During the January 31st meeting, the IVGID Board of Trustees sanctioned an allocation of another $7,900 for the utilization of FlashVote, a survey service, to administer six surveys across the Incline Village and Crystal Bay community. (Watch this discussion starting at the 3:38:00 mark)
The decision to commission a series of surveys raises inquiries regarding the specific objectives sought by the Board and IVGID staff, particularly given the substantial history of previous community surveys. Questions have emerged regarding poor and/or slanted survey questions, the utilization of data accumulated from prior surveys, and translation of the results into actionable measures for community enhancement.
With the Board’s stated commitment to prudent financial stewardship, some stakeholders have expressed reservations about the process leading to this expenditure. Suggestions have been made for a more methodical approach involving collaboration between IVGID Staff and Trustees to ascertain the precise data requirements, determine the optimal number of surveys needed, and select the most appropriate survey tool.
In addition, the District needs to ensure that the survey is sent to all residents and/or property owners, and not just a small, non-representative sampling composed of FlashVote enrollees. While FlashVote has been chosen to conduct these surveys, alternative options were not thoroughly explored.
The Board continues to spend a lot of money this service; but they have years of data that could be used right now to help inform significant decisions over the next year or two. This seems like a wasteful expenditure.