Wheaton residents gave their city high marks in a recent citizen satisfaction survey.
The ETC Institute, a community-based market research firm, presented the results of the community survey it conducted for the city earlier this year at a recent city council planning session. The ETC Institute found the city of Wheaton rated at or above the national average in 54 of 66 areas assessed, according to a city of Wheaton press release.
ETC Institute Vice President Chris Tathum highlighted residents’ overall satisfaction with city services —with 84 percent who were satisfied — which scored well above the national average of 57 percent, according to the news release.
“That’s not just a statistically significant difference, that’s a phenomenal difference,” Tathum said. “The average community has only a little over half of their residents giving positive ratings; you’re at over 80 percent.”
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Meanwhile, areas where residents surveyed said the city could improve include better maintenance of city streets and sidewalks and stormwater runoff/management. The survey also pointed to opportunities to communicate the strength of the city’s finances and what the city is doing to prepare for the future.
Other results Tathum highlighted included:
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- 94 percent of residents surveyed cited satisfaction with the overall feeling of safety in the city
- 96 percent rated Wheaton as an “excellent” or “good” place to raise children
- 90 percent of residents surveyed had positive ratings for the quality of life in Wheaton
- Overall satisfaction scored well above the national average in areas such as: quality of the city’s library (94 percent in Wheaton, versus 80 percent national average); quality of police, fire and ambulance services (90 percent, versus 80 percent average); customer service from city employees (75 percent, versus 55 percent national average); effectiveness of communication with the public (71 percent, versus 46 percent national average); and enforcement of City codes and ordinances (66 percent, versus 50 percent national average).
“When it comes to the overall perception of city services, there’s not one area within the city limits that was even giving you mediocre ratings,” Tathum said. “It doesn’t matter where people live, people feel good about city services.”
Approximately 2,000 randomly chosen Wheaton households received the survey.
"With 683 households responding, this level of participation is enough to provide a statistically valid sample that can be extrapolated to be a good reflection of the feelings of all residents," according to the news release.
The full results report is available on the City’s website. In addition, a video of the June 23 Planning Session, including the presentation by ETC Institute, is available on the City’s website and City of Wheaton Channel 10 (CWC10). The City plans to repeat this survey every few years to gauge improvements and adjust for community needs
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