MEMBER NEWS

SURVEY RESULTS SHOW LENEXA RESIDENTS REMAIN HAPPY WITH CITY SERVICES

Lenexa residents continue to be happy with the city overall, according to the most recent ETC DirectionFinder citizen satisfaction survey, which was conducted in late 2009.

The survey results, which were compiled by ETC Institute, indicate that nearly all residents (96 percent) believe Lenexa is a “good” or “excellent” place to live, and 95 percent of the residents think the city is a “good” or “excellent” place to raise children. In addition, 94 percent of the residents say that they are satisfied with the quality of life in Lenexa, which is significantly higher than the national average (77 percent).

Citizens are also satisfied with overall city services. During a presentation to the Governing Body on Jan. 19, Chris Tatham of ETC Institute indicated that Lenexa ranks as the metro leader in nearly every major service category when compared to other cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Those major areas of service include police, fire and ambulance service (95 percent); parks and recreation (95 percent); effectiveness of communication with the public (82 percent); maintenance of streets (82 percent); enforcement of city codes (72 percent); and city stormwater runoff system (84 percent).

“You are really setting the standard,” Tatham told the Governing Body during the presentation, adding that Lenexa’s overall results are within the top 2-3 percent in the country. He praised the city for improving already high marks in nearly every service area at a time when many cities across the country are seeing declines in citizen satisfaction due to service reductions related to the economic recession.

Tatham said that it is clear from the survey results that investments the community has made in key areas during the past several years have made a positive difference.
 
The major service areas that showed the most improvement when compared to the 2007 survey of Lenexa residents are the following:

• Quality of the city’s stormwater/runoff management (84 percent, up from 77 percent in 2007)
• Quality of parks and recreation programs and facilities (95 percent, up from 90 percent in 2007)
• Flow of traffic/congestion management (74 percent, up from 69 percent in 2007)

There were no significant decreases in any of the major categories of services that were rated.

“I’m pleased to see these results because it helps me know that we continue to meet the expectations of our residents,” said City Administrator Eric Wade. “Because of the recent downturn in the economy, though, our resources for 2010 are much more limited than they were in the past. We will need to work closely with our community to make sure we continue to focus our efforts on the services that are most important to our residents.”

Tatham pointed out that when looking at priorities for the future, residents’ main concerns for the next two years are public safety, street maintenance and traffic flow/congestion management.
 
This is the City of Lenexa’s fifth survey since 2000, designed to assess citizen satisfaction with the delivery of major city services and to help determine community priorities for the future. To view charts showing the 2009 survey results, visit the city’s web site at www.ci.lenexa.ks.us.

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