City survey finds 1,208 responses; residents prioritize children, roads and fiscal responsibility

OnPoint Insights presented a community survey to the Minot City Council on Nov. 17 showing 1,208 responses and neighborhood-level breakdowns that staff and councilors said will inform budgeting and capital priorities.

The consultant, Ron Gailey of OnPoint Insights, told the council the firm validated responses with IP and email checks and allowed up to two household responses; Gailey said, "We had 1,208, responsible responses." He said respondents were concentrated in northwest and southeast Minot, about 51% are long-term residents, and about 90% reported owning or buying their home.

Why it matters: council members said the results give a data-driven starting point for prioritizing city spending. Gailey said residents ranked "a great place to raise children," fiscal responsibility and safety among top attributes; road maintenance, neighborhood snow removal and property taxes were the most-cited areas for improvement.

Council members pressed Gailey on data quality. Alderman Blessem asked how many responses were discarded for duplication; Gailey said "Not many," and staff added that roughly a dozen were rejected and 15–20 showed multiple IPs and were reviewed. City staff said they will compare the results with prior surveys from 2021 and 2023.

What’s next: staff and councilors said the dashboard will be used for follow-up analysis and to inform the budget process. City Manager and relevant departments will review the comments and filter results by demographic groups before recommending specific spending adjustments.