BEAG Meeting Summary 042221 - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) for 15 years before joining Orange County. Mr. McGee provided a brief presentation on the various areas of public interaction that he and the County as a whole pursued to inform, involve and solicit feedback from the public. He referenced the County website, electronic newsletters, social media, survey monkey, digital message monitors in County facilities, press releases, and local newspapers. He noted that the tools that would work best depended on what information was being sought. He also confirmed a good relationship with the towns and their public information officers. Judge Bryan inquired if Group members had any topics they would like to discussion with Mr. McGee. Responding to inquiries, Mr. McGee noted that he had worked with countywide polls and surveys utilizing mailing lists as well as email groups, including for initiatives for the County's Library Services and Animal Services. He noted 5-10% response rates. He added that short answer/multiple choice answer options worked better than open-ended questions. He added that response rates varied and it was sometimes difficult to determine the exact individuals and/or groups who were responding. It was noted that the County had partners who could help with soliciting public input, and Mr. McGee stated that the Chambers were good for amplifying messages along with other entities. It was good to use multiple avenues to solicit responses. Mr. McGee noted that members of the Board of Commissioners had conducted town hall type meetings, but he was not aware of the use of focus groups. Mr. McGee also noted the use of a customer satisfaction survey by Orange County several years ago. Mr. McGee also briefly discussed bias in responses, commenting that it was often difficult to assess responses due to the limited number of responses and inability to make judgements. A large response is necessary to create statistical relevant data. He noted the lack of ability to target specific geographic areas. He also noted that getting too deep into election law would be a challenge to succeeding with a short form survey. Group members then discussed the nature of survey questions with Mr. McGee. Mr. McGee shared that an entity should have a survey available for at least two weeks, and longer if possible, and that compiling the results was relatively easy and quick once the survey period closed. An introductory page/paragraph may be worth considering leading into the survey. Judge Bryan thanked Mr. McGee for his information and response to questions from the Group, 6. Identify Strengths and Concerns with Current Framework/Method for Board of Commissioners Elections Group discussion moved to the current framework/method for Board of Commissioners elections, with Group members voicing their thoughts. Comments were as follows: