Calgary,
12
November
2019
|
10:01
America/Denver

2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results

 

2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey results

The Fall 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey results are in and although citizens’ perceptions about quality of life in Calgary are slightly lower than this time last year they remain strong, and satisfaction with the level and quality of City programs and services remains high.

The City of Calgary conducts an annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey to gather citizens’ views and perceptions about City programs and services. Findings from these surveys provide a performance-based report for Council, Administration and the public. Tracking citizens’ perceptions over time allows for benchmarking against previous years’ findings.

“The Citizen Satisfaction Survey is an important tool for us. Calgarians remain satisfied with the services they’re receiving, and this data is critical for setting priorities as we head into our budget deliberations.”

2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Highlights

  • Although perceptions about the quality of life in Calgary remain strong, the Fall 2019 survey results tell us perceptions are slightly lower than this time last year. This year, 83 per cent of Calgarians say the quality of life in Calgary today is “good,” three percentage points lower than Fall 2018 (86 per cent).
  • Perceptions of an ‘improved’ quality of life (16 per cent) remain lower than in Fall 2018 (22 per cent), while four-in-ten (40 per cent) say the quality of life has “worsened,” notably up 11 points from 29 per cent in Fall 2018.
  • The issue identified as needing the most attention from local leaders is “infrastructure, traffic and roads,” at 35 per cent, down 5 percentage points from Fall 2018 (40 per cent). Ranking as the second most important issue is “transit” (17 per cent), followed by “crime, safety and policing” at 15 per cent.
  • Issues around “budget and spending” and “taxes” have both seen increases over Fall 2018. “Budgets and spending” at 11 per cent show a statistically significant increase of 7 percentage points from Fall 2018 (4 per cent), while “taxes” also at 11 per cent, show a 3 point gain from 8 per cent in Fall 2018.
  • The perceived value of property tax dollars saw a decrease this year: more than one-half (54 per cent) of Calgarians give The City a “good value” rating for the value of their property tax dollars, a drop of 5 percentage points from 59 per cent in Fall 2018.
  • Calgarians’ interest in knowing how their tax dollars are invested remains high (94 per cent).
  • Citizen perceptions about The City’s customer service delivery remain strong: the percentage of those who agree the “quality of customer service from The City is consistently high” (81 per cent) remain on par with levels in Fall 2018 (83 per cent). Ratings are also similar for Calgarians feeling that “The City of Calgary makes customer service a priority” (79 per cent), lower than Fall 2018 (82 per cent).
  • The proportion of Calgarians who are satisfied with the way The City of Calgary is going about running our City (70 per cent), sees a significant decrease from Fall 2018 (79 per cent).
  • Fewer (66 per cent) believe that City Council and City Administration work collaboratively to make the best possible decisions for the future of Calgary, down 8 per cent from 74% in Fall 2018.

The Fall 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with The City and in accordance with The City’s competitive bid process. The total sample size for the survey was 2,502 people who were randomly selected to complete the telephone survey between August 19th 2019 and September 16th, 2019. The survey sample consisted of both cell phones (40 per cent) and landlines (60 per cent). The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The City conducts research initiatives and engagement activities throughout the year, many of which are dedicated to some dimension of service delivery and service value to citizens. The Citizen Satisfaction Survey is one of those initiatives.

Calgarians are encouraged to sign up for Citizens’ View, Calgary’s online panel at citizensview.ca to have their say in City programs and services on an ongoing basis.

The detailed findings of the 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey are available at calgary.ca/CitSat.

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