City Manager Jesus Garza presented results of a consultant survey on a possible venue tax to plan, renovate and expand the Victoria Community Center, saying the state comptroller had reviewed the city’s project and "deemed that our project will have no negative financial impact on the state," clearing a procedural hurdle for placing a ballot measure before voters.

The consultants said the poll found a 61% favorable response to the ballot question as read to respondents and a 28% unfavorable response. Mike Bassilis of Bassilis and Associates, who oversaw the survey analysis, told council "we conducted a survey of 300 respondents and the margin of error is 5.7%." After randomized, informational messages were provided to respondents, informed support rose to 72% and opposition fell to 21%.

Why it matters: Council must decide whether to call a venue tax election and, if so, whether to place it on the May ballot. The city must also finalize the proposal language, consider messaging, and coordinate any outreach. The state comptroller sign‑off is a required review step that allows the city to proceed toward a ballot call.

Key findings and discussion:

- Survey methodology and headline results: Consultants said the sample was 300 registered voters with a ±5.7 percentage‑point margin of error. The initial ballot language, read as it would appear to voters, produced 61% support and 28% opposition. After randomized explanatory statements about the project, support rose to 72%.

- Message testing: Consultants presented specific message variants and persuasion scores showing which arguments most strongly moved respondents. They warned that different messages work with different voter subgroups and recommended tailoring communications rather than relying on a single theme.

- Economic impact language: Several council members and staff cautioned about relying heavily on claims of "millions of dollars" in economic impact without project‑specific revenue projections. One council member asked whether council should emphasize the raw polling numbers rather than persuasive, post‑information statements; consultants and city staff replied the city could choose which messages to use and could avoid economic impact language if documentation is not available.

- Tax options: Consultants reported slightly higher support when the rental car tax component was removed and only a hotel tax was presented, particularly among county respondents. Inside the city limits, support was stronger than in the remainder of the county.

Council direction and next steps:

- Several council members verbally supported putting the venue tax question on the May ballot if staff returns the formal ordinance/language for a ballot call. City Manager Garza requested direction by the end of the week so staff could include calling the election on the upcoming meeting agenda; he noted the legal deadline to call the election is Feb. 14.

- Staff said it will continue outreach and message development and advised the council that any public education campaign would be transparent and based on verifiable information.

- No formal vote to call the election was taken at this meeting. Council members were asked to indicate direction; multiple members said they favored May but a formal agenda item and vote to call the election would appear at a future meeting.

Sources and attribution: The poll presentation was given by Jason Meyer of Cooksey Communications and by Mike Bassilis of Bassilis and Associates; city comments and procedural updates came from City Manager Jesus Garza. Direct quotes in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript.