The City of Kamloops will be moving ahead with plans to conduct a Citizen Satisfaction Survey every two years instead of every four, starting this Fall.
Councillors voted to spend $30,000 on this year’s survey that will be done by November, as well as to put aside $15,000 a year to help pay for future surveys. They also authorized staff to issue a request for proposals to find a consultant to conduct the next three Citizen Satisfaction Surveys.
“The citizen satisfaction survey is really the only valid survey that we conduct that really measures how the public is feeling, what their needs are, and what their satisfaction level is with city service levels,” City Communications Manager Kristen Rodrigue told Radio NL.
“The data from this survey is really important for staff and council in terms of long term planning and priorities, budgeting, all of those kinds of things. Through this survey, we want see if the needle has moved in the last two years.”
Speaking to City Council Tuesday, Rodrigue said she will be presenting at next week’s meeting of the Governance and Service Excellence Committee, asking they form a working group to develop the survey this fall.
“We will look at the council conversations, we will look at the council strategic plan actions. We could look at the other surveys that are out there to determine what we want to ask,” Rodrigue said.
“Two things that I will caution about is the length of the survey impacts both our cost on it and people’s likelihood of completing it.”
Citizen Satisfaction Surveys have typically been done after a municipal election, allowing the new Council to use the data to develop their four-year strategic plan. By moving to a two year cycle, Rodrigue says Council will be able to gather feedback midway through their term, allowing them to revise their strategic plans, if needed.
“Data is collected via phone using a random-digit dial methodology, providing all Kamloops residents with an equal chance of being contacted, regardless of whether they use a landline or a cell phone,” Rodrigue said, in a February report to the Governance and Service Excellence Select Committee.
“An online companion survey is also made available through the City’s website for residents who do not receive a phone call but still wanted to provide feedback.”
The last such survey – done in November 2022 – revealed that 64-per cent of respondents said they feel that life has has gotten worse in Kamloops since 2019.
Residents cited homelessness, poverty, increased crime levels, higher cost of living and lack of access to healthcare as their top areas of concern last time out. All of those issues fall under provincial or federal jurisdiction.
