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An explanation on our shared services survey

When the Daily News launched a survey last Wednesday on whether local municipalities should consider sharing some services or resources, we were looking for feedback on the concept.

We didn’t have to wait long to hear back from some of you.

Some faulted us for the survey method. Some just didn’t like that we raised the issue at all. One caller said all it does is “stir up dust.”

Fair enough. Some criticism of such a survey, on a topic known to be sensitive in this area, is to be expected.

We also perhaps could have done a better job at explaining where we planned to go with the results of this survey.

This survey is not scientific and the method does have limitations. For example, it will not be able to distinguish where those answering live, which would have been a better indicator of the overall receptiveness to the idea.

But we will note the various shortcomings when reporting out the results. We also intend to not just list what the survey indicated, but go into what other factors would be at play that would allow — or prevent — such sharing.

Second, this is a survey, not a referendum. No government will be bound by the results or even obligated to do anything at all. We would hope, at the same time, that officials remain open to hearing the voice of the public.

Mostly, we wanted to spark a dialog, see if sharing certain services was worth further discussion.

To those who believe going down this road would somehow compromise the independence of your community, lead to higher taxes — and you have called, so we know you’re out there — or you just plain can’t stomach the idea for whatever reason, take the survey to indicate your displeasure.

You’ll only have to answer one question if the answer to sharing services is “no.”

The survey will stay open through Saturday. Again, if you feel strongly enough about the topic, pro or con, share those thoughts. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/shareservices or the Daily News’ web site at www.ironmountaindailynews.com and click on the button on the right side of the web page.

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