Cedar Park’s robust growth created the need for a dedicated, sustainable stormwater drainage program. However, an initial effort to bring a related ballot measure to the voters received criticism from residents who did not want to incur increased fees. Prior to City Council voting on whether or not to place a new measure on the ballot, one that would reallocate funds from the City’s Economic Development Sales Tax rather than assess a fee or tax, the City engaged Cooksey Communications to develop and execute a strategic communications plan to educate residents, generate support for a new proposal and secure resident feedback. Cooksey developed a microsite, direct mailers, press release, fact sheet/FAQ handout, presentation and script, video, display boards and an informal survey for use during four hyper-local town hall meetings in late 2017, and created election-appropriate versions for use during community meetings and an informal open house in 2018.

Efforts to educate the general public about the new proposal were highly successful, with more than 93 percent of informal survey respondents indicating their support. In fact, several residents who were highly critical of the first proposal voiced their approval of the new one. On May 5, 2018, Cedar Park voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot measure with 77 percent of the vote.