Pasco residents encouraged to complete online survey by Feb. 15

Pasco officials want to know: How open and accepting is the community toward people of diverse backgrounds?

That is just one of 159 questions on an online survey that residents have five weeks to complete.

The city is taking part in the National Citizen Survey, a questionnaire sent out every two years to measure public opinion about the availability and quality of municipal services and the resident’s own engagement within the community.

A printed version of the survey already was mailed to and completed by “a statistically valid sample” of 1,400 city utility customers, according to Deputy City Manager Stan Strebel.

But this time around, city council members voted to reach a wider audience with an additional online version that can be done in either English or Spanish. Those results will be kept separate from the scientific survey.

However, all of the information will be used by the council as it develops its goals and objectives for the next two years.

“The city values the input from the community via the survey, as it will help guide the council’s goal-making process and gives a snapshot of what the citizens of Pasco are thinking,” Pasco Mayor Matt Watkins said in a news release.

Along with the standard questions, the three policy issues picked by council members focus on residents’ preference for curbside recycling services, the installation of red-light cameras at problematic intersections and district-based voting in general elections.

The survey is intended for Pasco residents, though the city will have no way of verifying the hometown of the survey’s participants.

The online survey covers topics such as Pasco’s sense of community; affordable quality housing; employment opportunities; ease of walking, biking, driving or taking public transportation; and the value of services for the taxes paid to the city.

Residents also are being asked if Pasco has opportunities to participate in cultural activities, religious or spiritual events and social activities, and if they’ve recently made efforts to conserve water and energy, reported a crime or used a city recreation center and public library.

The survey includes a page to rate services like street cleaning, fire and crime prevention, drinking water, animal control and land use planning and zoning.

A majority of the questions are answered with “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” “poor” or “don’t know.”

The online survey is available until Feb. 15 at www.n-r-c.com/survey/2016pasco.htm, or via the city’s website.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Pasco residents encouraged to complete online survey by Feb. 15."