A few hundred randomly chosen students will have a voice in Ames’ public policy.

Last Friday, about 500 surveys were mailed to random Ames residents and ISU students as a part of the 21st annual Resident Satisfaction Survey. The survey data serves two main purposes: to find out how effective city services are in the eyes of the residents and as an evaluation tool for city staff in analyzing performance.

The results of the survey will be released in the fall, in time for city council members and department heads to prepare for the 2004-2005 budget.

Clare Bills, public relations officer for the City of Ames, said the results of the survey play an important role in determining city policies.

“The city council takes these results seriously,” she said. “Public opinion is important in determining city issues.”

The results help determine policy, but they don’t dictate the exact measures the city should take, Bills said.

“These [surveys] aren’t a tool for enacting policy, but a tool for determining what citizens are satisfied with,” she said.

The surveys ask 140 questions about the city’s different agencies such as public works, police and utilities.

In the area of on-going services, such as CyRide, the amount spent on specific items is now listed next to the questions and asks respondents whether they want the spending on each item to increase, decrease or stay the same.

Additionally, there are a few new questions from last year, including one that asks whether citizens want to see more enforcement of over-occupancy laws for rental units.

Last year’s comments ranged from praise of the CyRide service to suggestions for expanding park services to complaints about reckless bicyclists, according to results.

“Bicyclists (especially youngsters) —they don’t stop!” one of last year’s respondents said.