State wants you to grade its work

Five thousand Iowans are getting letters from Governor Vilsack in their mailboxes this week asking them to rate state services. It’s the first Iowa survey of its kind. Mollie Anderson, director of the Iowa Department of Personnel, says it’s an effort to reconnect Iowans with state government and make it more accountable.Anderson says the survey questions people about the quality of services, if state workers involved were courteous, and if the state uses tax dollars wisely. She hopes the surveys that come back reveal Iowans are happy with what they’re getting from the state. If there are concerns, she says the state will try to correct the problems.Anderson says the surveys cover 39 types of state services — from agriculture to veterans to the blind, from the D-N-R to the D-O-T and the governor himself. Clint Davis, bureau chief for the Personnel Department’s Research and Communications Division, hopes Iowans who get the surveys fill them out honestly and return them promptly. He says honest answers returned in a timely fashion are the key to making the project work.After the surveys are returned, state employees will be offered training in any areas that show weaknesses. The surveys are being sent to a scientific sample of five thousand Iowans who all have a driver’s license.