The survey says — Elgin residents are generally pleased with the services they receive from the city.
That was the message the City Council heard Wednesday evening during a presentation on the professionally done community survey completed this summer that sought residents’ opinions on Elgin and its operations.
Senior Management Analyst Laura Valdez-Wilson, who managed the project for Elgin, said, “The results show that overall Elgin residents seem to be satisfied with the services they receive.”
Wednesday, Jason Morado, seconded Valdez-Wilson’s assessment before the Council. Morado is a senior project manager at ETC Institute of Olathe, Kansas, the company hired by the city for the project.
What stood out about Elgin’s results, Morado said is how few people are dissatisfied with Elgin and its services and how many people are satisfied.
According to the document’s executive summary report, 76 percent of those who offered an opinion said that Elgin was an excellent or good place to live. Eighty-six percent of those who offered an opinion gave a rating of “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the quality of police, fire and ambulance service in the city.
Other areas with “very satisfied” or “satisfied” marks were quality of water utility services (75 percent), quality of trash and yard waste services (73 percent), quality of billing services (73 percent) and quality of parks and recreation services (73 percent), the summary states.
Only 48 percent of those who offered an opinion were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with code enforcement effectiveness, and just 42 percent gave high marks to exterior maintenance of commercial or business property, the summary states. Residents were least satisfied with street, sidewalk and infrastructure, the report states, with 59 percent rating those factors at “very satisfied” or “satisfied.”
As such, the summary states that the three areas residents felt should receive the most emphasis over the next two years were maintenance of streets, sidewalks and infrastructure, enforcement of codes and ordinances and quality of parks and recreation programs and facilities.
Morado said that the 7-page survey was mailed to 3,500 Elgin households in June, with 577 returned via mail, online or by phone. ETC felt that they had a random sample that reflected the city’s demographics, he said.
In the summer of 2015, Elgin contracted with ETC Institute. The city split the cost with the Elgin Community Network, with each entity pitching in $12,875, according to Valdez-Wilson. Elgin Community Network is a nonprofit civic engagement group that gets some of its funding from the city.
Responding to a question from Council member Tish Powell Wednesday night, Morado suggested that a survey be done every two years or so. Elgin last conducted similar surveys in 2000, 2002 and 2007.
During the project, the consultant personally met with members of the city’s senior staff and members of the city’s Strategic Plan Advisory Commission who agreed to be part of a community survey subcommittee. The Enhancing Elgin Committee also has been involved in the effort.
According to Valdez-Wilson, ETC presented a preliminary report in August which was reviewed this month by staff and the results discussed with each City Council member in advance of Wednesday’s presentation.
The survey will be used to help shape the city’s 2018 budget and Elgin’s strategic plan, Valdez-Wilson said. The questions were baseline ones about services, she said, and held no questions related to policy.
To that point, Wednesday night Council member Corey Dixon suggested that a future survey include questions about schools in Elgin. Council member Rich Dunne noted what could complicate such questions is there are three public school districts that serve various parts of Elgin.
Council members Rose Martinez and Terry Gavin both said the results showed the city is heading in the right direction. Gavin credited city staff, his fellow Council members and residents for their input and work that led to the surveys conclusions.
