Citizen survey doubles its response rate

The town of Longboat Key has received more than twice as many responses to its second annual citizen satisfaction survey. 

From Jan. 11-Feb. 3, there were unofficially 1,524 households that completed the online survey out of the 8,641 total invitations mailed by the town.

“I think it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to more than double our response rate and involve more individuals in providing their feedback on important issues,” said Longboat Key Support Services Director Carolyn Brown.

Last year, 97% of respondents called Longboat Key an “excellent” or “good” place to live. In 2020, the town sent out 8,741 invitations to take part in the survey, of which 597 were completed, which was considered a large enough response rate to be statistically significant.

The town has hired the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government at the University of South Florida to conduct the survey, as it did last year. It will take several weeks to review the results of the survey.

Since the town provided each household a unique code to complete the online survey, Brown said the Florida Institute of Government makes sure there aren’t any bogus submissions or duplicates.

A presentation about the survey is scheduled for April 5 before the Town Commission, according to Brown.

The survey asked residents nearly 40 questions to provide the town feedback. It also lets residents express their opinions on services and policy issues.

Similar to the 2020 survey, it asks residents for their opinions on several topics, including the quality of town beaches, parks and amenities; departmental services such as police, fire/emergency medical services and public works; and what type of events they would like to see available at the outdoor venue at Town Center.

The town plans to continue administering the survey in future years.

“It is important to have that consistent baseline question format so that we can track the trends and can track what's most important to people,” Brown said.

Since it will take weeks for the Florida Institute of Government to review, Brown said she wasn’t sure how the COVID-19 pandemic might skew the results of this year’s survey.

Town facilities and Town Hall have been open with restrictions as of Nov. 2, 2020. Town staff is available by phone, email and appointment. The town encourages the public to conduct business remotely when possible for the safety of the community and staff.

The town’s mandatory mask policy runs through March 31, 2021. In the coming weeks, commissioners could vote to extend the policy.