A Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) director has an issue with the validity of the organization’s recent citizen survey.
At the RDCO’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Jan. 30, Wayne Carson, who Electoral Area West, raised concern over the small sampling size on various issues the 2024 Citizens Survey inquired about.
While noting the smaller population in Electoral Area West, Carson questioned which communities responses were coming from.
“I don’t know if they’re calling from Brent Road (near Peachland) or the North Westside and it makes a difference especially in the delivery of services,” he explained.
Carson added that the level of service is drastically different between communities.
“I’m concerned this information is being used to make decisions about my community. I don’t find them to be valid,” he added.
The survey covered several topics including important regional issues, quality of life in the Central Okanagan, and governance. Municipalities and electoral areas that had fewer than 100 and 50 responses to a topic were noted with an asterisk and double asterisk respectively.
Caution should be used interpreting results marked with an asterisk explained Catherine Knaus, director at Ipsos, who presented the survey to the RDCO board. Responses to all topics by Electoral Area West residents were marked with a double asterisk.
“The survey itself is a statistically valid and representative survey using a random sampling approach,” she said.
Knaus also noted the smaller population in Electoral Area West. “I would say it represents the views of residents in the community,” she said, again urging caution when interpreting results.
She pointed out that the 2024 results are similar to the 2022 survey across all communities. “I’m confident in the information that we’re providing.”
The citizen survey was conducted in fall 2024. It assists the RDCO with setting priorities and resource allocation.
Results include:
- 92 per cent of residents report their overall quality of life as good;
- 88 per cent of residents report the Central Okanagan is a safe place to live;
- 92 per cent of residents report they are satisfied with the overall level and quality of RDCO services
- they receive;
- 82 per cent of residents reporting they get good value for their taxes.
The full survey results are available on the .
