The city of Sachse is soliciting feedback from just under 3,000 residents on existing programs and how it can improve in the future.

Assistant City Manager Lauren Rose said the city will obtain an appropriate cross-section sample of residents through the mailed surveys to around 2,800 households. The city contracted with Polco to conduct the survey and mail them to residents.

“This will be the first time that the city of Sachse will conduct a statistically significant resident survey,” Rose said. “The frequency with which resident surveys are conducted varies from community to community and are typically set by the city council.”

Although surveys were only mailed to residents recently, staff have considered conducting a citywide survey for several years, said Rose, adding that there were delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey questions were drafted last spring ahead of this fall’s mailing.

Once completed, the survey will inform council and staff on future programs or policy considerations.

“Data-driven decision-making is a top priority for the city,” Rose said. “We want to check in with our residents to first see how we are performing relative to their expectations and gauge their interest in any programmatic changes.”

Results of the survey will also be used to establish performance measures in the future, she added.

Additionally, the results of the open and closed resident surveys will be shared with councilmembers during the strategic planning retreat typically held each winter. The meeting takes place in January or February ahead of the preliminary steps of the budget process in March, said Rose.

For the full story, see the Oct. 13 issue of The Sachse News.