In 1926 the Wisconsin Conference of Social Work sponsored a survey of city services in La Crosse. The purpose was to assess strengths and weaknesses. Ten committees of La Crosse citizens formed to study the following areas: libraries, health, social welfare, municipal government, city planning and zoning, town and rural relations, religion, education, industry, and recreation.
In February 1929 Aubrey W. Williams, General Secretary for the Wisconsin Conference of Social Work, presented the judges' opinions to the Common Council. He published these same results one year later (see
The La Crosse Citizens' Survey , 1930). La Crosse scored well on town and country relations, libraries, family social work, municipal government with the exception of fire protection, and education. La Crosse scored low on city planning and zoning largely because of piecemeal regulations and no overall city plan. Recreation rated low because of poor pubic facilities. Health services scored low although they were rated above the median score for six other cities.
