Washington County to Survey Residents

Press release

Washington County will seek input with a residential survey of 1,500 of its residents when the mailed survey arrives in mailboxes soon after Feb. 1.

Residents will be randomly selected to participate in the mailed 2013 Residential Survey, 300 from each of the five commissioner districts in the county.

Those selected for the survey will receive a postcard in early February telling them that their household has been selected and when to expect to receive the survey itself. The first surveys will be mailed Feb. 11. For those that do not fill out and return the first survey they receive, a second survey will be mailed sometime in mid-February. It will include a postage paid return envelope.

The county wishes to hear from those who are impacted by county programs, and responses will be used to improve service and to measure the performance of its programs.

The survey is being administered by National Research Center, Inc., but surveys will be recognizable by the Washington County logo. Responses will be anonymous, and National Research Center will not share its mailing list with Washington County. Results will be available in May or early June. 

Washington County has done several opinion surveys of residents throughout the past 20 years, which provide county residents an opportunity to rate their quality of life in the county, service delivery, and their satisfaction with county government.

Washington County conducted a residential survey in 2006 through a collaboration with Dakota and Scott counties and, most recently, in 2008, with Carver, Dakota and Olmsted counties. In 2013, Washington County will be administering the 2013 Residential Survey in collaboration with Dakota, Olmsted, Scott and St. Louis counties, which has the benefit of providing cost savings and richer comparative data.