St. Albert residents remain very satisfied with their quality of life in the Botanical Arts city, but a biennial survey shows satisfaction with city services are on the decline.
According to the survey by Yardstick Research – which saw the highest response level to date at just over 1,300 responses – 67 per cent of respondents said St. Albert’s quality of life is “very good.” The city also retained its lead among comparable communities.
“You’re a community of choice, and you’re also a very safe place to live, two of the most important factors when we look at why people choose where they live,” said Yardstick vice-president Tracy With. She presented results from the 2019 community engagement survey at city council’s community growth and infrastructure standing committee Jan. 13.
However, overall satisfaction in city services saw a significant drop compared to prior years. Compared to Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Airdrie, St. Albert residents were least satisfied.
Two years ago, 35 per cent of respondents said they were very satisfied with services, facilities and programs, while in 2019 results indicated satisfaction had dropped to 26 per cent.
The survey broke down contentment by city departments, and every department included in 2017’s survey saw a slide backward in satisfaction ranging from three per cent to 16.
Four services that were hit hardest were planning and development, transit, economic development and engineering. Emergency services remained the highest performing, with 93 per cent satisfaction.
How well employees served customers also took a hit, with the percentage of customers who were very satisfied dropping nine per cent to 61 per cent.
But With said standards in St. Albert are “so different” than in other municipalities, and the mean average customer service satisfaction of 4.32 out of 5 is still very high.
“Because 4.32 is so high compared to so many of the communities that we work with, and it’s so hard to maintain that when you look at the size of this community and the amount of interaction your staff is having with your residents.”
Perceptions around how well city council is working for their residents also suffered with city council ratings dropping across the board. Just under half of respondents (48 per cent ) said council is acting in the community’s best interests, 11 per cent lower than in 2017.
More than ever before, the survey revealed residents want city council to be cautious with how their tax money is spent, With said. She added this is not unique to St. Albert but rather has been a common theme across Alberta since the provincial government’s fall austerity budget.
“They’re telling you to do more with less; they’re telling you to do that more than they have in the past,” she said. Overall, respondents said their top priorities are to watch spending, reduce taxes, build more roads and improve traffic flow.
On safety and crime issues, St. Albert remained in the lead of comparable communities with 92 per cent agreeing St. Albert is a safe community. Theft and burglary remained residents’ top safety concern, but prevalence of that concern increased from 40 to 46 per cent.
The percentage of people who listed vandalism and drugs as a concern fell slightly, by three and six per cent respectively.
A new question this year on housing revealed expanding housing options in St. Albert is a priority for residents, with 48 per cent saying having a wide variety of options is “very important.”
“This is not someone telling you that this isn’t something you should be involved in – this is very actively saying the city has a role,” With said.
Councillors Natalie Joly and Jacquie Hansen said they were concerned reading the survey results, but With's comments provided some useful context.
In an interview, Mayor Cathy Heron said the survey results do need to be interpreted in context, that the questions were asked right on the heels of the fall provincial budget release.
"(It was) when everybody was upset about government and taxes and cuts and fiscal responsility," Heron said. "When you see that kind of reflection across Alberta, it’s not St. Albert-specific."
When asked about council ratings dropping, Heron said the same context applies. She added overall the survey still indicates St. Albert is a community of choice to live in.
