47% think city falling short on public input

Annual poll also shows roadwork tops list of residents’ big concerns

Saskatoon residents are split down the middle over whether city hall does enough to get public input on decisions, according to a poll commissioned by the City of Saskatoon.

About half of poll respondents (53 per cent) said the city does enough to get public input on decisions, while 47 per cent said the city fails to do enough.

The city’s annual poll to gauge residents’ happiness with city services was conducted between June 29 and July 29 by Toronto-based Forum Research Inc.

Roads continued to top the list of residents’ main concerns, but by only 11 per cent in the 2018 poll.

“Although road construction is still the single most important issue in 2018 for telephone respondents, it has steadily gone down each year since 2016 where it was cited by 32 per cent of respondents,” a Forum Research report on the poll says.

The poll results were posted on the city’s website, but city administration does not plan to release the results until next month.

The polling company contacted 505 Saskatoon residents on both cellphones and landlines; the results are considered accurate within 4.36 per cent 19 times out of 20, the report says.

Forum Research also conducted an online survey of panellists along with the telephone poll. The online survey suggests a higher dissatisfaction with city hall’s efforts to consult residents.

Other than road construction, no issue topped 10 per cent. Taxes were second at six per cent, followed by traffic congestion, infrastructure and public transit, all at five per cent.

Public safety/crime/policing came in at four per cent, but topped the online panel survey by a wide margin.

Most respondents to the telephone survey, 44 per cent, cited “other” and listed a variety of different issues.

Changes were made to the survey last year to switch from a fourpoint scale to measure satisfaction to a 10-point scale.

Even with the new scale, where respondents assign a value from one to 10, satisfaction with city hall services remained high at 86 per cent. That’s about the same level as in previous city polls during this decade.

When it comes to the quality of life in Saskatoon, 85 per cent rated it good or very good, down slightly from 89 per cent in the two previous years, but within the poll’s margin of error.

Nineteen per cent said they think life in Saskatoon has improved, while 24 per cent said they think it has got worse and 56 per cent said they think it stayed the same.

Despite the high level of satisfaction with life in Saskatoon, less than half (42 per cent) said they are likely to recommend living here, the poll report says.

An alarming trend identified in the poll suggests a big decline in the number of people who volunteer. The number of respondents who said they do no volunteer work jumped from 44 per cent in 2017 to 69 per cent in the 2018 poll.

When it comes to balancing the city’s operating budget, 35 per cent said they prefer a combination of property tax and user fee increases. An increasing share, however — 24 per cent — said they support eliminating or reducing services.

City hall got high approval for providing a mix of year-round recreation, sports and culture facilities (92 per cent) and Saskatoon’s rating as an inclusive and welcoming place was also high (86 per cent).

Three-quarters of respondents said they think city hall does a good job of preserving natural resources and protecting the environment.

Only 56 per cent said they think the city is investing in a mix of transportation options.

The city also got low marks for making customer service a priority (56 per cent) and for open and transparent government (53 per cent).

Just 53 per cent said they approve of the city’s approach to making downtown an appealing destination; an even lower share, 44 per cent, said they back the city’s strategy for making downtown an appealing place to live.

Conversely, 77 per cent said they think the city is effectively balancing growth.