HomeMy WebLinkAboutcover memoM.2
The Honorable Members, January 8, 2004
City of Miami Commission
City's Poverty Initiative
Earned Income Tax Credit
Campaign
Manuel A. Diaz
Mayor
REQUEST:
I would respectfully request your support of the accompanying resolution
approving the enclosed Poverty Initiative Plan and authorizing the expenditure of
$194,400.00 to underwrite the 2004 citywide Earned Income Tax Campaign Plan,
This initiative will consist of the following
Of a citywide campaign that will last for a period of three (3) months and will have
scheduled media, community and public relations outreach efforts to achieve a greater
awareness by the citizens of Miami who currently qualify for the Earned Income Tax
Credit/Child Credit but do not apply. Moreover, this campaign will also seek to provide
the necessary information to assist those residents who have traditionally applied for the
Advanced Refund through private tax prepares of the negative consequences of such an
activity.
AUDIENCE
The audience for this campaign will be as follows:
1) Citizens/Residents who have one or more children and currently make less that
$39,000 annually. Specifically:
a. Recent Hispanic and Haitian immigrants
b. African Americans
2) Non-traditional professionals in the finance industry with specific attention to
those who traditionally service those sectors of our community such as Notary
Public, CPA's and other neighborhood entity that.
3) Small and mid size business in our community who have more than one non -
owner employees that may have employees that qualify for the Earned Income
Tax Credit:
a. Supermarkets/Local Groceries
b. Barber Shops & Beauty Salons
c. Restaurants
d. Manufactures
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e. Retailers
f. Others
MESSAGE
The message should encompass an overarching theme as to the benefit of applying for the
Earned Income Tax Credit. Furthermore, this theme will relate to both of our primary
audiences African Americans between the ages of 25 and 55 married with one or more
children and Hispanic/Haitian immigrants between the ages of 28 to 55 married or
divorced with one or more children. Furthermore, subsequent target messages will be
developed for each audience as follows:
1) African Americans: Why they should not apply for the advanced refunds.
2) Hispanic & Haitian Immigrants: Why they should not be concerned with applying
for this credit and how the information will be only be used for tax preparation
services.
OUTLINE OF THE CAMPAIGN
This campaign should focus on several mechanisms for the devolution of information to
the target audience that should at least include the following:
1) Media
2) Direct Mail
3) Community Outreach
The following will discuss in brief some of the goals and proposed strategy for the
implementation of the campaign through these different mechanisms.
1) Media:
The City will seek to partner with the major news outlets in the community in an effort to
achieve a Public Service Campaign that delivers the above message to each of the groups
mentioned. This campaign should focus on television, radio & print in an effort to
achieve as much saturation of the message for the prescribed audience. In addition, the
City of Miami will seek to do as much outreach through the various talk shows or other
radio and televised mediums in an effort to better inform the public of the benefits of the
applying for the Earned Income Tax Credit, specifically on those shows whose target
audience best identifies our target clientele.
a. Television:
ii. Production: One (1) thirty (30) second commercial.
iii. Airing: Between January 21 st through February 20th and March
22"d through April 15th
iv. Target Stations:
a. General Market
1. WSVN
2. WTVJ & Partner Stations
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b. Hispanic
c. Cable
3. WPLG
4. WFOR & Partner Stations
1. WLTV
2. WSCV
1. Comcast
2. Miami TV
a. Radio
ii. Production: One (1) sixty (60) second
commercial.
iii. Airing: January 21 St through February 20th
and March 22"a through April 15th
iv. Target Stations:
1. General Market
a. Clear Channel Stations in
Miami
i. Y-100
ii. 103.5 FM
iii. 99.5 JAMZ
b. WMBM
c. WLRN Radio
2. Hispanic
a. Univision Radio
b. Spanish Broadcasting
c. La PoderosalCadena Azul
d. Caracol
e. Radio Paz
3. Other Markets
a. Radio Carnaval (Haitian)
2) Direct Mail
Three pieces should be developed for the three-month campaign to target the individual
specific audiences mentioned below.
a. Mailer # 1
i. Target: professionals, CPA's Notary Publics and other traditional
tax prepare.
ii. Target Drop Date: January 9tn
iii. Message: Importance of getting clientele to fill out Earned Income
Tax Credit, what is the monetary significance to the client and how
the information used for these forms cannot be used for any other
purpose other than processing this credit.
b. Mailer #2
i. Target: Hispanic residents of the City of Miami between the ages
of 25-55 married or divorced with at least one child per household.
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ii. Target Drop Date: January 23`d
iii. Message: Importance of filling out Earned Income Tax Credit in
not doing so and how the information used for these forms cannot
be used for any other purpose other than processing this credit,
c. Mailer #3
i. Target: African American residents of the City of Miami between
the ages of 25-55 married or divorced with at least one child per
household.
ii. Target Drop Date: April 2nd
iii. Message: Importance of filling out Earned Income Tax Credit and
reason for not doing the advanced refund.
3) Community Outreach
The Community Outreach portion of this campaign to create greater awareness of the
Earned Income Tax Credit will include activities such as the scheduled press conference
on our about January 15th to announce the opening of the services centers, Editorial
Board presentations to the Miami Herald and Diario Las Americas and any other event
determined to have a significant media or community impact.
Aside from the aforementioned the City will also be opening a phone services center to
supplement all the media activity and service calls from the public for additional
information on the Earned Income Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credits. This center will
be operational on January 15th and will remain open with flexible staffing hours until
April 9th. Furthermore, this center will also serve as a phone bank for the targeted
outreach to take place between January 21st through February 20th and March 22"
through April 15th to all target residents who shall be identified through screening of the
potential caller and other methods. Finally, the service center will also serve as a general
information or referral center for potential clientele to visit or call to discuss the Earned
Income Tax Credit with a trained staff person to be available during hours of operation.
In addition, to these activities the City will seek to coordinate events focused at the many
Community and Religious Organizations within the target areas in an effort to better
inform them of the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit and where to get additional
information.
NET Office and Super Site Operations:
In 2004 NET Offices will be added to the Community Outreach effort for the EIC with
the targeting of five neighborhoods, Allapattah, Model City, Little Haiti, East Little
Havana and Wynwood, for free Income Tax Filing at the NET Offices. This filing will
be handled by 22 Americorps Volunteers who have been granted by the Federal
Government for such operations between the dates of January 15t' through April 2".
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Aside from the NET operations during normal working hours, the City will be sponsoring
3 Super Site Centers were volunteers from the University of Miami, Florida International
University and the IRS will service the community during the off hours three times a
week and on Saturdays beginning January 21st and ending April 9`h. These centers will be
supervised by 3 qualified CPA's who will supervise the volunteers and assure that the
centers operate in accordance with the parameters developed by the IRS coordinators
who will be their direct supervisors during the course of this effort. The sites currently
under consideration for this effort are the Orange Bowl Athletic Club to Service Little
Havana and the adjacent communities, Corpus Christi Community Service center in
Allapattah and M. Athalie Range Park for the Little Haiti and Model City communities.
These centers would operate a minimum of three days a week between the hours of 5 to 9
pm and Saturday between the hours of 9 am to 2 pm.
Funding for said initiative is available from an account entitled Special Revenue Fund —
Poverty Initiative.
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