Edmonds residents are invited to participate in a community budget priorities survey.
The survey was administered by EMC Research to a randomly selected proportional sample of Edmonds residents age 18-plus. The goal was to gauge Edmonds residents’ priorities and levels of satisfaction with city services.
While that initial survey has closed, the city is inviting other community members to provide their input. This information will be useful in informing future conversations around the budget and the provision of services, the city said.
This survey can be accessed online and is available in three languages.
English at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CQM7GV5
Vietnamese at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ResidentSurveyVietnamese
Spanish at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ResidentSurveySpanish
This survey will close on Aug. 26, 2024. Once the results are calculated, all survey data will be shared with the public.
I appreciate the City allowing us to participate in the poll. I feel the questions were fair, but I felt that depending on a persons feelings about various things the same answer could mean two things. Example “Satisfaction with bike lanes. “Very Dissatisfied” could mean either there are not near enough or there are already too many.
I agree with Robert’s take on the survey, but I am especially concerned that the survey doesn’t factor in the City’s financial distress and need to balance the budget. When survey questions totally ignore the cost element, it is really worthless. The City needs to eliminate the $10-$12 million deficit before it starts thinking about ranking services. The City needs to come to grips with excessive spending, excessive staffing and excessive wages. While the City needs essential services like police and fire, but it doesn’t need to accept 50% increases in cost of those services in the past 4 years. It needs to evaluate alternatives, like lower cost contract police services from the County. It needs to reject South County Fire District’s flawed business model that can’t or won’t measure per capita and per response costs and can only operate by increasing tax levies to pay for annual cost increases that are above the population growth and COL. It needs to understand that every response in part two of the survey is ‘dissatisfied’ because every response should reflect the fact that the current level of spending in all areas is unsustainable. This survey won’t tell you that. You need to be taxpayer-centric, rule out tax increases, and cut costs to get out of the predicament. Once that’s done, zero-based budgeting is the only path forward.
Agree with Robert and Bill.
I agree with the comments about the survey design. If I am dissatisfied with the attention paid to one area, is it because it is too much a focus, the wrong focus or too little focus?
I liked the survey just fine. It’s much better than others I have taken. Like the fact you could suggest and comment use as much space as you need to do so. I liked that if you wanted you could put your name and Email and phone number so they will contact you again or send info. When I saw a question about something I think is a waste and could certainly wait a few years I would put dissatisfied and then when I finished the survey I went back and commented in that generous comment box about why and what. I did the Zoom today retreat it was a long day. It appeared to me that the Presenter, CC, Mayor and Staff were all engaged and trying hard. It was pretty straight forward. I think we will need some kind of tax probably to get out of this mess. I would be fine myself with a small sales tax increase. 4 reserves. I don’t love taxes either, but I do want to help fix the mess in this town and I like sales tax as it doesn’t affect too awful much. I mean maybe huge items but not that much. Probably a 1 cent increase would not even affect many of us. Maybe no new sales tax on utilities as some can barely afford.
The other commentators’ observations accurately highlight the survey’s shortcomings. It’s noteworthy that the mayor and several council members were completely unaware of the survey’s weaknesses. This alone reveals a great deal.
We are broke, crooked bikes lanes with no bicyclists, every problem can be solved by raising our property taxes, but the rabbits are safe. Who needs this survey when everything is so wonderful in Edmonds?
Surveys are written intentionally to be ambiguous. They are aware. That way they cannot be held accountable for the results. Surveys are a method to delay action when incompetence rules.
How much did the city pay EMC Research for this survey?
Surveys will always have an agenda to interpret there findings as they see fit. In other words as the word SURVEY suggests “to measure” depends on what method you used ,do I pace off steps or use a tape ? The problem with this information gathering leaves YOU who participate guided by the tape measure others decide to use.