Citizens’ Survey Shows Differing Views

Late in January of this year, the Marco Island City Council voted to launch a “city survey” to obtain a better understanding of how residents saw their community. 

Council contracted with OnPointe Insights to conduct a comprehensive review of citizens’ opinions on the community, such as how the city was being run and a ranking of the services provided. The survey could be accessed via a link on the city’s website, and was available online from March 22 to April 8, 2022, for Marco residents and business owners to complete. The city made arrangements for those unable to complete the survey online, but only one individual utilized that option.

Out of the 17,920 residents and businesses that received the survey, 3,566 responded. Some responses were not included in the final analysis because they were sent from a duplicate IP address or from outside Collier County. Of the surveys that were returned, 87% had a 34145-zip code for full time residency.

In the survey, residents were asked to rate the quality of services that are provided to citizens, as well as opinions on the effectiveness of Marco Island’s elected officials. 

During a recent city council meeting, OnPointe Founder and CEO Ron Gailey addressed councilors and residents via Zoom to interpret the survey results, both positive and negative.

Survey results indicate concerns regarding “Growth and Development” as well as the “Direction of the City.” The citizens’ responses vary greatly depending upon length of residency, age and gender. However, when respondents were asked about the direction the city is headed in, Marco Island edged out the competition, relative to “other cities.” Similarly, the survey answers regarding “Growth and Development” also varied greatly depending on the demographics of the respondent. 

Residents are encouraged to visit the website at www.cityofmarcoisland.com and review the survey responses. To access the citizen portal for the dashboard with the survey results, click on the highlighted “Citizen Survey” bar at the top of the home page.

Variables to the questions included the respondent’s age, length of time on Marco Island, gender and whether they have children. The data evidenced that these variables affected the outcome of the responses. On the website, the demographics can be adjusted by clicking on the variables located on the right side of the page to see the various results.

To download the interactive report and review the results, visit www.cityofmarcoisland.com. At the home page, click on the highlighted “Citizen Survey” bar or the “Citizen Survey” link at the top of the page.