City of Olathe News Brief

City of Olathe News Brief
January 18, 2006


Residents Say Improvement Continues in the Most Recent Citizen Survey

The City of Olathe has released the results of its 2005 annual citizen survey, showing continued improvement in citizen satisfaction. The survey, conducted by ETC Institute, gauges resident satisfaction with city services as well as identifies key priorities.

The survey, DirectionFinder, has been used in Olathe since 2000. In addition to gauging resident satisfaction and priorities, it compares Olathe to other metropolitan and similar national cities. It has been an effective tool for the city and the City Council to set spending and personnel priorities to mirror resident wishes.

The 1,280 sample survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent.

Since the city began using the survey, DirectionFinder, the overall composite score for satisfaction has increased from a baseline of 100 to 115. It was 114 in 2004. Olathe has gone against the Kansas City metropolitan area trend, as the overall satisfaction index for the metropolitan area has decreased from the baseline of 100 in 2000 to 97 in 2005.

According to ETC Institute, Olathe's satisfaction increase during that time has not only been the highest in the metropolitan area, it is about double that of the next closest city. According to ETC?s Chris Tatham, Olathe is doing very well. He said, "Clearly, Olathe has made significant progress in resident satisfaction." He said, ?Each year they do a good job of applying limited resources to citizen priority areas.? He said, ?Olathe?s improvement is particularly impressive considering there has been a decline in satisfaction in many of the other communities during the past few years.?

When originally tested in 2000, Olathe ranked toward the middle in the major service categories tested in the survey. In 2005, the city ranked in the top 25% in seven of the eight categories tested.

And, for the first time, Olathe became the metropolitan area leader in citizens? rating of the overall quality of city services.

According to Olathe City Manager Michael Wilkes, measuring that improvement is of great value. He said, ?When we released the original survey from 2000, we announced this was a tool for residents to hold us accountable.? He said, ?We were pleased with the results, but we said residents should always expect us to improve?no matter how well we had done the year before.? Wilkes said, ?That remains our commitment?the results are again very positive, but we are committed to improving each year.? He said, ?Our City Council certainly expects such, and our residents should expect nothing less.?

According to Wilkes, the survey?s benefit is not just measuring areas that are doing well, but identifying areas that can be improved. He said, ?The survey allows us to identify areas needing attention and determine what should be done to address them.?

The survey now includes a mapping component that can identify areas of the city where satisfaction levels with various services could improve.

Other key findings include:
East/west traffic flow remains residents? single largest priority. Two major projects currently underway, the 127th Street overpass and the railroad grade separation projects, are designed to help with that issue.
The percentage of residents who felt police/fire/ambulance services should receive the most emphasis saw a statistically significant increase of 4 percent from 24 percent to 28 percent. The 2005 and 2006 budgets reflect that need and the Council direction prioritize public safety.
Satisfaction with residential trash collection, which was already rated the top in the metropolitan area, saw an increase from 87 percent to 91 percent after the city adopted the smart cart system.
Residents felt continued emphasis should be placed on snow removal on residential streets, which saw a 4 percent decline in satisfaction.
The percent of residents who use the city?s website as a primary source of information has more than doubled since 2003. It again increased from 17 percent in 2004 to 23 percent in 2005.
Residents feel more emphasis should be placed on teen recreation opportunities and walking and biking trails.