The results of the citizen satisfaction survey commissioned by the City of Estevan are out, and they show people are satisfied with many of the city’s efforts, but concerns linger about roads and taxes.
Several hundred Estevan residents were contacted by Praxis Analytics in September to find their thoughts on the city’s strengths and weaknesses. Results for the survey were released on Friday afternoon.
Respondents were asked to rate the city’s services on a scale of one to five, with questions focused on both performance and importance.
Scores of one or two on the five-point scale indicated the response was negative. Responses of four or five reflected a positive perspective. A three was viewed as neutral.
Praxis also asked questions that generated results based on percentages.
Roads and infrastructure were the biggest concern in the city, according to the final report from Praxis.
“When asked unprompted, a solid majority (56.8%) of respondents cited roads, sidewalks and traffic as the leading concern. All other issues registered levels in single digits.
“Taxes is the next highest, but with a much lower share of selections (at) 6.5 per cent. Economy and oil comes in at 5.8 per cent. Other issues received shares of less than five per cent.”
The top three issues for quality of life were water quality, fire protection and crime. Of 12 factors tested using the five-point scale, water supply rated most important with a score of 4.58, followed by fire protection at 4.57 and dealing with crime at 4.55. Repairing streets and sidewalks came in fourth with a score of 4.36.
Supporting arts and culture rated the lowest for importance with a score of 3.27. The only other category to finish below a score of four was planning for neighbourhoods and commercial areas, with a score of 3.79.
Fire protection topped the performance list with a score of 4.29, followed by garbage removal at 3.99 and dealing with crime with a 3.80 score.
Not surprisingly, repairing streets and sidewalks finished last in the performance list with a score of 1.93. The only other category to finish below 2.50 was for reasonable property taxes, which had a score of 2.43.
City services as a whole receive a mildly positive rating of 3.12 on the five-point scale. More than a third of respondents (37.5 per cent) rated the city positively for providing public services, compared to 24.7 per cent giving a negative score. The remaining 37.8 per cent had a neutral score.
“Residents are not satisfied they receive value for taxes paid to the city,” the Praxis report stated. “The average response is markedly negative at 2.62 on the one to five scale. Half (50.0 per cent) gave negative ratings versus just over one in five (21.9 per cent) who responded positively.”
Among those who rate their tax dollar value to be low, 48 per cent chose roads, sidewalks and infrastructure as the single change that could improve their rating. Taxes and spending followed at 10.9 per cent. All others received mentions in the single digits.
City upkeep and maintenance of facilities and properties rated strongly, ranging from a score of 3.33 for city parks to 3.97 for facilities such as rinks and pools. The city also received a good score of 3.28 for its communication efforts.
A strong majority of 61.9 per cent said Estevan is a great place to raise a family, and the mean response level was 3.62. The majority (55.6 per cent) believe the city is a great place to make a business investment, and 47.7 per cent said they were proud to live in Estevan, compared to 22.9 per cent who said they weren’t.
But concerns also linger about appearance, as half of respondents said the city’s entrances don’t create a positive first impression, and 57.3 per cent said Estevan is not a pretty city.
Jeff Ward, who is the city treasurer and the acting city manager, said he wasn’t surprised by any of the results. He said the city is aware of the road and infrastructure deficits that need to be worked on, but other municipalities face those same challenges.
“With the increases we’ve had to do in the last three years on property taxes and utility rates, people are concerned,” said Ward. “People understand there were very low increases for the last 10 years, but now we’re up to where I feel we need to be.”
One of the main issues, he suspects, is the state of the roads following a water main break. The breaks need to be covered with a suitable substance, while sidewalks also need to be in a proper condition to encourage pedestrians.
“I think we’re making great strides to doing that,” said Ward. “We’re looking at some alternatives to covering other than just gravel, such as mulched asphalt and items like that, which turn more to pavement right away.”
Ward was pleased to see the positive response to their indoor facilities and protective services. Among the few surprises for Ward was the positive response to the city’s logo, as it received mean score of 3.58, and 52.7 per cent support among those who recognized it.
And while there has been concern about upkeep, grass cutting and tree trimming at local parks, Ward believes parks manager Rod March is addressing those issues.
“It’s been a contentious issue, and I think people see the work Rod is doing,” said Ward.
People still call in and ask about their neighbourhood park, but a lot of residents don’t see the work March is doing.
Ward said he wishes the survey would have had a greater emphasis on prioritizing items. He noted that a lot of people likely gave a four or a five to each category, which is why all finished with an average score of at least three.
“I think what’s tough is that council has to do the prioritization of what is important in relation to another service,” said Ward. “I think the results are good to show what the focus of the community is, but as far as implementing it, obviously we have restraints, both financially and resource-wise, that council needs to consider.”
Praxis said the total sample was structured according to population, gender and age quotas within Estevan. A sample of this size sourced at random yields a general margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
