Lexington County to poll residents on services this spring

Lexington County leaders will ask residents soon for their views on which services should be emphasized amid steady growth that’s straining finances.

The survey planned for during a few weeks in March and April will help guide, but won’t dictate, spending decisions in coming months, officials said.

“It won’t be decisions by poll,” County Council Chairman Todd Cullum of Cayce said. “But it will let us know what people think and want.”

County leaders are wondering whether their struggle to add deputies, firefighters and ambulance crews as well as improve roads matches what residents want. The poll is similar to customer satisfaction polls taken for businesses. But it’s a first for county officials.

The $71,750 survey by MarketSearch Corp. of Columbia is seen as a way of garnering broader reaction to ideas on top of letters, telephone calls and emails that the nine council members receive from people and groups affected by proposals.

“It definitely will give us benchmarks,” County Administrator Joe Mergo said. “It will tell us what our citizens feel should have a sense of urgency.”

Participation will be available to all 275,000 residents in suburbs, small towns and farms spread across the 758-square-mile county. A publicity blitz promoting the survey – officially called a citizen engagement study – will precede its start.

Comments will be gathered online and by phone with safeguards protecting anonymity of respondents and ensuring no one can improperly influence the outcome, Mergo said.

MarketSearch was selected after bids from four consultants.

The taxpayer-paid survey will be designed to make sure county officials “maintain an arms-length relationship” in developing it, Mergo said.

It’s too soon to say whether the survey is a one-time effort or will be repeated periodically, officials said.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Lexington County to poll residents on services this spring."