How exactly is the coronavirus pandemic affecting people across Sacramento right now? That is the question the City of Sacramento hopes to answer with the second phase of its community survey.
After receiving $89 million in federal COVID-19 relief money from the CARES Act, the City and its Office of the City Auditor conducted a statistically viable survey of randomly selected residents and businesses to learn the early impacts of the pandemic. Now, the City is implementing the planned second phase of the survey and offering it to all residents and businesses.
“Results from the first phase allowed the City Council to hit the ground running and begin making decisions on how the money will be spent,” said City Auditor Jorge Oseguera. “We now are looking to augment that data. The more people take the survey, the better City Council can pinpoint its decisions of where the money goes.”
Survey takers will be prompted to sign up through the Polco platform. Once signed up, residents will be able to also participate in future City surveys.
The COVID-19 community surveys are currently available for both residents and businesses in English, Spanish and simplified Chinese. The surveys are set to close on August 12.
Find the surveys at cityofsacramento.org/surveys.
The City thus far has allocated a portion of the CARES act funding. Categories for allocation include small business assistance, workforce training, youth enrichment, family services, homeless services and rapid rehousing, and the arts, creative economy and tourism.
Here’s a snapshot of results from the first phase of the survey:
- Nine out of 10 people feel disrupted by the outbreak
- Nearly one-third have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced
- Nearly half say their household income has decreased during the stay-at-home order
- Residents’ top priorities for City support are uninterrupted emergency services, support for small businesses and access to accurate information about COVID-19.
