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Council delays vote on FlashVote contract, requests demo and one‑year trial option
Summary
Council discussed a proposed agreement with Governance Sciences Group Inc. (dba FlashVote) for short public‑opinion polling (six short surveys per year); concerns about sampling, question oversight and cost led council to request a 40–45 minute demo and to consider a one‑year trial rather than a three‑year commitment.
City staff presented a proposed agreement with Governance Sciences Group Inc. (DBA FlashVote) to provide ongoing public‑opinion polling: the contract would run six short surveys per year, each three to five questions, with a vendor option for a three‑year package at roughly $9,900 per year (including setup) or a one‑year trial priced nearer $13,000.
City Manager Jared Gerber and staff said FlashVote builds a respondent pool by opt‑in recruitment and geolocation and then supplements the sample to match city demographics. Council members raised methodological questions about representativeness, the risk of link‑sharing skewing results, and how the vendor recruits and maintains the panel. "The contract's 6 a year," staff explained when asked about survey frequency.
Several council members said they preferred seeing a demo of how the pool is constructed, how the vendor prevents link‑sharing and what question review would look like. Council asked staff to arrange a 40–45 minute work‑session demonstration with FlashVote and suggested structuring a small review committee (e.g., mayor’s office staff, a council member, legal staff) to vet topics and questions.
Staff will return after the vendor demonstration and will include the council’s tentative preference for a one‑year trial to test the service and examine question oversight procedures before committing to multiple years.
