Rockville Residents Can ‘Talk Back’ Through City’s 2007 Citizen Survey

[Howard Hartman]

Rockville Residents Can ‘Talk Back’ Through City’s 2007 Citizen Survey

DATE January 11, 2007

CONTACT
Neil H. Greenberger, Public Information Manager 240-314-8115
Jennifer Strohm, Public Information Specialist 240-314-8116

Rockville Residents Can ‘Talk Back’ Through City’s 2007 Citizen Survey
3,000 Randomly Selected Households Are Being Asked Opinions on Life in Rockville and How Services Can Improve

Survey Available in English and Five Other Languages

ROCKVILLE, Md., January 10, 2007—Two years ago, 91 percent of responding residents rated the quality of life in Rockville as “excellent” or “good.” This is just one of the many results gathered in the third Rockville Citizen Survey. Beginning this week, about 3,000 City households will have the opportunity to participate in the 2007 Citizen Survey and help influence government operations.

Once again, the survey will be available in five languages, in addition to English, to reach the increasingly diverse City population.

Overall, most Rockville services and programs fared very well in the 2005 survey. The results were used to determine how the government could better serve its residents. More than 38 percent of households asked to participate two years ago returned their surveys.

“The participation in the 2005 survey was outstanding,” said Linda Moran, the City’s Council Support Specialist who helped coordinate the 2005 and 2007 surveys. “I don’t think people realize how much impact their participation can have on how the City operates. Every department took the feedback very seriously, and even those that rated overwhelmingly positive in residents’ opinions found areas to make improvements.”

The National Research Center, based in Boulder, Colo., will again conduct the survey. Residents will receive advanced notice through the mail that they were randomly selected to participate. The first surveys are to be mailed the weeks of Jan. 8 and Jan. 22, along with prepaid return envelopes.

A report on the results of the survey, which contains 38 questions, will be presented to the Mayor and Council in May. The results will then be available on the City Web site.

Among the areas the survey will explore are: How citizens feel about the services they receive; how much they use existing facilities and take advantage of city programs; their impression of City employees; and how well the City communicates with its residents.

Rockville’s increasing effort to reach residents whose first language is not English will be reflected in the goal of having more residents respond to the survey. This year’s survey will be available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian and Korean.

The original press release is attached below in Microsoft Word format