Council Corner - Community Survey

Monday, January 24th, the Town Council held a full Council workshop prior to the Council meeting, to look at questions for an upcoming Cumberland Community Survey.

In 2007, as part of the full comprehensive plan update, a survey was conducted of the community to inform the direction and approach of that work. Fast forward 15 years and we’ve accomplished a lot that was in that plan but while many of the traditions of our town have remained constant, there is no doubt that the people in this town have changed dramatically. While we no longer are required by the state to formally complete a comprehensive plan, the Town Council would like to use that same survey from 15 years ago to accomplish a few things.

• Compare apples to apples the responses today to those from 2007. This is a unique opportunity for our evolving community that we want to take advantage of.
• The questions contained in the survey are aimed at understanding the sentiment of our citizens as it relates to the current state, as well as the possibilities for the future. While we aren’t kicking off a full comprehensive plan update, there will certainly be critical decisions for the future of our community in the coming years, and we’d like to understand how our citizens are feeling. 
• The questions are relatively high level and aimed at “just getting started”. The responses are expected to guide the Council, and any subsequent ad hoc committees related to an update of the comprehensive plan, as we look to dive deeper into certain topics.

By using the survey conducted in 2007, we are also able to use questions created by professional survey administrators, Market Decisions. Councilors are conducting a final review of the questions Monday, so keep a look out for more information on how YOU can submit your responses in the coming weeks.