Schaumburg leaders assess residents’ concerns, satisfaction in new survey results

Results from Schaumburg’s autumn National Community Survey reflected a high level of satisfaction among residents noting the village is a desirable place to live and raise a family.

The survey was distributed to 3,5000 randomly selected residents to help village leaders in their strategic planning and allocation of resources.

Among the results, 96% called Schaumburg a good place to live, which is the highest result for that question across the five surveys the village has conducted since 2014.

On other questions, 95% would recommend Schaumburg as a place to live, 93% rated the overall quality of life positively and 92% considered Schaumburg as either an excellent or good place to raise a family.

“The survey results have provided the village with valuable insights into its performance, helping us address key issues that matter to residents based on their feedback,” Village Manager Brian Townsend said in a statement.

Areas where Schaumburg exceeded national benchmarks include 88% viewing its reputation positively, 80% considering the village honest and 78% approving of the overall direction of its government and commitment to act in the community’s best interest.

Areas identified as opportunities for improvement included mobility, household affordability, promoting public safety, the reliability of utilities and further economic development.

Things that have improved since the first survey are the quality of utility infrastructure, stormwater management and the availability of paths and walking trails.

Discussing the results this week, village board members said the survey left some things unclear such as which jurisdictions’ roads caused concern, undefined housing affordability and general feelings of fear that didn’t seem directly related to the village.

“I detect a little bit about people being afraid,” Mayor Tom Dailly said. “I think we’re developing a culture of fear. We’re afraid of everything.”

While the village sometimes experiences negative feedback on social media, board members didn’t see that as a contradiction of the overall positivity of the scientific survey.

“I think individuals can stoke things, and others will feed into it,” Dailly said. “The reality is when it’s warm and sunny outside, people’s dispositions are better.”