San Rafael, CA – Is the County of Marin government providing the services you want and need? It’s time to ask a few questions, gather the answers, and put them to good use. The 2018 Resident Survey is now featured on www.marincounty.org, and answers will be anonymous.
The County's resident survey includes questions about general quality of life, local policies, demographics, a rating of local government services, and if the resident's needs are being met. Why conduct a survey? The County is eager to receive a report card from its residents as a measure of customer service and to compare results to those from counties nationwide. Survey results will be available in spring 2019 via the County’s website and will be discussed during a public workshop with the Board of Supervisors. The results will provide data with which the County can dive deeper in some areas using other tools, like focus groups or listening sessions, in 2019.
The survey, which takes about 15 minutes to complete, includes questions about general quality of life, local policies, demographics, a rating of local government services, and if the resident's needs are being met. In addition, residents can provide perspectives about the Board of Supervisors’ current areas of focus. At the end, there is an open-ended question asking residents to share the top issue they believe the County should focus on over the next two years.
The online survey was launched about a month after the County mailed 3,200 printed surveys to randomly selected households. The online opt-in survey is expected to be open through January 31, 2019, and is available at www.bit.ly/countyofmarin.
“The surveys mailed in November were the scientific portion of the process so we can ensure that we reach a variety of residents and gather viewpoints from people from different locations, age groups, racial and socio-economic backgrounds,” said Dan Eilerman, Assistant County Administrator. “But we also think it’s critical to open it up to the public so residents who were not randomly selected to participate in the mailed survey can also have their opinions heard.”
The County has formed a working group to reach out to the community to confirm that every voice has an opportunity to be heard.
“We anticipate that some residents may have some reluctance or even fear in providing their opinion, or have concerns about online access,” Eilerman said. “To safeguard against that, we are emphasizing that the survey is completely anonymous and that it’s available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.”
The County contracted with the National Research Center to conduct the comprehensive, scientific survey and mailed 3,200 surveys to randomly selected residents in mid-November. The scientific survey is expected to have less than a 5 percent margin of error. Recipients had an option to return the scientific surveys in a postage-paid envelope, or to complete it online. Those residents who received one of the original mail surveys are encouraged to complete those instead of the newly opened online survey.