Cities and counties

Sales taxes, hotel taxes, bonds, and any other measure that needs voter approval, for local governments working to keep services running and streets, parks, and public safety funded.

Talk with us about your city or county

Where cities and counties usually are when they call

  • A structural deficit Costs are rising faster than revenue, and the council is weighing cuts against asking voters for help.

  • A specific need Roads, a fire station, storm drains, homelessness services. Residents can see the problem, but not always the price.

  • General or special tax A general tax can fund any government purpose. A special tax is dedicated to a specific use. The choice affects the vote threshold and the message, and it should be informed by research.

  • Doubts about how money is spent Voters want to know where the money goes and who checks. Clear expenditure plans and oversight help.

Measures we work on for cities and counties

  • General and special sales taxes

  • Hotel (transient occupancy) taxes

  • Utility users taxes

  • Parcel taxes

  • Property tax levies and levy lid lifts

  • Infrastructure and facility bonds

  • Transportation, road, and transit taxes

  • Public safety, fire, and emergency services measures

  • Parks, open space, and library measures

  • Housing and homelessness measures

  • Business license and gross receipts taxes

  • Cannabis taxes

  • Real estate transfer taxes

  • Renewals and extensions

  • Charter amendments and advisory measures

  • Any other tax or bond that needs voter approval

Who we work with

  • City managers and county administrators

  • Finance directors

  • Councils and boards of supervisors

  • City attorneys and county counsel

How we help a city or county

Feasibility

Interviews with business groups, neighborhood leaders, and public safety, plus public opinion research from our in-house, award-winning polling team. We help the council understand which priorities voters share. We also look at election trends and what else is likely to be on the ballot, so the council can choose the right election, rate, and priorities. See how a feasibility study works.

Measure development

We work with your staff and your city attorney or county counsel to build the measure: the expenditure plan, oversight provisions, ballot question, and presentations to the council or board. Decades of work with public officials and county election offices help keep every step on schedule, from the council vote to the filing deadline.

Community engagement

Fact sheets, FAQs, mailers, web pages, and presentations to neighborhood groups and business associations, all written and produced in house, with multilingual materials where your community needs them. We also handle media relations and crisis communications, and we brief staff on what they can and can’t say about the measure.

Campaign

Business, labor, public safety, and neighborhood leaders often form a committee to support the measure. We can run that campaign too: fundraising, endorsements, ballot arguments for the voter guide, advertising, yard signs, door knocking, texting, debate prep, and more.

Relevant case studies

City sales tax

Waves of Support

A small coastal city with aging infrastructure and residents who doubted the money would stay local. Listening sessions, a plain breakdown of where the money would go, and materials in two languages.

Passed, with support across age groups and party lines City government

Rewriting the Story

Rebuilding public trust in a city government after a corruption scandal.

  • It depends on what residents prioritize, how much flexibility the council needs, and the vote threshold that applies in your state. Feasibility research gives you the information to decide. Your city attorney or county counsel confirms the legal requirements.

  • Crowded ballots are common. We factor competing local, county, and state measures into the research and the election timing recommendation.

  • Yes. That's the best time to start. Early research can tell you whether a measure is realistic before the council spends time on one.

  • Yes. We’ve worked with more than 250 clients in 26 states, from small towns to major metros, and ballot measures are the center of our practice. Our team is remote, with roots on the East and West Coasts.

  • We’ve helped local communities raise more than $8.5 billion. On measures where we handle both the public and the private campaign, our win rate is 97.8 percent.

  • One lead who knows your city or county and coordinates everything, backed by our in-house team for public opinion research, community engagement, measure development, and campaign work. Your staff won’t be passed between vendors.

  • Yes. Our public opinion research comes from our in-house, award-winning polling team, so the people who design your survey also help you act on the results.

  • We’ll tell you. If the research says wait, we say wait, and we explain what would need to change before going to voters.

Questions cities and counties ask us

Weighing a local revenue measure?

Tell us what your council or board is considering.

Get in touch