A Survey of Education Program Needs for the Florida Association of Counties County Commissioner Training Program, 1998-2000
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A Survey of Education Program Needs for the Florida Association of Counties County Commissioner Training Program, 1998-2000

   

A Survey of Education Program Needs for the Florida Association of Counties County Commissioner Training Program, 1998-20001

Rodney L. Clouser2

The following is the executive summary of a much larger report, which is only available in pdf format. To access the complete report, please click here or go to (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FE/FE64000.pdf ).

Introduction

Florida Cooperative Extension has partnered with the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) and the Florida Counties Foundation (FCF) since 1998 in surveying Florida County Commissioners and County Administrators approximately every two years. The survey collects information regarding attendance at FAC-FCF sponsored events, willingness to pay for educational programs, worth of events and programs attended by commissioners and administrators, desired locations for educational activities and, most importantly, the type and amount of training needed by commissioners on various topics that would assist them as an elected policy maker.

The results of the 1998-2000 survey are presented as an executive summary that follows. In addition, the survey questionnaire and PowerPoint presentation of results are being made available via a link for those who would like to view or print the entire document.

Executive Summary

1998-2000 County Commissioner and County Administrator Educational SurveyA survey of educational program needs for Florida County Commissioners and County Administrators was conducted by the Florida Counties Foundation (FCF) and Florida Cooperative Extension Service (FCES), IFAS, University of Florida in the spring of 1998. The intent of the survey was to solicit educational training needs to assist FCF in developing educational programs for 1998-2000. A total of 374 County Commissioners and 68 County Administrators were surveyed. Thirty-two percent (141 surveys) of those surveyed supplied responses. A summary of the survey follows:

  1. About six in ten commissioners attend the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) annual conference on a regular basis and over eight in ten attend the conference regularly or periodically.

  2. The number of officials who attend the annual legislative conference is similar to the number who attends the annual conference but slightly fewer attend the legislative conference on a regular basis (5 in 10).

  3. About two-thirds of all respondents had attended an educational program of FAC/FCF.

  4. Almost 38 percent of respondents had attended two or more educational programs and 40 percent had attended no educational programs during the past year.

  5. In excess of 90 percent of respondents found FCF educational programs at least sometimes beneficial. Over 57 percent indicated the FCF educational programs were always helpful.

  6. An overwhelming number of respondents (81 percent) prefer weekday training programs.

  7. About two out of every three surveyed preferred educational programs that lasted six hours.

  8. Over 57 percent have a preference for educational workshops that cover multiple topics.

  9. Almost 82 percent would be willing to pay fees of $100 for educational programs.

  10. The most important factor in determining attendance at workshops was the topic covered. The least important factor influencing workshop attendance was date/time followed by location.

  11. About 75 percent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the voluntary commissioner certification program should be continued.

  12. Twenty-four different topics were identified by about 15 percent of respondents as areas where educational training programs for commissioners would be beneficial. The top educational topics of interest to commissioners were: economic development, planning/zoning and county government services.

  13. When asked to list the three most important topics for commissioner training, those identified were: economic development, planning/zoning and tied for third was transportation and environment/water/landfill issues.

  14. Twenty-two different topics were identified by about 15 percent of respondents as areas where county government staff training would be helpful. The top educational topics of interest for county staff were: effective communication, economic development and planning/zoning issues.

  15. When asked to list the three most important topics for county staff training those identified were: effective communication, economic development and leadership issues.

  16. About 80 percent of those responding had served less than eight years in their position with almost 50 percent having served three to eight years.

Summary

Participation and returns of surveys by county commissioners and county administrators increased with a more formalized survey. Prior to University of Florida Cooperative Extension becoming involved with the survey the typical response rate was about 15 percent. In 1998, the survey response rate increased to 32 percent.

From an educational standpoint, the most important needs of those serving as county commissioners or administrators are:

Footnotes

1. This is EDIS document FE640, a publication of the Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published June 2006. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Rodney L. Clouser, Professor, Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.