Survey poor use of taxpayer dollars

Dear Editor:

As one of the 260 online respondents to the recent Wellington North Resident’s Satisfaction Survey, I was quite disappointed to read in the most recent issue of the Community News that the results of the on-line survey were essentially dismissed, and that I had evidently wasted my time by participating.

According to the survey firm (Deloitte) the telephone responses of 100 residents bear more legitimacy, especially if those respondents chose to deliver a more “positive” message to our council.

This is the worst kind of cherry picking and seems intended simply to serve as a feel good “check the box for public consultation” exercise.

I would suggest that if, as the article indicated, Deloitte could not place credence in the results of their own online survey then they have done a poor job performing it.

It calls into question the purpose of conducting an on-line survey at all.

As someone who approached this as a good-faith participant in the on-line survey (I was initially pleased to be invited to share my views) I now believe that portion of the exercise used a questionable methodology, delivered no value, and was a poor use of our tax dollars.

Steve Bowley
Wellington North