You’re a small system in a not-so-small community. The people across town may live well above the poverty line, but your customers aren’t as flush with cash, and neither are you. Yet you can’t get the funding you need because agencies assume that the wealthier residents are your customers, which puts you over the maximum income requirements.
Median Income Surveys can revive your chances of receiving federal money to repair or improve your water system. In this edition of eBulletin, we’ll talk about what the Median Income Survey is, how it works and what you’ll need to complete one. We’ll also offer a survey at the end to find out what you’d like to see in future editions of eBulletin.
The What and Why…
So what is the Median Income Survey? Basically, it’s a survey of a system’s customers to determine their average household income.
Many grants and loans use average household income for customers within a water system to determine if that system is eligible for funding. They often get those figures from the latest U.S. Census.
However, those numbers may not be as accurate as they seem. The census numbers figure in an entire metropolitan area or county, even though the water system may not cover the whole area. Right now, the standard census numbers are nine years old, unless a city or county has requested a special census in the last few years. Natural disasters, an influx or outflow of population or simple economics could have skewed the numbers significantly by now.
That’s where the Median Income Survey comes in. It helps to provide a more accurate picture of the water system area’s economics.
The survey asks customers to provide the amount of their taxable and nontaxable income and to list all the incomes in the household. The average of all those totals is used to determine if a water system’s customers’ median income qualifies for certain loans or grants. The income can include not only job wages, but social security, child support and other sources.
The results of the survey can be submitted with a grant or loan application to help a system meet eligibility requirements.
The information needed in a Median Income Survey can vary from state to state and agency to agency. It is very important to check the requirements for each application to know exactly what information you must provide and how you must provide it. Some agencies require basic reports with Median Income Surveys. Others ask for thorough reports that detail exactly how the survey was conducted, who participated and how the results were obtained and tallied.
Here is some basic information you will need to know to complete a Median Income Survey. We’ll use examples from the USDA, which not only provides a sample survey on their site, but also a guide to conducting the survey. Links to both can be found below.
Additional Resources
USDA Income Survey Form
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/mn/RUSCF/RUS%20Forms/MN%201780%20Guide%209%20-%20Income%20Survey.DOC [1]
USDA Community Survey Guide
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/wa/document/AN/AN930attA.pdf [2]
What Is Needed…
Though you will be responsible for the Median Income Survey, the water system itself may not be the one conducting it. Most agencies will not allow the surveys to be conducted by the water system itself. The system must ask a third party to do the survey.
Whether you use a third party or do it yourself, the following information is what you’ll need to know to complete the survey.
Affiliates of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership can help with this. Representatives from RCAP’s affiliates can help prepare, conduct and compile the survey data. Contact information is provided below. Other providers of such services are available, so it wouldn’t hurt to compare prices and services.
Once you have a third party to conduct the survey, you’ll need to outline the geographic area to be surveyed. Will the planned improvements serve only a portion of your service area, or will all customers benefit? They survey should reflect the average income of the area to be improved or to receive new service with the funding.
Next, a sample group should be chosen. This is a random number of households within the survey area that will represent the entire area.
The size of the sample varies according to the requirements of the funding agency and the number of customers that will be affected by the planned changes. The USDA provides a table in its survey guide of minimum sample sizes required to make the survey valid.
For example, if less than 50 households will be affected, then all of the households must be sampled. If 150 will be affected, then 110 households must be sampled. If 1,500 are affected, 350 must be surveyed.
You will need to get minimum sampling requirements from the agency to which you’re applying for funding. Sampling too few households usually means the survey will be rejected and you will have to start again from scratch.
Those numbers represent the number of completed surveys that should be obtained. That means you’ll probably have to contact more households than the minimum number, because you rarely get a 100 percent response. According to the USDA, you can expect only a 25-50% response rate on a mailed survey, for example. A telephone survey may yield a 75-90% response rate, as will a door-to-door survey. So be ready to add a few households to your list in order to reach that minimum number.
Finally, you’ll need to draw random households for the sample group. The USDA recommends using a computer to generate random numbers, then matching those to the households in a numbered list of those in the sample area. That will produce a random group to survey.
To help with this, we’ve provided a link below to a site that will generate random numbers for you. Here’s the best set up for such a task on the Research Randomizer site.
- How many sets do you want to generate? 1 (one survey)
- How many numbers per set? (This will be the minimum number of responses required.)
- Number range: (This will be the numbers of responses required, for example, 1-150)
- Do you wish each number to remain unique? Yes (You’ll only want to survey each household once.)
- Do you wish to sort numbers? Yes (Usually least to greatest, depending on the requirements of the funding entity.)
- How do you wish to view your random numbers? Place Markers Off
The site will then generate a random list for you that you can print and use during the survey.
Additional Resources
Research Randomizer
http://www.randomizer.org/form.htm [3]
How to Do It…
The next step is to decide what method you will use in your survey. Mailing surveys may be the easiest, but they tend to generate the lowest response. Door-to-door surveys yield a higher response, but they can be more expensive and time-consuming. Still, if it is vital to get a high return, the expense and time may prove worth it.
One good way to ensure better returns is to publicize the survey. Let people know via local newscasts, newspapers and radio stations, for example, that the survey will be conducted as part of an application for federal or state funding. Make sure the phrasing is broad and neutral. You shouldn’t tell people what results are needed or desired, in order to encourage accurate reporting.
You or the third-party contractor must recruit and train a staff to conduct the survey. These can be volunteers from civic or academic groups, which would save on the expense. Make sure they’re trained on what to say during the survey and how to explain the survey itself.
Finally, the responses should be checked to make sure each questionnaire is completed, the data should be tabulated and analyzed, and copies should be made and stored of the entire process for the water system’s records.
The third-party agency may be doing most of this work. However, it’s important to be sure these tasks are being done, so you don’t end up missing important elements to your funding application. That’s why it’s important to put the tasks in writing and detail who will perform which tasks. A sample of just such an agreement is linked below, provided by RCAP’s Southern affiliate Community Resource Group.
Tallying the Numbers…
To determine the median income, according to the USDA guide, you make a list of the household incomes in order according to the requirements, often least to greatest amount. If the number of households sampled is odd, you simply pull the number in the dead center. For example, if 51 households are sampled, then you pull income number 26. That way, there are 25 incomes above and below that number on the list.
If the number of households is even, then you must pull the middle two incomes, add them together and divide by 2 to get the average. This is the median income.
Here’s an example for an odd number:
$32,500
$31,870
$30,492 (median income)
$29,980
$29,228
For an even number:
$32,500
$31,870
$30,492
$30,321 (add these=$60,813, divide by 2, median income rounded=$30,407)
$29,980
$29,228
Once the median income is obtained, it’s time to submit everything to the appropriate agency. Some may just ask for your methods and results. Others want more details. For example, the USDA not only asks for paperwork on the results and survey process, but it also asks for a map of the surveyed households and a description of the sampling procedures. Again, these requirements will vary, from basic reporting to detailed maps of each address surveyed. Be sure to check with the funding agency to find out exactly what must be submitted.
With the survey complete and the paperwork filed, you can then submit the results with your funding application. While the Median Income Survey doesn’t guarantee any money, it will provide a clearer, more realistic picture of your area’s income level. That means you may have a better shot at qualifying for that needed grant or loan.
If you’d like more information, check out the USDA guide mentioned above.