter articles. Budget Impacts: The amount of staff time that would be needed to coordinate such a project as Organized Collection would be measured in hundreds of hours, if not thousands. While staff time alone will not generally add costs to the budget, devoting such a large block of time over the course of a year will invariably result in other projects being delayed or not being done at all. If the City Council would like to engage in proactive surveying of residents to assess opinions regarding organized collection, this could cost a few thousand dollars. Where the budget would be impacted most is if consultants are used to assist with the process. It is not uncommon to have the City Attorney present at all negotiation sessions and he might be involved in the preparation of the RFP and certainly in the drafting of the contract. Other cities have engaged in specialized consultants with an expertise in organized collection activities. Given the complexities of such a process, it would be prudent to budget as much as $15,000 for legal services and consultant work. Recommendation: Review the information presented herein and provide feedback to staff regarding the proposed timeline, the extent to which proactive public feedback would be solicited and how, and then discuss the potential costs (staff time and budgetary) associated with undertaking the organized collection activity. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ James Ericson City Administrator