The Newsleaders
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • News Tips
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
The Newsleaders
No Result
View All Result

PineCone Pet Hospital MillerCarlin Serving all of central Minnesota locations!

Albany: 320-845-2035
Holdingford: 320-746-9994
St. Cloud: 320-252-7004
Upsala: 320-573-6234
Toll-free: 1-800-644-4058
Collegeville Stearns Bank
Home Opinion Column

City questions could use more answers

April 16, 2018
in Column, Opinion, Print Editions, Print Sartell - St. Stephen, Print St. Joseph
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

“You can observe a lot by watching,” so said legendary Yankees Hall of Fame catcher and philosopher Yogi Berra.

I’d like to amend that famous quote a bit. “You can learn a lot by asking.”

That was the idea in 2010 when the Legislature created the Council on Local Results and Innovation. The council compiled 10 performance benchmarks for cities and counties.

Local governments could voluntarily survey their residents and rate local services. Presumably the results would guide elected officials on where to make improvements.

As an incentive, the state gives the governments 14 cents per resident, up to a maximum of $25,000. In 2017, 32 cities and 24 counties participated in the program. There’s a main question about overall satisfaction with city services and then specific questions about public safety, streets, snowplowing, recreation, and water and sewer services.

Last week St. Joseph certified its 2018 results and sadly, only 10 people responded out of the more than 6,700 residents. The city will collect about $950.

The survey was conducted during February at the League of Minnesota Cities website.

Two conclusions can be drawn from the very low response rate. Either most people are happy and don’t feel the need to offer input. Or the majority of residents didn’t know about the survey.

On the main question – How would you rate the overall quality of services provided by the city? – St. Joseph’s residents appeared satisfied. Four people (40 percent – the math is easy here) rated the services as Good, five rated them Fair and only one response offered a Poor rating.

Public safety – fire and police services – also received high marks.

St. Joseph’s neighboring cities collected a higher rate of responses, but those numbers are far from overwhelming.

Some 23 of Waite Park’s 7,500 residents responded to that city’s 2017 survey. On the main question – overall quality of services – 36.36 percent responded Excellent, with another 36.36 percent responding Good, and 27.27 percent responding Poor.

In Sartell’s 2017 survey, only 137 of the city’s nearly 18,000 residents responded. Like the other area cities, the results titled positive on the main question with 24 percent responding Excellent, 63 percent replying Good, 10 percent rating Fair and only 3 percent offering a Poor rating.

At the end of each survey, citizens can offer comments. Most of the St. Joseph comments are pretty predictable such as support for the recreation center and opposition to the St. Joseph Township annexation process.

One comment did stand out though. It read, in part “I also get quite sick of the hyper liberal newspaper columns in the editor(al) section. Can we make them even a little more moderate perhaps?”

Setting aside the obvious – that the newspaper is not a part of city government – I would not call our editorial stands “hyper” liberal. But opinions are in the eye of the beholder.

If area cities continue with the survey, officials need to do more to increase participation. These sample sizes in no way adequately represent the general population. I’ll put in a plug for the home team. The local newspaper with the “hyper local” editorial page can help. We reach every household each week. Local leaders, let me know when your survey is ready and I’ll do my best to help pass the word.

You can indeed learn a lot by asking…and the results are even more useful with more answers.

Previous Post

Gun-safety students deserve praise, not slander

Next Post

Rep. Emmer, we’d like to see you

Next Post
Tax-reform plan should focus on small businesses

Rep. Emmer, we'd like to see you

Please login to join discussion

CMCU Twitter Follow us on
Twitter
for the latest news!
Facebook Follow us on Facebook
for the latest news!

Go Fund Me # 1 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!
Elizabeth Brunsvold
Cultural Connections
Jim Berg & Mary Kruger
Mary & John Davis
Sandy Denne
Bobbi & David Gouker
James & marry Graeve
Juliana Howard
Julia Joplin
Linda Kmitch
M. Molus
Sheila Nahan
Go Fund Me # 2 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!

Peggy & Michael Roske
Judy Scheuerell
Geraldine Schwab
James Stotko
James Towler
Anna Trobec
Kaye Wenker
Ellen Wahlstrom
Leona Wieland
Jeanie Wilkens
GAGEN & VASUGI RAMANATHAN
Go Fund Me # 3 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!
Nicole Borg
Erica Karger-Gatzow
Dane & Lori Listug-Lunde
Nadine Martin
Doris Minnerath
Merry Mund
Marilyn Peitso
Stephen Schwanke
Dianne Tuff
Dale Zacher
Private Donors

Search

No Result
View All Result

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Kluesner appointed to St. Joseph City Council
  • Wood sentenced for killing two children
  • A list of school superintendent finalists expected March 1
  • Sartell man injured in snowmobile crash
  • Sales-tax revenue for Sartell on the up and up

City Links

Sartell
St. Joseph
St. Stephen

School District Links

Sartell-St. Stephen school district
St. Cloud school district

Chamber Links

Sartell Chamber
St. Joseph Chamber

Community

Calendar

Citizen Spotlight

Criers

People

Notices

Funerals/Visitions

Obituary

Police Blotter

Public Notices

Support Groups

About Us

Contact Us

News Tips

Submissions

Advertise With Us

Print Advertising

Digital Advertising

2021 Promotions

Local Advertising Rates

National Advertising Rates

© 2021 Newleaders

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • News Tips
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions

© 2021 Newleaders

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In