A citizen satisfaction survey commissioned by the City of St. John’s states that while 94 per cent of residents think road maintenance is a priority, only 10 per cent think the city is doing a good job keeping potholes out of the roads.
The survey, conducted by MQO research for $15,000, is the first of its kind of the city, gauging public satisfaction on a wide variety of issues facing residents.
The data, accurate to within 4.4 percentage points 19 times out of 20, will be used by city staff and city council to figure out priorities for future city budgets. The 2019 budget will be the first in a three-year cycle, so the data is especially relevant ahead of that process.
Of the 502 residents surveyed, 70 per cent said they are satisfied with the services delivered by the city.
Road maintenance and snowclearing are the biggest areas where the city needs to improve, according to residents. Only 36 per cent of respondents think the city is doing a good job with snowclearing, with the number dropping to 20 per cent when it comes to snowclearing sidewalks.
Given road maintenance isn’t just a municipal responsibility, St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen says getting the approval rating up from just 10 per cent in the survey is going to be a challenge.
“We know that we put as much money as we can into roadwork. We’re investing heavily,” said Breen.
Also on Monday evening, the city approved $13 million in annual upgrades to city streets.
Only 56 per cent of respondents said their tax dollars are being spent wisely by the city.
Breen says there are two ways to look at that number.
“The first part is that you have to improve your effectiveness and your efficiency. The second thing is you have to communicate that to the residents as well, of what’s being done to improve that,” he said.
“There’s a big job ahead.”
When it comes to elections, respondents said additional polling stations is the best way to get more people out to vote. Other options like moving the election date or eliminating mail-in ballots would lead to decreased voter turnout, according to the survey.
The survey did not make reference to online balloting, as there remain jurisdictional concerns about whether or not the city can use online ballots, according to city staff.
While roads and snowclearing were top priorities for improvement, what came out as a secondary priority for respondents also tells an interesting tale.
Only 57 per cent of respondents thought community events were a priority for them, with 55 per cent being satisfied with how the events are currently delivered.
Arts and cultural grants — which drew protest when the city tried to cut a portion of such funding in 2016 — were a priority for only 62 per cent of respondents, with 38 per cent of people satisfied with how they’re currently delivered.
Garbage collection is going quite well in the city, according to the survey: 97 per cent of people said it was a priority, with 86 per cent saying they are satisfied with the current delivery — the highest approval rating of any area focused on by surveyors.
With automated garbage set to roll out in the coming months, that number will be watched closely by city staff when the next citizen satisfaction survey is conducted in 2020.
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