From The City of Red Deer
Red Deerians happy with quality of life but crime is top concern
Ninety-three per cent of Red Deerians say their overall quality of life is good or very good and overall satisfaction with municipal services remains high, according to the 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey released today.
“Red Deer is consistently described as a beautiful and friendly city with numerous amenities and an expansive trail system that citizens cite year after year as reasons why quality of life here is so good,” said Allan Seabrooke, City Manager. “Like any growing city, Red Deer is facing significant challenges, particularlyin regards to crime and social issues and these issues are top priority for The City.”
Eighty-three per cent of respondents said they receive very good or fairly good value for tax dollars. When asked about how The City should balance taxation and service delivery levels, 47 per cent of respondents supported increasing taxes, while 41 per cent of respondents favoured cutting services.
When asked about the change in quality of life, 15 per cent of respondents said things have improved, attributing a well-managed municipality, job opportunities and enjoyment of living in Red Deer for the increase. For those who said their quality of life had remained the same (43 per cent), or worsened (41 per cent), crime, unemployment and social issues were identified as the top reasons.
From the survey, the top issues facing our community are crime (50 per cent), social issues (23 per cent) and transportation (14 per cent).
“This annual survey is one tool City Council uses to identify and respond to citizens’ priorities,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “Crime has doubled in importance for Red Deerians this year compared to last year, and this issue will continue to remain City Council’s top priority until we see substantial improvements in the crimeand social challenges our community is contending with.”
Roads were identified as the highest priority for residents in terms of infrastructure (76 per cent), followed by water treatment facilities (69 per cent), recreation facilities (43 per cent), wastewater treat ment facilities (43 per cent), and the transit system (38 per cent).
The Citizen Satisfaction Survey was conducted over the phone by Ipsos Public Affairs between May 13 and 24, 2019, with a randomly selected sample of 300 Red Deer residents aged 18 years or older; 30 per cent of interviews were conducted on cell phones. The margin of error is +/-5.7%, 19 times out of 20.