Tay Township wants to hear from its residents, and initiatives addressed by council testify to that.
Results of a survey were provided to council during a recent committee of the whole meeting, as requested between mid-September to mid-October for resident completion.
While 94 per cent of those who replied identified as Tay Township residents, only 258 responses were sent back to the township. Census data from 2021 identified Tay Township as having a population of just over 11,000 residents with roughly 4,500 households.
Mayor Ted Walker praised the layout of the report prepared by communication and technology services manager Elizabeth Smith, and its category-driven structure for easier digestion.
“We had 258 responses,” said Walker. “That’s pretty good. It’s lower than we would like, but considering how normally those things react –.”
“I was also quite interested to read the sections on communications, and how many went on the meetings, how many relied on the email blasts and things like that. I think it gives us some information that we can use in the future.”
Coun. Paul Raymond was the most vocal, expressing further praise to the questionnaire but sharing thoughts on the low response intake.
“I always struggle when we reach out to the residents and try to get as much input from them so that we can do the best job that we can do, and then we get these return numbers that are incredibly low,” said Raymond.
“I wish, personally and on behalf of the township, that they would engage more rather than at the end of the day show up on social media and start filing complaints. These are the types of actions taken by our staff to try and increase engagement.
He added: “All we have to do is try again – keep engaging the residents to participate more. They don’t realize how important these surveys are for us.”
Later in the meeting, Smith’s monthly activity report was addressed regarding the communication and technology section. Raymond offered further congratulations to Smith and staff on new electronic signs which had been implemented throughout the township.
“Just amazing, and it’s like night and day,” said Raymond. “The old ones, unfortunately, were so hard to read even at the best of times. These ones just reach out, and we’re in so much of a better position to start using them to our advantage, to inform the residents as we always wanted to.”
Other council members shared appreciation for the signs. Coun. Sandy Talbot called them “a gorgeous addition to our township”, and related how the horticultural committee members were also in praise.
Walker added “how great the signs look” with thanks to Smith, as did Deputy Mayor Barry Norris who gave his overall thanks to staff at the end of the meeting, including the signs with other municipal initiatives deserving of recognition.
“To drive the municipality at this point in time, it’s unbelievable how much we have changed again in four years,” said Norris.
The levels of services public engagement questionnaire results report can be found in the agenda page on the Tay Township website.
Tay council meets for committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday of the month, and regular council meetings every fourth Wednesday of the month. Archives and livestreams of council meetings are available through the Tay Township YouTube channel.
