Is now the right time for the City of Redmond to ask for a tax increase?

Randomly selected residents will be asked to participate in an automated phone survey as early as Sunday, which will help city leaders answer this question.

If you get that call, you will have a chance to voice your opinion, so whatever you do, don’t hang up when you hear the automated voice. The city is offering a chance for residents to have input on a potential tax increase that will fund upcoming parks and transportation capital projects.

The $20,000 survey, conducted by EMC Research, will ask a series of questions to determine if Redmond voters are willing to support a potential November bond issue.

“The city is trying to determine how voters feel about city services,” said City of Redmond senior planner Carolyn Hope. “If voters understand which services the city provides, if voters understand the city budget restraints and if voters would support a ballot measure to potentially increase their taxes to support some parks and transportation capital projects that would be underway in the next six years.”

The survey results will be presented to the City Council at its Feb. 14 meeting. During that meeting, staff will seek direction from Council on whether to move forward with developing a ballot measure. If Council chooses to move forward with a ballot measure, there will be public meetings in the spring, according to Hope.

The phone call will go out to random phone numbers — both land and cell lines — pulled from the King County voters’ registration list with the goal being 400 responses, Hope said. The survey is designed to take 12 minutes or less, so make sure to spare some of that precious time and answer the questions.

The city is on stable financial ground, but important future capital projects, such as converting Redmond Way and Cleveland Street from one-way streets to two-way thoroughfares, are not fully funded.

The city is wondering if now is the time to ask the taxpayers for help.

The survey will help city decision makers learn about what kind of opinions residents have about the city and “what kind of projects residents would be willing to pay for,” Hope said.

A tax increase is a tough sell in today’s economy and maybe the city will have to look at other revenue-generating options — or maybe not.

However, taking the time to answer this survey that will guide which direction the city goes, is a no-brainer.

If you get that call, don’t hang up.