Survey says: Confidence falls in county government

May 23—TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse County residents are not as confident in their government as they were two years ago.

Just 35 percent gave county governance a positive rating when asked about their overall confidence, according to the most recent National Community Survey taken by 489 county residents.

The survey also asked about the quality of life in the county, the economy, health and wellness, transportation, community design, safety and more.

A positive rating consists of responses that give a score of "good" or "excellent," while a negative rating is made up of responses that give a score of "fair" or "poor."

Sixty-seven percent of respondents said that county government does not treat residents fairly — an increase of 15 percentage points from 2020, when the last survey was done.

In addition, 70 percent of respondents gave county government a negative rating in being open and transparent, 63 percent do not think residents are kept informed about issues facing the community, and 65 percent do not think GTC county government is honest.

This is the second NRC survey done in the county. The first was in 2020 and had 561 respondents. Those results are included as a comparison.

Changes of more than 6 percentage points between 2020 and 2022 are considered statistically significant, according to National Research Center-Polco, which developed the survey to determine the livability of a community.

County board Chairman Rob Hentschel said the county is in a good financial position, it has an excellent bond rating, they've given all their employees good raises, which helped to stem turnover. The board hasn't passed any controversial resolutions lately either, he said.

"From where I sit things look pretty stable, so I'm curious as to who answered the survey and what their feelings are," Hentschel said.

He questioned if the results were accurate and said there are so many layers of government they could be referring to — city, county, township, zoning or the road commission.

"This is an opportunity to look at why people feel that way," Hentschel said. "You really have to talk to people to get a good feel for those sorts of things."

The aim of the survey is to help the county board with strategic planning and goal-setting.

"We wanted to have a benchmark for 2020 and continue to survey every couple of years to see if we are improving and where, and to see what we could do differently in those areas where we're not improving," said Nate Alger, county administrator.

The county board will hold its first strategic planning session Wednesday, with the morning session from 10 a.m. to noon, and the afternoon session from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions are open to the public.

Survey results are included in the board packet.

GTC has a contract with Public Sector Consultants to create the strategic plan; the company also was paid to assist the county in divvying up about $18.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

People living in the county love the natural environment, with the overall quality given a 91 percent positive rating, with parks and recreation in the county earning a score of 88 percent.

They also think the county is a great place to raise children (85 percent), feel safe (84 percent), have opportunities to volunteer (81 percent), and approve of arts, educational and cultural opportunities (72 percent).

Only 38 percent feel the community is open and accepting toward people of diverse backgrounds, down 10 percentage points from last year.

The economy, housing and mental health treatment in the county also got low marks.

Respondents gave the cost of living in the county a low rating, with all but 13 percent saying the economy is likely to have a negative impact on their family income in the next six months.

Nearly all respondents — 97 percent — gave the availability of affordable and quality housing a negative rating.

Quality mental health care is still largely unavailable, respondents said, though the county is in the process of making improvements with a mental health center for children and adults. A juvenile detention center is also in the works that would also address mental health issues for young people.

A total of 2,800 surveys were mailed out to random addresses in 16 areas of the county. The survey could also be taken online.

Results are also compared to more than 600 communities whose residents took the survey over the last five years, with the data used as benchmarks.

County data is presented as higher, lower or, if within 10 points, similar to those benchmarks.

In 2020, the survey was mailed to 1,700 residents, with 561 of them taking it.