Rexburg council hires survey firm to probe why police‑station bond failed

Rexburg City Council voted Dec. 3 to hire Portman/Portland Square Group to conduct a statistically valid survey aimed at understanding voter concerns after a police‑station bond failed in November.

Chief Josh Rhodes told the council the bond’s defeat did not remove the long‑term need for additional patrol and facility capacity and said the steering committee wants better information about who voted and why. "The bond measure did not pass for the new police station," Rhodes said, urging the council to seek broader public input before deciding whether to return the question to voters.

CFO Matt Nielsen outlined the proposal and cost estimates from the consultant, saying the firm’s baseline fee was approximately $6,000–$8,000 and that text‑message outreach and postcards would add distribution costs (staff cited roughly $5,500 for text delivery and $5,200 for postcards). Nielsen said the firm targets a text‑first approach aimed at voters who have participated in recent elections and can produce results quickly: "They target individuals that have voted in 3 of the last 4 elections," he said.

Michael Keith, the city’s financial adviser on the call, described how a well‑crafted survey can reveal the themes that drive voter decisions and provide precinct‑level data to focus messaging and outreach. "A well crafted survey can be very, very valuable in understanding the public and where you guys stand," he said.

Council discussion centered on three practical questions: who the survey should target (the firm can target reliable voters, a broader subset of registered voters, or all residents), whether to use text only or combine text and postcards, and whether survey results could be returned in time to inform a possible May ballot. Some council members favored text‑only outreach as the most efficient use of money and time; others favored adding postcards to reach residents who may not respond to texts.

Todd Grant, representing the Madison County Elections Office, warned council members that the cost of holding another election would be about $20,000 and urged caution about running repeated ballots in short order.

After debate, the council voted to proceed with hiring Portman/Portland Square Group to design and execute the survey and to task staff to move quickly on the preferred outreach method and target sample.

The council directed staff to return survey results and recommendations to the Jan. 21 meeting calendar if feasible, and members said they would use the findings to decide whether to pursue another ballot measure and how to tailor public education and outreach.