The level of satisfaction with Airdrie services will be measured over the next two weeks when the city conducts it's annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey.  

The phone survey, which is done for the City of Airdrie by a third party, starts tomorrow (January 5) and runs through January 20th.  There is also an online option which people can take.  A link will be found starting tomorrow on the city's website.

Ryan Johnson, an Analyst in Strategic Business Services with the city says the annual survey isn't labourious, taking only about 15 minutes to complete.  Johnson says the survey is conducted to gather insight into the perceptions and opinions of Airdrie residents across a number of topics.

"Mainly satisfaction with the services offered by the city, value that the residents feel that they're getting for their property taxes, and city communication methods and desired topics that residents wish to hear about from the city."

Johnson goes on to explain what they do with the information that's provided by survey takers.

"We present the information to our senior leadership and to council.  We use it to identify any emerging issues that the community feels need to be addressed by the city and we work those into our strategic planning process and business planning process annually which ultimately feeds the budget as well.  It's just another method that we use to understand the needs and the desires of the residents and the community."

In the past, the survey has brought up a number of issues.  In 2016, health care was identified as the number one issue among residents.  That concern has declined with the advent of 24/7 Urgent Care in Airdrie.  Johnson says though that other issues are of concern to city residents.

"The last couple of years it's been infrastructure, traffic, roads, and managing our rapid growth.  We really take that into consideration when we do our planning."

Johnson explains that it doesn't take long for the results of the survey to be compiled.

"The report will come from the research firm probably in February.  The date they're going to present to council is yet to be determined but it's typically end of February, beginning of March that it's presented to council."

Yardstick Research is the name of the firm that will conduct the survey on behalf of the city.  In order to get a statistically valid and reliable report, they need to get 400 valid responses.  Johnson says if you receive a phone call from that company between January 5th and 20th please answer it and let the city know your opinion of the services they offer. 

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