Since 1976, the TV Game Show “Family Feud” has asked its contestants to guess the answers about what most people do or think about a certain topic. The family that has the best guess on the most common answer from the survey category questions wins the prize. Unlike the game show, the Town Council decision process does not like to ‘guess’ what the residents think about a particular issue or policy. Instead, we are conducting a community-wide survey to gain insight on a wide variety of topics. We want to understand both how satisfied residents are with Town services, but also how you rank their importance as a means of prioritizing issues to be addressed. Understanding your satisfaction with Town services is critical to helping us better serve you and will inform areas of focus and improvement.

The Scarborough Community Survey has been mailed to the 4,200 randomly selected households with a stamped and addressed return envelope. By only being mailed to a random selection of households, we can ensure the results are statistically valid across demographics and geography. This measure is to ensure quality and accuracy when we analyze results. If you have received a mailed paper survey please take the time to express your opinions on all relevant questions. The survey will take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Only one survey per household will be counted. Your address will not be associated with your individual response. Our survey consultant, ETC Institute, will collect and process the anonymous surveys and provide a final report with key findings.

The survey is designed to assess resident satisfaction with the delivery of major town services and to help determine priorities for the community as part of the Town’s ongoing planning process. This includes rating items such as street lighting and pedestrian safety, public access, beaches, and parks, as well as the cost of living, quality of life, schools, library and the town’s efforts with economic and residential development. This survey gives you the opportunity to let your voice be heard and influence future decisions.

For the majority of residents who will not be a receiving a mailed survey as part of the randomly selected 4,200 households, we still want to hear your feedback. We will be providing a duplicate version of the survey to take online in the coming weeks. Please check on the Town website homepage (www.scarboroughmaine.org) for access to a survey link, which will be made publicly available in mid-November. We will also have paper copies of the survey available at the Library. The electronic bulletin boards at the Town Hall, Library and Wentworth School will have reminder messages once the web version of the survey is available to the general public. Please do not hesitate to contact Liam Gallagher, assistant town manager, at (207) 730-4026, or myself, Ken Johnson, at (207) 615-3194 if you have any questions.

For regular Town updates sent directly to your inbox, sign up for our twice monthly Town E-Newsletter. Visit www.scarboroughmaine.org/stay-connected to subscribe.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Scarborough Town Council.

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