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Fairfax City council finalizes edits to community survey; staff to launch outreach and return with results in fall
Summary
Councilmembers reviewed and adjusted questions in a planned citywide community survey, asked staff to mention the Ready311 app, removed one development‑amount question, and asked staff to return with results in mid‑September to October work session for presentation.
Fairfax City staff and the mayor and council on July 1 reviewed a draft community survey and agreed on a set of edits and next steps for distribution and analysis.
What was decided: City Manager Brian Foster walked the council through suggested edits. The council agreed to keep a pair of questions about local public education quality and the city’s tuition/contract with Fairfax County Public Schools, to add a reference to the Ready311 app in the survey’s service‑delivery question, and to remove a question that asked respondents to rate the “amount of development” (council members said the question was too ambiguous). Council also asked staff to split one earlier combined item (quality/amount of development) and ultimately agreed to remove the item after discussion. The survey will retain other topic groups such as housing, services, preservation of small‑town character and natural resources.
Public review and timeline: staff said they would confirm any additional design steps with their consultant and then launch the survey. The city manager told council the consultant anticipated survey results and analysis in the mid‑September timeframe; staff will schedule a work session to present full results and recommendations when the analysis is complete.
Communications and council support: council members discussed whether city communications staff should support councilmember outreach events. The city manager said staff can answer factual questions and can attend neighborhood meetings at staff discretion; he cautioned there is a line between staff support for information and the appearance of staff involvement in political activity. Council asked staff to consult communications consultant Jane Dittmar and return with detailed guidance about allowable staff support and recommended practices.
Next steps: staff will finalize the instrument with the consultant (including the Ready311 mention), launch the survey, and return with results and a presentation in the fall. Councilmembers asked staff to ensure public‑facing materials include renderings and visuals, and to plan public outreach so residents understand how the survey results will inform budget and policy decisions.
