Public opinion has power to shape public policy in Tulsa

In a recent survey conducted by Shapard Research, SoonerPoll's parent company, for the City of Tulsa, revealed that 'enforcement of city codes' ranked sixth among Tulsa residents list of the top 12 priorities, as well as being a top priority in the Priority Matrix built by Shapard Research to assist city leaders with building their leadership strategy.

Other priorities that made the top 12 included expected responses like 'maintenance of city streets,' 'quality of police service,' 'quality of fire service' and 'quality of city Parks & Rec.'

'Enforcement of city codes' was the most unexpected answer in the top 12, and as such, highlights the value of learning about your customers or, in this case, residents, through targeted public opinion research.

Since the citizen survey illuminated Tulsa residents desire for more code enforcement, the Tulsa city council has been trying to address the issue. The Tulsa World reported Wednesday that City Councilor G.T. Bynum wants to launch a code enforcement volunteer program. Bynum attended the suvey results presentation at City Hall on Feburary 23rd.

"This is a way to improve code enforcement in our districts and neighborhoods without just throwing more money at the problem, but actually getting people in the community more involved," Bynum said during Tuesday's council committee meeting.

Bynum mentioned the survey conducted by Shapard Research as an indication that residents viewed code enforcement as "important and necessary," further exemplifying the importance of public opinion research in the political process.

From Dec. 12 to Jan. 21, 200 households in each of the nine council districts were randomly selected for the survey for a total of 1,803. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Read more about this issue in The Tulsa World