Town Has Questions, Residents Have Answers

Release: Town of Vienna

VIENNA, VA - Many town residents will soon receive the 2016 Town of Vienna Citizen Survey in their mailboxes. Surveys, accompanied by a cover letter from Mayor Laurie DiRocco, are scheduled to arrive this month at randomly selected households.

The survey provides an opportunity for residents to rate the town on a variety of qualities and services. Among the more than 100 questions on the five-page survey are queries like: How would you rate the quality of life or sense of community in the Town of Vienna? Are you satisfied with police response times, leaf pick-up service, and accessibility to town parks? What do you think about the town calendar and website?

“We’re excited to learn what our citizens think about programs and services provided by the town and characteristics of our community,” DiRocco said. “An investment of just 15 minutes or so can, when survey results are reported collectively, have a significant impact on quality of life in our community."

Citizen responses will be critical to helping Town Council members and staff better plan, manage and improve services and programs.

“Citizen survey results provide an invaluable tool to local governments,” said Communications and Marketing Manager Lynne DeWilde. “The data gathered from this 2016 survey will allow Vienna to understand how well it is performing compared to other regional communities and across time. The results allow the town to use citizen input to better prioritize, budget and plan for the future.”

An adult household member (someone 18 or older) is asked to take the 10 to 15 minutes necessary to complete the survey and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided. The survey also may be completed online. To maintain scientific credibility, only randomly selected households may participate.

All citizen responses are confidential. Survey responses are returned to ETC Institute in Olathe, Kansas, with whom the Town of Vienna has contracted to administer the survey. Results are reported only as collective data. Survey results are expected to be reported to the town and shared publicly late this spring.

Vienna participated in a similar citizen survey in 2014, and results from this year’s survey will be compared to those results.