The Oxnard City Council will consider hiring a consultant tonight to create a six-month public information campaign on how residents could benefit from a proposed half-cent sales tax increase.

City staff members have suggested sending a tax measure to voters in November, following a September survey in which nearly 70 percent of respondents supported the idea.

Under a proposed $150,000 city contract, Sacramento-based Madrid and Associates would formulate a campaign that seeks community input, establishes a Web site, engages local media and sends city staff members into the community as public speakers.

The key to a successful campaign is educating residents on how city services are funded, and then "hear the issues, priorities, and work to accommodate that," consultant Mike Madrid said Monday.

Madrid is one of the leading consultants for these types of initiatives, City Manager Ed Sotelo said Monday.

Madrid ran a similar campaign for San Luis Obispo, where voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase in November 2006.

Tentatively dubbed the "Oxnard Vital Services Measure," the proposal would raise the city's sales tax to 7.75 percent and generate $10.5 million to $11 million a year. As a general services tax, it would require a simple majority for approval.

The money would be used for a host of services, including anti-gang efforts, pothole repairs, disaster response and traffic improvements. Community input received during the information campaign could refine those priorities.

The tax would be used to enhance services, not balance the budget, Sotelo said Monday.

The information campaign also would include a community advisory committee appointed by the City Council that would meet monthly. The panel would likely include representatives from neighborhood councils, business and faith leaders, and service organization officials, said Martin Erickson, the city's legislative affairs manager.

Under state law, public agencies can only provide factual information — not take sides — in an election campaign. "In terms of urging people to vote for it, no, we cannot do that," Sotelo said.

The city would conduct another public opinion poll in either May or June to check the level of support, Erickson said. Council members must make a decision by July 14 to put a measure on the November ballot, Erickson said.

Council members cautiously endorsed the idea of an information campaign last month. Councilman Dean Maulhardt, however, said he still needs assurances that the city needs a tax.

Councilman Andres Herrera couldn't say how he would vote tonight. "I'm always skeptical when you're going to impose additional taxes on the constituency," Herrera said.

The council meets at 7 tonight in City Hall, 305 W. Third St.