Town surveys will hit mailboxes soon

Take a second look before emptying that mailbox into the trash bin.

Coming soon is a chance to make your voice heard to town leaders on a variety of issues. Surveys will be sent out Thursday, Jan. 15 to residents and business owners to gather feedback on what the town is doing right and what can be improved. Separate surveys will be sent to residents and business owners.

The envelope you'll find in your mailbox won’t contain the survey itself, but it will include a QR code and access code for the online survey. The town is partnering with University of South Florida’s Florida Institute of Government to conduct the survey and collect and analyze the data. The responses are anonymous.

Town Manager Howard Tipton said the information the town gathers will be valuable.

“The annual citizen survey has proven to be an excellent tool to receive citizen input and feedback that helps to shape the priorities and policies of the town,” Tipton said. “It takes just a few minutes, and the feedback can make a huge difference for our future.”

The citizen survey begins by explaining its purpose, to “know what you think about the quality of the services you receive from the town and the amenities available to you here on Longboat Key,” and includes about 50 questions, some multiple choice, some rank-based and some with a field to write responses. The topics are wide-ranging, from amenities offered at local parks to the quality of services the town offers, including police, permitting, code enforcement and utilities.

The small business survey is more condensed, asking business owners 36 questions, which include many of the same prompts as well as more business-specific questions, such as how many are employed at the business, suggestions on how to alleviate peak traffic congestion and what priorities would most impact your business.

Surveys are sent out annually by the town, and reports are published breaking down the responses. 

In 2025, the citizen survey showed that 97% of residents were happy with the overally quality of life on Longboat Key, and 95% said Longboat Key is a great place to live. 

In that survey, residents listed their top priorities as beach management and shoreline protection; traffic congestion and safety; fiscal sustainability and infrastructure upkeep. 

Results going back to 2020 as well as the link to this year’s surveys can be found at LongboatKey.org/residents/citizen-survey.