Survey: Overall contentment increases again among Strathcona County residents

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People really do love to call Strathcona County home.

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Survey: Overall contentment increases again among Strathcona County residents Back to video

That’s according to the municipality’s latest annual satisfaction survey where 95 per cent of respondents ranked the county as a good or very good place to live, which was a two per cent increase over the year prior.

“It’s tremendous. But I’m not going to take a victory lap over a two per cent increase because anything over 85 per cent is great,” Mayor Rod Frank said following the report’s release at the Tuesday, May 14 Council Priorities Committee meeting.

“Overall, I’m very pleased by the survey results because public satisfaction is key to the success of a municipal organization. Citizen satisfaction is something that we really zero in on and we’re always looking for ways to improve,” he added.

Highlights of the 2023 Public Satisfaction Survey which rank quality of life aspects included:

• 91 per cent of residents consider Strathcona County a safe place to live (a one per cent decrease over the previous year)

• 95 per cent said it’s great place to raise children (a three per cent increase over 2022)

• 82 per cent said it’s a community that meets the needs of residents (a five per cent increase over the previous year), and

• 81 per cent agreed that it’s a great place to retire (a four per cent increase).

“I’m proud of how the county continues to excel in providing exemplary programming and services to our community, even in the midst of economic uncertainty,” the mayor said. “This service level with fiscal responsibility is a testament to council’s approach to sustainable planning, delivered by top-tier staff who are clearly invested in the success of people living, working and playing in Strathcona County. Citizen satisfaction is one of three key indicators for municipal services, so these results are extremely important and meaningful.”

There were some room for improvement in such as areas as:

• a good place to do business, which was ranked at 77 per cent

• a welcoming community, which was ranked at 76 per cent, and

• a place to start out in life, which was ranked at 64 per cent.

Satisfaction rates for county services

Eighty-two per cent of respondents stated they were happy with county services, which was four per cent bump over last year’s rate (four per cent reported being either very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with services) and a further 85 per cent were happy with the state of the county’s infrastructure (a five per cent jump). Only four per cent were dissatisfied in this area.

“A number of respondents reported that the county had the right number of urban amenities but still had a small town feel,” presented the county’s senior communications advisor Sherri-Dawn Annett.

Services provided through county utilities brought in high scores — 84 per cent for the Broadview Enviroservice Station, 78 per cent for the Green Routine, 82 per cent for sewage, and 80 per cent for water services.

Services provided by local RCMP increased by three per cent to 68 per cent satisfaction, fire and rescue services were ranked at 67 per cent, and the quality of ambulance services received 55 per cent. Many residents continue to be concerned about county ambulances responding to emergencies outside of the municipality.

For Recreation, Parks and Culture, cultural opportunities jumped by 19 per cent to 67 per cent satisfaction, and indoor rec facilities maintained a high level of satisfaction with 80 per cent (a one per cent increase).

On local transit, satisfaction dropped by three per cent over the year prior at 74 per cent. Younger residents provided more feedback on this service and expressed frustration about their commutes to their post-secondary institutions.

Urban versus rural: Mixed feedback on road maintenance

For roads, the county received a B to B+ in the 70-plus per cent range within Sherwood Park for snow removal and ice control in both residential and non-residential areas, as well as summer street maintenance.

“I always like to see people’s opinions on our municipal services because that’s what we’re providing. That’s our bread and butter — fire, police, transit, RPC and roads,” the mayor noted.

However, rankings in the rural area for roads were down overall — 58 per cent satisfaction for snow clearing and ice control (a 10 per cent drop over last year), 53 per cent for rural roadside moving (a 14 per cent decrease), and 45 per cent for road maintenance (a 12 per cent decline).

“You can never win on rural roads,” said Ward 7 Coun. Glen Lawrence. “If residents went to other rural municipalities and saw the state of their roads, they would never complain.”

The perception of whether or not taxpayers are getting a good value for their tax dollar continues to waver with 65 per cent of responding ranking either good or very good (11 per cent said poor or very poor and 24 per cent were neutral on the question).

The urban-rural divide

Rural and urban divisions continued to be a theme in the survey.

“Rural respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the shared governance structure, feeling that urban areas got more attention and service,” Annett explained.

In response, Lawrence said that’s nothing new as it’s a common complaint he fields from residents.

“(Rural) residents complain that we don’t get anything and that they need to travel into the urban area to get any amenities,” he said.

There are two cohorts of rural residents, according to Lawrence, one older group who understands what rural living is about and the another group of former urban residents who seek the rural life who then missing the urban services.

“We need to make sure that we’re communicating with our rural residents so they understand the services that we’re providing,” the mayor added.

Within the open-ended questions, hot topics that emerged included affordability, population growth and development, recreation infrastructure and the county’s fiscal health.

“Increasing costs of living and affordability drew much negativity and commentary about taxes. Growth divisions present in the last two years were discussed more this year. (There were) two main perspectives: facilities and operations need to scale faster to the growth happening in the county, who were generally neutral or positive to population growth, comparing to those who want to slow capital and operating expenses who have perceived view of negative feelings toward continued growth,” the communications representative detailed.

Findings will help craft Budget 2025

The mayor noted Budget 2025 will be a balancing act of maintaining the high level of services that residents expect while keeping things affordable for those who are struggling.

“Affordability and growth are going to be issues for this council as we go forward. People are still feeling the pressure of high prices and the influx of new people coming in. These are issues that we will have to manage,” Frank said.

The survey was conducted earlier this year in January and February and is considered accurate +/- 4 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The data was collected from 643 phone surveys and 646 online surveys. Of the nearly 1,300 respondents, 72 per cent were from Sherwood Park and 28 per cent were from the rural portion of the county. More feedback was given by females at 51 per cent, as well as from the 35 to 64 age demographic at 51 per cent (those 65 and older participated at 24 per cent).

To read the full report, go to strathcona.ca/survey.

lmorey@postmedia.com

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