According to the survey of 400 Linn County residents age 18 and older, the top priorities related to county government are:

• Protect county facilities from future flood threats.
• If the flood mitigation plan doesn’t protect county facilities on May’s Island (courthouse and correctional center), county services should be moved.
• Find a location that is easy to get to from most parts of Linn County.
• Explore locating City of Cedar Rapids, Linn County and Cedar Rapids School District offices together if it improves convenience.
• Make sure there is plenty of close and convenient parking.
• Make it easy to visit multiple Linn County offices in one stop.
• Make it easy to do business with Linn County online so an in-person visit isn’t needed.
• Consider environmentally sound and sustainable building options.

Fifty-five percent of survey respondents said they are very interested or interested in learning about ongoing plans and discussions about the future of Linn County facilities and services. Thirty-six percent of survey respondents said they are very interested or interested in providing input about the future of Linn County facilities and services.

“The survey results will be valuable as we move forward with discussions on where to permanently locate county facilities and how best to provide Linn County services in the future,” said Lu Barron, Chairperson of the Linn County Board of Supervisors. “We will use the outcomes of this survey as part of the facilities study that Linn County is conducting with Design Dynamics, and we will also use them with other government and school district officials as a starting point as we discuss the possibility of locating services together.”

The survey also found that seventy-three percent of residents who visited a Linn County office in person in the past 12 months rated the level of customer service positively. “This speaks volumes about Linn County staff,” said Barron. “We are very proud of this accomplishment, especially considering most County offices have been operating out of temporary facilities for nearly the past seven months.”

The 400 survey respondents are a scientific representation of the entire county. The sample demographics reflect Linn County census data for gender (+/-2%) and age (+/-4%). The survey results are available by clicking here.

This survey is part of a three-phase process Linn County is following to determine the permanent location of County facilities post-flood. The three phases are:

• Information gathering (Fall 2008 – January 2009)
• Alternatives assessment (January – February 2009). This will include review of possible location alternatives, including co-location with the City of Cedar Rapids and the Cedar Rapids School District.
• Decisions/implementation (late winter – spring 2009)