1. How did you get my address?
   Your address was sampled at random from a list of all addresses within the City of Wichita from the post office. This is a standard service offered by the post office. It is not a city government file and no household member is named on the file.
2. I live outside of the city limits, do I need to fill this out?
   First of all, I don't anticipate this question being asked as we were really careful not to mail outside our city limits. But if it does happen, tell them to discard the survey since they would most likely receive County services.
3. I received your survey and I own the property that it was sent to, but I do not live there. What should I do?
   Ask the caller if they could get the survey to the resident that lives in that address. If this is not possible to do in a timely manner, ask the caller if they live within the City limits. If they do, they may take the survey. It is the first choice to have the person that lives in that address take the survey.
4. What is the purpose of requesting the person who most recently had a birthday complete the survey?
   We have randomly selected households within our jurisdiction to receive the survey. We would also like to choose in an unbiased way a person within each household to complete the survey. This way we ensure the results are representative of our community as a whole. While it may seem strange, using the “birthday method” is a simple way to select an adult from within each household without permitting bias in our results (such as asking for the oldest or youngest member of the household).
5. I am the person in my household that most recently had a birthday but I am not informed about the City. Can I give it to someone else in my household?
   We would prefer that you complete the survey. The “birthday method” described in the letter creates the most representative sample of our jurisdiction. You will be surprised how much you can contribute.
6. I doubt that you are interested in my opinion since I rarely leave my (nursing) home. Should I complete the survey?
   Yes, city government is here to serve all residents, and it is important to us that we get feedback from a complete cross-section of our residents.
7. I filled out the survey when I received it and now have received another copy. Should I fill it out again?
   No, please do not fill it out again. Because the responses are anonymous, we don’t know who already completed the survey. We only need one response from each person. A second copy was mailed to all those that received the first copy as a reminder to take the survey. Thank you for filling it out!
8. What will be done with the survey results?
   When we launched Transforming Wichita last year, we defined it as a journey by which we fundamentally change the way this organization measures, reports and performs the every day work of delivering services to Wichita. Through Transformation Wichita, we want to achieve outstanding results, and measure and report those results to show progress and recognize outstanding performance.  We also want to identify those areas that we need to improve. This survey, and what we learn from it, will play an important role for us to do just that. We want to see what our  paying customers think about this city’s service.
9. Is it available in another language?
   Yes, the survey is also available in Spanish. Spanish-speaking citizens that receive the survey can call the Spanish hotline at 303-8080 to request the Spanish version of the survey
10. Why is “Hispanic” different from “Race?”
    We want to compare the demographic profile to the information we have received from the U.S. Census. In order to do this, we asked our race and ethnicity question the same way that the U.S. Census did. The Census designates Hispanic as an ethnicity, not a race.
11. Who is National Research Center?
    They are a national research firm that we are using to conduct our survey. The are endorsed by ICMA – the International City Manager’s Association – and they conduct similar surveys in over 600 other cities across the United States. This makes measurements received more meaningful. For example, if it is found that 58% responded that they were satisfied with a service, that sounds like a failing score. But if it is seen that across the nation, only 52% are satisfied, then the City can see that this response is about average.
12. Do other communities use a survey?
    According to ICMA, the number of communities has increased considerably since 1998, mostly because budgets continue to get tighter and City governments realize they need to prioritize. In 1999, 88% of the jurisdictions with a population of 25,000 or more reported conducting a survey within the past 5 years.
13. I received a survey and plan to show dissatisfaction with City programs I don’t use such as public transportation. Then my tax dollars won’t be spent.
    Survey results will be treated seriously as some of the most credible citizen testimony available. Nevertheless, the final decisions of city matters rest with the City Council. Their leadership provides the kind of check necessary to avoid policies that would be unjust to minority groups in the community. For example over 2% of the population relies on transit as their main form of transportation.
14. I didn’t get randomly selected but I want to voice my opinion!
    Great! Go to the City’s website at www.wichita.gov and click on “Citizens Survey” icon under “Hot Topics” on the web. Simply select the English or Spanish version of the survey that is there in a PDF file, fill it out and fax or mail it back to us. Mail to: City Manager’s Office, City Hall, 13th Floor, 455 N. Main, Wichita 67202. Or fax it back at 268-4519.
    

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