Waterloo continues to rank high in resident satisfaction

By City of Waterloo - Jan 30, 2023

The City of Waterloo conducted its second municipal services satisfaction assessment this past fall, as the start of the 2023-2026 strategic planning process, and the results are excellent – 93 per cent of residents state the quality of life in Waterloo is good and 92 per cent of residents are satisfied with Waterloo as a place to live. In addition, 85 per cent of residents polled say they receive good value for the taxes they pay, and 79 per cent of residents say they are satisfied that the City spends its budget on things that matter most to our community.

The survey also highlighted key areas to help improve residents’ satisfaction, including affordable housing, road maintenance and repair, bicycle lanes, climate change, and snow clearance.

“Strategic planning is one of the most important activities that the city does. Council, staff and the community create this plan together and it will guide our decisions for the next four years,” said Mayor Dorothy McCabe. “Through our Indigenous Initiatives, Anti-Racism and Equity team we’re deliberately engaging individuals and groups as well as the broader Waterloo community to ensure we have a fuller understanding of what’s working well and where improvements are needed.”

The results of this survey, along with input collected from City of Waterloo Council, staff, advisory committees of council and the community will all help influence the development of the city’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. This survey feedback is in a comprehensive summary (report CAO2023-008 begins page 16) which includes findings and emerging themes and priorities. The survey report will be presented to Council on January 30, 2023.

Strategic plan public engagement is ongoing, with in-person roundtable sessions scheduled for January 31 and February 23, and virtual sessions on February 8. More information about the community roundtable sessions and an online survey are available at www.engagewr.ca/strategic-waterloo. The draft strategic plan will be shared in May. The public is encouraged to review the draft plan and ensure it captures their thoughts and input collected during consultation.

The final City of Waterloo 2023-2026 Strategic Plan will be unveiled in June 2023.

Fall 2022 residents’ satisfaction survey results

  • 93 per cent of respondents found the quality of life in Waterloo to be good, compared to 99 per cent of respondents in 2018
  • 92 per cent are satisfied with Waterloo as a place to live, compared to 94 per cent in 2018
  • 85 per cent say they receive good value for the taxes they pay, compared to 88 per cent in 2018
  • 79 per cent say they are satisfied with the way in which the City spends its budget on things that matter most to the community, compared to 68 per cent in 2018
  • 84 per cent are satisfied with the digital services provided by the City
  • Key priorities to improve satisfaction are:
    • Affordable housing
    • Road maintenance and repair
    • Bicycle lanes
    • Climate change
    • Snow clearance
  • Some of the highest-rated City of Waterloo services include:
    • Fire services – 99%
    • City recreation facilities – 97%
    • Libraries – 97%
    • Parks and trails – 93%
    • Recreation programs and sports fields – 92%
    • Arts and culture programs – 90%
    • Museum – 90%
  • The telephone survey (using a mix of landlines and cell numbers) was conducted by Deloitte, on behalf of the City of Waterloo, from November 15 to 22, 2022. In total, 535 interviews were completed with adult residents (18+), with about 75 respondents per ward. The survey collected input on quality of life, delivery of city services, use of tax dollars and preferred methods of communication. The survey is statistically significant, with a margin of error of +/- 4.2 per cent. 

The first survey, conducted in 2018, highlighted road maintenance and repair, bylaw enforcement and snow clearance as areas of focus.

The most recent survey asked the same or similar questions to the 2018 survey, to allow for useful comparison, with a few adjustments to get direct feedback on issues impacting City operations and services. Some of the questions differ while others are asked in a different way which may have provided different results. Until future surveys are completed, it is difficult to say whether the change between the two surveys are trends or due to an anomaly like the pandemic.

 

– 30 –

 


Media contact:

Cari Van Niekerk
Manager, Corporate Communications
cari.vanniekerk@waterloo.ca

Subscribe Back to News Search