Survey: Most residents say Elgin is a good place to live

Most residents say Elgin a good or excellent place to live, and believe the city is moving in the right direction, according to the results of a community survey done this summer.

Residents said they'd like better maintenance of streets, sidewalks and infrastructure, followed by better enforcement of code and ordinances, but overall satisfaction with city services is "much higher" than in other communities, said Jason Morado of ETC Institute based in Kansas, which the city hired to conduct the survey. Residents rated Elgin above the national average in 45 of 57 areas examined, he said.

Seventy-six percent of respondents rated Elgin as an excellent or good place to live, while 15 percent rated it as neutral, and only 9 percent rated it as below average or poor.

That's "a point of pride and reassurance," senior management analyst Laura Valdez-Wilson told the city council Wednesday night.

A total of 3,500 surveys were mailed and 577 were returned completed, " a really good response" that exceeded the goal of 500 statistically significant surveys with diversity of age, gender, ethnicity and location, Morado said. The survey has a 4.1 percent margin of error, he said.

The vast majority of residents surveyed, or 88 percent, said they were satisfied with police, fire and ambulance services, followed by water, garbage pickup, billing and parks and recreation programs.

Residents pointed to parking enforcement, fire inspection programs and communication from community development staff as areas that need improvement. Seventy-nine percent of residents are happy with the quality of water services, Morado said.

Overall, nearly three-fourths of residents said they were likely to stay in Elgin for the next five years, and 61 percent said they were likely to recommend living in town. Nearly nine in 10 residents said they feel safe in their neighborhoods during the day - a bit less at night - and 74 percent feel safe in downtown Elgin, the survey shows.

Several council members said the survey validated their work and that of city staff members. "I kind of wish we would do this every two or three years," Councilwoman Rose Martinez said. The last residents' survey was done in 2007.

Just over half of respondents said they are satisfied with public information from the city, while 31 percent were neutral on the topic and 15 percent were dissatisfied. As for how people get information about the city, 66 percent said they use the city's website, 55 percent word-of-mouth, 45 percent local newspapers and 43 percent social media.

Most residents said they value recycling, waste management and sustainability. They would like more biking and walking trails, although they are happy with the ones that exist, the survey shows.

Elgin rates 10 percent above the regional and national averages regarding satisfaction with volunteer opportunities, and very few people are not satisfied with festivals, events and cultural arts offerings in town, Morado said.

Councilman Corey Dixon asked why the survey didn't ask residents how they feel about the local education system. Morado said there was "only so much space" in the survey, which at seven pages was longer than the typical six pages. But future surveys could address that, he added.