Oak Creek To Spend $12K Surveying Residents

Oak Creek city leaders will try to determine how residents feel their local government is doing.

The Common Council, on a 4-2 vote Tuesday, authorized the city to pay Colbat Community Research a maximum of $12,000 to administer a survey to a "representative sample" of residents.

The survey will seek to gauge residents' opinions on city services, programs and initiatives. A scientific research method like this one will allow government leaders to make good decisions based on feedback from residents, City Administrator Gerald Peterson said.

"There are many projects that you need to really get a good representative sample of the community, and that takes active outreach on the part of the city," Peterson said.

The money will come from hotel taxes (as opposed to property taxes). The actual amount will probably be closer to $10,000, Peterson said.

Cobalt was chosen because it was clear the company "has the experience and proven methodology to perform this work for the city of Oak Creek," according to a council report. Peterson said he hopes to do these kinds of surveys every few years.

Aldermen Dan Bukiewicz and Mike Toman voted in opposition, questioning its effectiveness.

Toman said he prefers public forums, such as the meeting .

Bukiewicz said he didn't "know what we're going to learn" by doing a survey.

"We've had approaches for survey after survey, study after study. To tell you the truth, they all kind of get shelved," Bukiewicz said. 

He added, "I do think it's a useful tool, but given this time of state-shared revenue kind of going up in smoke and money being tight, I don't think it's the best time to spend 12 grand on a study."

But others said it was important to be proactive and get residents' input, which help guide future decisions, especially during the budget process.

Alderman Ken Gehl said more communication between residents and city officials was a priority of his since he was first elected and that this is a step in the right direction.

"It's a very modest cost for very valuable input," he said.