By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The Boone County Fiscal Court has decided to see how good their communication skills are, so they are teaming with Vehr Communications to survey residents about the best way to reach them about things that are happening in the county.
“Boone County is committed to continuous improvement and superior service, and this survey is very helpful tool in recognizing areas of strength, evaluating opportunities for improvement, and identifying issues important to our citizens,” said Judge Executive Gary Moore. “The Fiscal Court unanimously identified the improvement of communications and engagement as a very high priority, and the information shared as part of the survey will be critical to ensuring we prepare a plan that is successful.”
The survey can be accessed through August 5 by going online here, or through the county’s homepage at https://BooneCountyKY.org.
Representatives from Vehr have been looking at what communication venues are already in place in the county, and from there they worked with Boone County Fiscal Court and senior staff members to compile a survey so they can see how to reach more people in the county. With about 136,000 people in the county, Assistant County Administrator Rob Franxman said they are always looking for ways to improve upon their communication.
“At the beginning of the year, the fiscal court specifically said they wanted to improve communications,” said Franxman. “We want to engage the public as much as we can.”
Several questions on the survey are multiple choice, trying to determine how people get their county news now. One question asks if the respondent uses social media.
One question asks what kind of news the respondent would like to receive about the county, whether it be information about the fiscal court meetings, or events in the county, or severe weather alerts, or road closures due to construction.
There are places where people can write in other information they would like to receive.
Another part of the survey asks people to rate what the county already has on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the What’s Happening newsletter.
Then comes the essay questions, questions where people can say what kind of information they think might be lacking, and whether they like the availability of the fiscal court videos, and if they think there might be other venues of communication the county could pursue.
Finally there is some demographic information, whether the respondent is a resident and the age of the respondent.
Franxman said that while they will have the survey up for a month, if the responses are good and keep coming in, the county will keep the survey up on line as long as they have responses.
“It is not a difficult survey, and we would really like for people to take the survey,” said Franxman. “It will really help us. It is another tool in the toolbox.”