Allegan County using national firm to conduct resident survey
ALLEGAN — Allegan County residents will be surveyed this month on the state of the county and the services available to residents.
Allegan County officials, working with several nonprofit agencies, have hired a national company, The National Research Center, Inc., to conduct the survey, which is being mailed to selected residents and is also available to complete online. The firm has conducted similar surveys for other local governments across the nation, including Jackson County in Michigan.
“Entering the third decade of the 21st century, Allegan County faces new challenges from a growing population”, said Jim Storey, chair of the Allegan County Board of Commissioners. “This has become especially heightened in recent years, which is what had prompted the county and area agencies to look at conducting another community survey.”
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The survey asks residents to answer questions about the quality of life in Allegan County, local policies, demographics, rating of local services and use of services. The information gathered will be used to help partner agencies identify how to best use the resources provided to the county’s residents in future planning.
The county last conducted a similar community survey in 2019 using the same firm. Results of the survey are available on Allegan County's website.
“The county has progressively developed an ongoing strategic, operational, and financial planning process. The addition of the National Community Survey in 2019 was extremely valuable in engaging the public into the process”, said Robert Sarro, County Administrator. “I look forward to incorporating the new results into the county’s current plans.”
All residents are invited to complete the online survey, which is open to the public through Aug. 1.
In addition, 2,800 households, a representative sample of Allegan County's population, were mailed the survey and are encouraged to respond using the information provided in the mailing.
“Residents are really encouraged to leave honest feedback which will help us identify areas for growth and improvement, while looking out for opportunities," Storey said.
Partner agencies involved with the project include United Way, Allegan County Community Action, the Allegan Area Educational Services Agency, and OnPoint, formally Allegan County Community Mental Health.
The survey is available to complete online by visiting: https://polco.us/allegan22open.
Residents with questions about the survey may contact Allegan County at 269-686-5150.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Allegan County hires firm to conduct second 'community survey'
