Soon, that call you get while having dinner may not be from a pesky telemarketer but from the City of Williams Lake wanting to find out what you think of its services.
On Tuesday night, council voted to proceed with a citizen survey — subject to budgetary approval.
If conducted, the survey is expected to cost $7,500 and will give citizens an opportunity to have input into some of the City’s services.
It will also set a benchmark for future surveys of the same nature.
Community consultation was one of the goals of the council when it was elected in 2008, says Brian Carruthers, chief administrative officer at the City.
“We need to consult with the community,” he says. “That is the purpose, to go out and find out what services are important and how we are doing in delivering those services. Based on the results of the survey, it should give us a really good idea of what areas we should be tackling first. Are there things we shouldn’t be doing or are there things we should be doing that we haven’t been doing? This is a good opportunity to go out to the community and get a really good sense of where they are coming from.”
The survey will be done over the telephone with approximately 400 randomly selected households; an online survey will also be offered.
Carruthers anticipates the survey could be undertaken every three years and that the information generated in the past could be used to determine whether the City is achieving greater public satisfaction.
If approved in the City budget, the survey will likely take place in March.