Radnor Survey Results May Impact Budget

Three hundred and twenty Radnor Township residents in June participated in a survey that could be very influential in the crafting of next year’s operating budget.

But Radnor Republican Party chair Mimi Auchincloss says that the survey could be construed as political poll, “designed to show the way to shape opinion to desired end, not to help form policy.”

Auchincloss ask Radnor’s Board of Commissioners Monday night to postpone the September 12 presentation of the survey results until this year’s local elections are over.

Four of the seven seats are up for grabs in November; three incumbents are running for re-election.

The survey, conducted along with focus groups, was created by the Impact Group, an Ohio marketing firm that township manager Bob Zienkowski recommended.

Those who participated in the survey represent a sampling of the demographic makeup of the township’s 31,000 residents, said Tom Speaks, owner of the Impact Group.

“This could not be further from a political survey,” Speaks said.

He described it as a statistically accurate, typical social sciences quantitative survey that measures peoples’ sentiments, perceptions, and awareness.

But Auchincloss asked how the question “Overall, how much do you trust the current Radnor Township Commissioners?” is useful for government for fiscal and funding issues.

“What policy would possibly be enacted as a result of that question? What does that have to do with the funding of the township,” she asked Monday.

Zienkowski responded, saying that knowing how residents feel about officials is important, especially given that the previous manager David Bashore was fired for allegations of misappropriations.

He said it’s also a matter of what level of “detail” the township needs to provide the public, but did not give any specific examples of what the details would be on.

The survey includes a question about the $16 million opened in 2008:

How supportive would you be of Radnor Township selling the township municipal building and then moving to a smaller facility?

It also asks residents, “How supportive would you be of purchasing a portion of the land surrounding the Ardrossan Estate if it meant an increase in your property taxes by $129 annually, on average?”

On the second question, Auchincloss also found issue. She said the funding questions of open space and of the library, fire company and senior center were not presented congruously.

She said that the questions of funding the organizations were presented in annual sums, a “great big scary number,” while the open space question was presented in the average tax payer’s annual increase — less than $200.

Speaks said he could not respond to her point on the phone, but welcomed a discussion during the presentation at the Board of Commissioner’s meeting next month.

“Our role is the vessel that gives the truth. Whatever it is we present it,” he said. “They then take that and do something positive with it.”

Read the survey questions .