Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Why didn't more people fill out the City of Decorah survey?"

Jan asks, "I think each time you mention this survey (of Decorah residents' perceptions of city government) you should say how many residences were eligible to respond and how few actually did respond.   I hear many, many complaints about city operation, but did those people fill out the survey?  NO!"

Mr. Answer Person says, "Several of our stories about the survey of Decorah city government mentioned around 500 people filled out the survey.  Actually, that's a fairly good response rate--enough to insurance that the results are relatively valid.

There are 8,000 people in Decorah, but 2,400 of them are Luther College students who are less directly affected by city services.  That leaves 5,600 city dwellers--but 15 percent of them are children.  That leaves fewer than 5,000 adults as City of Decorah residents.  A 10 percent response rate is considered statistically valid.

But your comment about people who complain but don't do anything is right on the point.  How can people expect to bring about changes if they won't even fill out a survey?  And filling out a survey is just about the least active way to participate in city government.  Many people in the survey complained about feeling left out of the loop about the decisions made by the Decorah City Council--but city council meetings rarely have members of the public in attendance to state their opinions.  If people want change, they can't just complain "Taxes are too high" while drinking coffee or another beverage!