Officials: Schaumburg survey results reflect, inspire services residents value
Though COVID-19 wasn't specifically mentioned in the questions, Schaumburg officials are interpreting the results of the village's most recent National Community Survey as a reflection of a high level of satisfaction with local services during the pandemic.
The survey, which the village has administered to a random selection of households every two or three years since 2014, asks many common questions to compare results over time. The latest survey last fall sought feedback from 2,607 households.
Among its findings were: 95% of respondents rated the village as an excellent or good place to live; 93% rated their overall quality of life as excellent or good; 94% would recommend the village as a place to raise a family; and 91% gave positive ratings to its overall image or reputation.
But among the areas identified for potential improvement were: reducing what's perceived as a high cost of living; promoting diversity and inclusion; ensuring public safety; promoting economic development; enhancing community engagement; and maintaining transportation infrastructure.
Allison Albrecht, Schaumburg's director of communications and outreach, said previous surveys had yielded tangible changes and results.
"Previous versions of the survey revealed that respondents wanted the village to continue increasing its investment in infrastructure and improving mobility and traffic flow on village streets," she said. "As a result, the village expanded funding for the local street repair program and has made improvements to traffic flow through the use of video technology and various roadway modifications."
Some questions in the 2021 survey were new, including the ones about diversity and inclusion.
The village received positive ratings for its ability to take care of vulnerable residents (84%), value and respect residents from diverse backgrounds (87%), and attract people from diverse backgrounds (85%), all of which officials said exceeded national bench marks.
Mayor Tom Dailly said he's been proud of the focus on increasing diversity among the village staff in hiring practices. This began with an emphasis on the police department and has spread to inspectors and other departments as well, he added.
Dailly said there are some changes he'd like to make in future surveys, such as asking respondents to be more specific about their concerns with taxes to learn whether they're the ones the village can control.
But even in the age of social media when people have a variety of ways to express themselves, Dailly still finds a usefulness in the scientific method of a randomly distributed survey.
"People on social media tend to be more reactive," he said. "When you do a survey, you have to put some thought into it. There's only certain people on social media."
For details about the survey visit schaumburg.com/ncs.