[Council Communication]  [ Citizen Survey ]  

Council Communication

Title:	Citizen Survey Options
Dept:	City Administrator
Date:	May 21, 2003
Submitted By:	Gino Grimaldi, Ann Seltzer
Approved By: ...........................	Gino Grimaldi, City Administrator

Synopsis:	The city has conducted random telephone surveys in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000. The cost for a survey is budgeted in the 2002-2003 budget. At its meeting of February 18, 2003 the City Council reviewed a proposed survey that was based on the previous surveys. In response to the comments made at that meeting staff has prepared two alternatives (one administered by mail and the other by phone or mail) that focus the purpose of the survey on measuring the performance of the organization soliciting public input on policy issues.
Recommendation:	It is recommended that the City Council select and/or modify either alternative.
Fiscal Impact:	The 2002-2003 budget includes $15,000 to conduct a citizen survey (based on a 12 - 15 minutes phone call). Conducting the survey by mail would cost approximately $10,000. At the suggestion of the City Council a few months ago, staff contacted Dr. Bill Hughes at Southern Oregon Center for Social Research at SOU about conducting the citizen survey. Unfortunately Dr. Hughes did not feel he could take on the project, though he did offer to look over any data the survey generated and produce a written analysis for the City. Should the City Council decide to proceed with a survey, funds from 2002-2003 can be re-budgeted in the 2003-2004 budget.
Background:	1) National Citizen Survey (Attachment I) The National Citizen survey is administered by mail and offers the advantage of being able to compare survey results with survey results from other cities. The National Citizen Survey was developed by the National Research Center (NRS) and ICMA (International City and County Administrators) primarily as a survey tool for communities wishing to conduct citizen surveys but unable to do so due to budget constraints. At this time, thirty communities have used the survey. The NRS has conducted more extensive surveys for more than 300 communities across the county. Should Ashland decide to use this tool, data collected could be compared to jurisdictions of similar size, location or type using both the 30 communities who have used the same survey and the 300 communities that have included similar questions. The National Citizen Survey is a turnkey survey and is designed primarily as a performance measurement tool for the organization. Three policy questions can be added. Questions that do not apply to Ashland can be deleted. Substitute questions are allowed on a case-by-case basis. Various options, including adding additional questions, are available for additional costs. The survey is conducted by mail and sent to 1,200 randomly selected addresses. Each address receives a postcard advising the household that they have been selected to participate in the upcoming survey. The survey is mailed one week later and a second survey is mailed a week later if necessary. The survey is sent with a cover letter over the Mayor's signature. The survey allows for a margin of error (95% confidence interval) of no more than +/- 5%. Base Cost: $7,500 Options: Demographic cross tabulation $750 Geographic cross tabulation $1,200 Custom norms $950 Comparison to prior results $1,700 Expanded mailing $6,000 (mailed to 3,000 residents instead of 1,200) Spanish $1,600 Open-ended question $1,200/per question Additional policy question $500 (space permitting) Advantages · Survey instrument has been proven to be reliable and accurate · Lower cost in comparison to previous surveys · Allows Ashland to compare results with results from other cities Disadvantages · Not very flexible · Only allows three policy issues to be explored · Limited ability to make the survey Ashland specific 2) Ashland baseline survey with proposed modifications for 2003 (Attachment II) This option would require hiring a market research firm who would be willing to work with the existing survey, oversee the creation of calling lists, calls, data analysis and final report. In 1998 the City issued a Request For Proposals for research firms to conduct a series of three citizen surveys. The firm selected was Scudder and Associates from Eugene. The questions were developed based on input from Council, staff and Scudder and Associates. The first of the three surveys was conducted in 1998 and the second in 2000. The survey was conducted by phone to a random sample of 400 Ashland residents. The sample size allows a margin of error no greater than +/- 5%. The proposed baseline survey was customized for Ashland and was designed as both a performance measurement tool as well as a means to measure reaction to or input on current policy issues. The 2003 survey reorganizes the survey so that similar questions are grouped, eliminates open-ended questions that increase the cost of the survey and adds current policy issues. Also, questions have been deleted if the information can be obtained from another source. For example, questions regarding downtown parking can be addressed through the downtown parking study. The policy questions included in the survey were developed with input from the department heads. When developing policy questions an attempt was made to make sure the answer to the questions could provide useful information regarding the development of policy. Questions were avoided that might require information not available to the general public in order to answer. This survey would be conducted by phone over a two-week period. Cost: $15,000 Advantages · Designed and customized for Ashland · Easy to compare to baseline Disadvantages · Cost · Phone challenges, answering machines, caller ID etc. May require many more phone calls to meet the 400 target sample size · Inability to compare results with results with other cities 2a) Ashland baseline survey with proposed modifications for 2003 administered by mail This option would require hiring a market research firm who would be willing to work with the existing survey, oversee the selection of addresses, mailings and data analysis and final report. Approximate costs: $7,500 - $10,000 Advantages · Designed and customized for Ashland · Easy to compare to baseline Disadvantages · Exact costs unknown at this time · Inability to compare results with results with other cities

Citizen Survey
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