Community Survey Underway for Tyler 21 Update

TYLER — In the next week, a random sampling of 2,000 Tyler residents will receive a survey in the mail asking for their input about City services and community planning. This is all part of the five-year update to Tyler’s comprehensive plan, Tyler 21. “It is hard to believe that it has been almost five years since the Council adopted the Tyler 21 Plan,” said Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass. “Much has been accomplished toward implementation of the original goals; however, the plan calls for an update every five years to ensure it remains current and reflects the desires of the community.” The formal planning phase will start in November; however, the City is conducting the community survey now so that the results will be available as the process moves forward.

“A cornerstone of the planning effort is citizen input and involvement, including the citizen survey,” added Bass. “The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will aid the City of Tyler in taking a resident-driven approach to making decisions that will enrich the future of the community and positively affect the lives of its residents.” ETC Institute, an independent consulting company, was selected to administer the survey. ETC will compile the data received and present the results to the City. Individual responses will remain confidential.

The mailed survey will contain a link that allows for it to be completed on the web. Also, two days prior to receiving the mailed survey, each of the selected households will receive an electronic voice message informing it about the survey. Approximately 10 days after the surveys are mailed out, extensive phone follow-up will be conducted either to encourage completion of the mailed survey or to administer the survey by phone. “This approach allows us to ensure that the demographic distribution of the sample matches the actual composition of the community,” said City Planner Heather Nick. “This survey is intended to ‘take the temperature’ of the community for a reading on the prevailing concerns on residents’ minds.” You can go to http://www.cityoftyler.org to read up on the background of Tyler 21.