Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

Date:	November 21 , 2006
To:	David Corliss, City Manager
CC:	Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
From:	Casey Liebst, Budget Manager
RE:	Contract for Citizen Survey

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda for consideration at their November 28, 2006 meeting:

Recommendation to sign contract with ETC Institute, Inc. to complete a Citizen Survey.

Background

During our work with Management Partners to develop a set of performance measures, a number of measures were identified that called for obtaining citizen input regarding their level of satisfaction with the services we provide.  In September, an RFP for the development and conducting of a citizen satisfaction survey was distributed to appropriate vendors.  Seven responses were received and reviewed by a committee made up of staff from Finance, Public Works, and the City Manager’s Office.  Based on the experience of the firm, the project approach, timeline and cost of the services outlined in the RFP, the committee selected two finalists – ETC Institute. 

On October 24, the City Commission authorized the City Manager to enter into negotiations with ETC Institute.   A contract has been prepared and, if appropriate, is ready for City Commission approval.

Project Scope, Timeline, and Budget

The contract outlines the scope of work the ETC will perform.  Tasks include:

• Working with City staff to develop a 20 minute long survey instrument,
• Conducting stakeholder interviews with members of the public, elected officials, and other interested parties to determine what questions should be included on the survey instrument,
• Administering the survey using a combination of mail and telephone to gather a sample size of 900 completed surveys, 
• Tabulation of the data including cross tabulations and benchmarking analysis, 
• Preparation of maps showing survey responses as they correspond to latitude and longitude of respondents,
• Presentation of a final report to the City’s management team and the City Commission,
• Conducting of a Consensus Building session with the City’s management team to discuss the four most important areas for future focus based on survey results.   

ETC will begin their work in December.  The survey will be distributed in January and the final report to the City Commission should occur in late February. 

The contract contains a schedule of the cost of each task ETC will perform.  The total cost of the survey will not exceed twenty-nine thousand nine hundred fifty dollars ($29,950).  Funding will be provided by a combination of funds, given the variety of departments involved in the survey.

Action Request

The committee recommends the City Commission authorize the City Manager to sign the contract for $29,950 for services for completion of a customer survey.