Centennial is surveying its business community for the first time in the city’s 10-year existence.

The city began administering the 2012 business climate survey this month. The goal is to examine how the business community is faring in order to set short- and long-term priorities.

“We’ve never asked,” said Centennial Economic Development Manager Corri Spiegel. “It was kind of time to holistically look at all 4,000 businesses and see if there are trends we need to understand and issues we need to really stay focused on.”

The survey, which is available online at centennialcolorado.com, takes about 30 minutes to complete. Most of the questions use a 1-to-5 rating scale, but some require comments. The questionnaire was mailed to 3,898 businesses, ranging from one-person operations to large corporations.

“Every registered business in the city has the opportunity to participate and provide input, which is important,” Spiegel said. “It’s really to understand the full breadth of what the business community as a whole is facing.”

The survey also can be printed, completed by hand and mailed or faxed to the city. The deadline is April 16.

Spiegel said the economic development department is hoping for 20 percent participation, as that would allow a solid understanding of the overall business climate.

The results will be released as data sets this summer. A more detailed examination of the findings will likely be released in the fall, after Lone Tree and Greenwood Village administer similar surveys. The three municipalities will work together to study mutual trends, issues and concerns.