The City of Saskatoon says two separate public surveys they conducted show that half of respondents indicate COVID-19 has affected satisfaction with the quality of services the City of Saskatoon offers. However, 88 per cent of telephone and 87 per cent of online panel respondents express overall satisfaction with the quality of services provided by the City of Saskatoon.
Results of the 2021 Citizen Satisfaction & Performance Survey and the 2021 Performance, Priorities & Preferences Survey will be presented to the Governance and Priorities Committee at its meeting Monday.
The surveys were conducted by Forum Research this past spring and summer, respectively. Previously scheduled to be conducted in 2020, both surveys were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, each survey will be conducted separately every year on a rotating basis
Results
Citizen Satisfaction & Performance
Telephone and online panel respondents of the Citizen Satisfaction & Performance Survey identify COVID-19 as the single most important issue facing the City of Saskatoon. This is followed by public safety/crime/policing, road maintenance, and taxes. Of note over the last several years, the mention of road construction has steadily diminished as a most important issue.
City communications receive a strong endorsement with 85 per cent of telephone and 71 per cent of online panel respondents reporting the City provides timely and helpful information on impacts to civic services during the pandemic. And three-quarters of respondents (78 per cent telephone and 73 per cent online panel respondents) indicate the City provides a safe environment to access City facilities and services as the pandemic has allowed. When asked about the quality of City communications, 80 per cent of telephone and 87% of online respondents indicate they are satisfied with them.
Turning to public engagement, 76 per cent of telephone and 77 per cent of online panel respondents say the City provides meaningful opportunities to participate in public engagement opportunities. Evaluations related to five areas of customer service improved significantly from 2018, particularly when it comes to providing consistent and reliable information.
Respondents overwhelmingly agree (91 per cent telephone and 90 per cent online panel) the City is effectively providing online services. Approximately one in three respondents (36% of telephone respondents and 32 per cent of online panel respondents) feel that a combination of property tax and user fee increases is the best approach to balancing the budget.
Civic Services, Priorities & Preferences
Overall satisfaction remains the same or higher since 2018 for many of the 29 civic services included in the survey. Survey participants note their highest level of satisfaction with the City’s performance in each of the below areas of service as follows:
Transportation & Utilities: reliability of electrical services
quality of drinking water
speed of water main break repairs
Community & Public Services:
fire protection
maintenance of city parks
police services
Waste Management:
garbage collection
recycling collection
landfill services
Recreation & Culture:
indoor leisure centres
outdoor sports fields
paddling pools & spray parks
Telephone and online panel respondents note they would like to see the City’s existing performance improve in the areas of:
snow & ice road maintenance
major road and freeway maintenance
traffic management
neighbourhood street maintenance
accessibility of infrastructure for people with disabilities
planning for growth and development
The top three areas that telephone and online panel respondents indicate they would like to see the City provide more services for are:
affordable housing
road maintenance
snow and ice management
Full summaries and the detailed results of both the Civic Satisfaction & Performance Survey and the Civic Services Performance, Priorities & Preferences Survey can be found on the City of Saskatoon website.
