To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Kristin Read, Assistant Town Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Results of 2021 Community Survey
Body
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Executive Summary
The Town’s 2021 Major Projects Work Program calls for a community survey to be completed this year. To help accomplish that project, the Town retained the firm ComEngage (formerly Northwest Research Group). Survey topics and questions were presented to Town Council for feedback in January before ComEngage conducted the statistically valid survey between February 10 and March 10.
Results overall were favorable, with the Town receiving a 3.5-Star Rating overall in Northwest’s 5-Star Rating system; this is the same rating received in the 2017 and 2019 community surveys. 751 residents completed the survey, for an overall statistical confidence of plus or minus 3.49%. A survey of Town’s 2,079 business license holders also was completed, with 239 respondents, for a margin of error of plus or minus 5.96%.
Staff and ComEngage Project Director Nathan Wiggin will go over the results of the scientific resident survey and entertain questions from Council regarding the data at the April 20 Council meeting. A preliminary report on the survey is in Attachment A. Data from the business survey will be added to the report before it is finalized and posted to CRgov.com/2021survey by the end of April.
An open resident survey was conducted subsequent to the scientific one. Ratings in that survey did not vary significantly from the scientific study. Those ratings, along with the open-ended comments submitted through the open survey, can be found in the appendix of the attached report.
Discussion
Council on April 5 was emailed an initial briefing regarding survey results, which is included in Attachment B. The following review mirrors the review provided for the 2019 survey and goes into greater detail than did the initial briefing. That stated, this review does not encompass every element covered in the initial briefing.
Scientific Resident Survey Results
The resident survey generally took respondents about 24 minutes to complete and included questions in the following broad areas, under which results are summarized:
• General questions about the quality of life and quality and value of services in Town and a question regarding whether the Town is headed in the right direction
Nearly all residents surveyed say the quality of life in Castle Rock meets or exceeds expectations, and significantly more residents said this area “greatly exceeds” expectations than did in 2019. Nine out of 10 residents continue to say the quality of services the Town provides exceeds or greatly exceeds expectations; this rating has remained the same since 2015. Further, Castle Rock continues to shine with regard to comparability to other communities, with 91% of residents surveyed believing Castle Rock is a better place to live than elsewhere.
2021 showed improvement from 2019 with regard to the direction the Town is headed. There was a statistically significant shift from those saying “wrong direction” (15% in 2021 compared to 24% in 2019) to the more positive categories of “neutral,” “right direction” or “very right direction” (77% combined in 2021 compared to 66% in 2019).
Seventy-two percent of residents surveyed believe they are getting their money’s worth for their tax dollars. This is another upward trend when comparing 2021 results to 2019 data.
• Thoughts regarding the Town’s strategic priorities
Residents indicate belief that all six Town strategic priorities right for the Town, with support ranging from 72% of respondents to 97% of respondents. The priorities with the strongest support are ensuring outstanding public safety, maintaining strong parks and recreation, securing our water future and managing Town finances conservatively.
• Questions regarding Castle Rock as a place to live, including about important issues in and aspects of the Town, as well as regarding how well the Town keeps residents informed and how likely residents are to recommend Castle Rock as a place to raise children, do business, retire and work
Residents provide above-average ratings regarding most aspects of living in Castle Rock, with the ability to buy things locally rated highest among these attributes. Other attributes remained comparable to 2019 results.
Respondents identified the pace of growth and overcrowding as the biggest issues facing Castle Rock when asked an open-ended question about that topic. Concerns about traffic and water also topped this list of concerns. Of note is that traffic concerns have continually fallen from their high of 36% in the 2015 survey.
Scores related to keeping residents informed regarding Town happenings and seeking their involvement and input both have remained consistent compared to 2019. There was a significant decrease in the score related to keeping residents informed regarding Castle Rock Water services and projects, and the score for keeping residents informed regarding Parks and Recreation decreased, but not significantly.
Residents are very likely to recommend the Town as a place to raise children, and the likelihood of residents recommending the Town both as a place to work and as one to retire increased significantly compared to 2019. Ratings for recommending the Town as a place to do business also increased, but not significantly.
• Thoughts regarding special topics
New in 2021 was a question that explored support for increasing the Town’s property tax mill levy from $3/month to $15/month, to help fund needed public safety personnel. That prospect received below-average support of 4.5/10. Time-limiting the increase did not change opinions overall. To fund these needs, the greatest percentage of respondents said the Town should manage existing funds better (15%);13% said they weren’t sure how the needs should be funded; 13% said additional public safety funding isn’t needed; 10% said the Town should ask for a smaller-scale property tax increase; and 10% said new development should be taxed to generate the revenue needed to fund public safety.
As in the 2017 and 2019 surveys, respondents in 2021 were asked about their support for implementing a lodging tax in Town. Past above-average support (7.22 in 2019) for this potential alternative revenue source may be waning, as support in 2021 had moved closer to average, at 6.05. A new alternative revenue question in this survey
• Evaluations of specific aspects of Town services including Police, Fire/EMS, Roads/Public Works, Water and Parks and Recreation
Respondents indicate they remain highly satisfied (8/10 or above) with most aspects of Police and Fire and Rescue services.
Ratings for a few mobility-related aspects improved in 2021. Specifically, the overall convenience and accessibility of roads, traffic signal timing and the level of congestion on Town streets improved from 2019.
Residents continue to be satisfied with Castle Rock Water’s services. Ratings surrounding the value of services for rates paid increased in 2021 to their highest level of the four most recent surveys.
Finally, residents continue to believe that Parks and Recreation is doing a good job at providing a park within a half-mile of their households. Residents also highly rated the value of their access to parks and trails.
Next Steps
As key as the survey results are the actions they ignite. As respondents completed this year’s survey, they were invited into an online focus group, which will continue through May to further explore several key areas from the survey: Town priorities; growth-related issues; Downtown and the Town’s identity; potential alternative Town revenue sources; water and roads issues; and communications preferences. Staff expects to deliver a report on these discussions in June.
Staff encourages Council to discuss the 2021 survey results. Staff is continuing its review of the results and plans to provide recommendations related to Town priorities and other potential responses later this spring and summer.
Attachment
Attachment A: 2021 Castle Rock Community Survey Preliminary Report
Attachment B: 2021 Resident Survey Briefing