Agenda Packets - 1999/06/07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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/0 CITY COUNCIL MEMO To: Mounds View City Council From: James Ericson, Planning Associate Subject: Preliminary Internet Survey Results Date: Meeting of June 7, 1999 Background: With this last mailing of the utility bills to residents, staff included a short, half-page survey regarding Internet access. In all, a total of 2985 surveys were sent out. The surveys were included with utility bills to facilitate a high rate of response, given that practically no effort was needed to return the survey. The intent of the survey, a copy of which is attached, was to ascertain (1) how many of our residents had Internet access, (2) how many residents would visit the City's website, and (3) how many of our"connected" residents would want to be added to an e-mail list to be notified of City events, public meetings or other municipal information. With this knowledge, the City would be better able to assess its Internet presence and the effort that goes into maintaining the site as well as to improve communication between the City and its residents by providing an alternative means of conveying City information. Analysis: As of this writing, the City has received back 996 responses to the Internet survey. While more responses are expected, their numbers should be minimal, yet will push the total over the one- thousand mark. This translates (at this point) into a 34.5% rate of response--a percentage considered quite high for a mailout survey. I would expect the final percentage to be at least 35%. Of the 996 responses, 530 indicated that someone in their household had Internet access either at home or work. Thus, more than half(53%) of the respondents have access to the Internet. This figure was far higher than I had expected. Of those connected, the split between home and work was practically even--389 responses indicated access from home and 346 indicated access from work. Many responses (38%) indicated access at both home and work. Concerning the e-mail list, 272 respondents expressed a desire to be put on a list to be kept informed of City events and other information. In addition to those responses, we have received fifteen separate requests via e-mail asking to be added to the City's e-mail list. Again, this total is far higher than I expected, and am very happy at the response. The question which received far fewer positive responses than hoped was whether or not residents had visited the City's website. Of the 530 connected households, only 69 indicated that they had visited the website, or 13 %. This information, while disappointing, gives staff reason to believe that if more people knew about the website, more residents would utilize it. This leads to the only failing of the survey instrument. I had stated in the opening survey paragraph that I