Sechelt’s online citizen satisfaction survey results from late last year have finally been released and they show some discontent with council’s management, planning and decision-making.
A total of 51 per cent of all online respondents to the survey said they were “very dissatisfied” with council’s progress in those areas. That’s in stark contrast to the 13 per cent who felt the same way when the question was asked via a telephone survey conducted in November 2016 by the District of Sechelt.
Between 28 and 39 per cent of online survey takers also reported being very dissatisfied with council’s progress balancing environmental, economic and social values, building Sechelt’s identity, supporting an active and engaged community and creating a vibrant and sustainable economy. Between five and 12 per cent reported feeling the same way when the telephone survey was conducted.
Telephone and online respondents also felt the top three most important issues facing the district were different on two fronts. Both agreed that water/sewer was a top priority, but telephone survey takers said long-term care for seniors and affordable housing were the other top issues, while online, government/leadership and economic development rose to the top of the list.
And when asked to rate the overall quality of life in Sechelt, 24 per cent online said it was very good while 40 per cent said it was good. The telephone survey saw 44 per cent report life was very good and 37 per cent say it was good.
The district’s 2016 citizen satisfaction survey was extended to ask online input from residents between Nov. 22 and Dec. 2. However, the results were originally withheld from the public when Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne said the online results weren’t statistically verifiable and “very, very different” from the telephone survey results.
Ultimately council voted on March 15 not to release the online results, however resident Graham Moore took issue with the decision and filed a freedom of information (FOI) request to see them. After seeking legal advice, staff recommended releasing the results, as the public can access them through the FOI process anyway, so council rescinded its decision to keep the results under wraps, saying they would be posted to the website by the end of May.
Late in the day on Friday, May 19, the results were posted to the District of Sechelt’s webpage with a proviso that “the online survey results reflect the views of self-selected responders and cannot be statistically validated due to the collection method.”
Results show a total of 132 online responses to the citizen satisfaction survey, but it points out that 14 of the online responses were from one person (identified previously as a friend of Milne’s who was asked by the mayor to “test the validity” of the survey) and 33 responses were found to be from duplicate computer addresses.
A total of 301 people responded to the telephone survey and those results were posted alongside the online results for the public to compare.
Moore said this week the results didn’t surprise him.
“The biggest flag showed the big level of dissatisfaction with the level of economic development in our community,” he said.
Milne said this week that the results “speak pretty clearly for themselves,” noting he likely should have released them much sooner.
“I obviously misstepped on that. I wasn’t thinking politically at all. Clearly. I was just thinking about certifying the numbers.”
The full results can be found at www.sechelt.ca.
