Residents report good quality of life in Red Deer: survey

August 19, 2008
(Red Deer, Alberta) – Ninety-five per cent of residents feel quality of life in Red Deer is good, according to a 2008 Ipsos Reid municipal survey. 2008 is the third consecutive year The City participated in the survey.

“Quality of life is very important to our residents. Red Deer’s features and services help define our community and contribute to our way of life,” said Mayor Morris Flewwelling.

The top five reasons citizens reported quality of life as good to very good were: good culture/good community; size of city/small-town atmosphere; economic growth; recreation, parks and green spaces; and environment.

The survey, conducted from April 17 to 28, also evaluated perceptions of The City of Red Deer’s financial planning. Eighty per cent of respondents felt they received good to very good value for their tax dollar. Ninety-one per cent were satisfied with City services.

“Quality of life in our community is influenced by the economy and how The City balances its services with taxation,” said Craig Curtis, City Manager. “Residents require us to be fiscally responsible while maintaining their quality and variety of services.”

When asked about The City’s effort to balance taxation with service delivery, 33 per cent of respondents favoured maintaining or reducing taxes by cutting services. Forty-eight per cent favoured increasing taxes to maintain or expand services.

Residents were also asked to identify important issues facing the community. The top three concerns continue to be crime, social issues and transportation followed closely in 2008 by municipal government spending.

“The survey data is one of many tools The City uses to create benchmarks for service delivery,” said Curtis. “These benchmarks help The City to determine level of citizen satisfaction with services and programs as we continue to grow. Future progress can be compared to these standards to establish effectiveness.”

Ipsos Reid conducts the Municipal Quality of Life and Financial Planning Survey via telephone to a randomly selected sample of 300 residents aged 18 years or older.

Survey results and more information are available online at www.reddeer.ca.

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For more information, please contact:

Craig Curtis                                           Colleen Jensen
City Manager                                         Director of Community Services
The City of Red Deer                              The City of Red Deer
403-342-8154                                         403-342-8323