Oklahoma City residents rate the quality of City services well above national averages

(August 13, 2008) - Eight out of ten Oklahoma City residents responding to a recent citizen satisfaction survey think Oklahoma City is not only moving in the right direction but is also a good place to live, raise children and work.  

Chris Tatham, president of ETC Institute, the firm that conducted the citizen survey, presented the results to the City Council yesterday.

“The City is definitely doing something right in regards to the quality of City services,” Tatham said.  “Oklahoma City continues to set the standard of quality for City services for cities with a population over 200,000.  City residents rated Oklahoma City above the national average in most categories.”

• Two out of three citizens surveyed were satisfied with the overall quality of City services, ranking Oklahoma City 18 percent above the national average.
• The quality of customer service was ranked 23 percent above the national average.
• Seven out of 10 residents were satisfied with the overall quality of police, fire, ambulance, utilities and parks and recreation programs and facilities. 

“We are pleased that our citizens continue to be satisfied with the quality of City services we provide,” City Manager Jim Couch said.  “City employees work hard to maintain citizen confidence and are committed to providing the level of services our citizens have come to expect.”

Citizens ranked maintenance of City streets their highest priority for a third year in a row.  The quality of the City’s public transit system rose to the second highest priority. 

When asked about funding options to make ambulance service more affordable, 63 percent support paying $4 per month on their water utility bill to avoid out of pocket ambulance expenses. 

 “Citizen surveys not only tell us how citizens feel about City services but the results are invaluable in helping us identify emerging trends and plan where to direct City resources,” said Couch.

This is the third year ETC Institute of Olathe, Kansas, conducted the citizen satisfaction survey.  This year’s survey, which was conducted in June and July, had a 40 percent response rate.   

The full survey results are available on the City’s Web site, www.okc.gov.