By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

Results of the 2010 Citizen Satisfaction Survey released this week show residents gave favorable reviews to many town services, including police and fire department response times and winter snow removal.

Residents also gave thumbs up to the overall quality of life in Scarborough, despite some negative ratings for the town planning department, code enforcement, economic development and pedestrian safety.

The survey was sponsored by the New England States Performance Measurement Project and is designed to gauge residents’ reactions to the quality of town services.

It was administered by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, which conducted the assessment for approximately 10 other towns throughout New England, Hall said.

The town paid about $1,500 dollars to participate in the survey.

The survey was conducted in December and distributed to 1,318 randomly selected residents, of which 246 responded to the online survey.

Town Manager Tom Hall said survey results will be used as part of the town’s goal-setting and budgeting process in coming months. 

“This sort of data is invaluable,” Hall said. “I think it acts as a barometer of where we need to direct our resources and attention.” 

He said he was impressed with survey results.

“The vast majority of departments received glowing comments,” Hall said.

The fire department received the highest rating of all departments with 100 percent of respondents reporting they were satisfied with reaction time of both ambulance and response teams.

The police department received a 90 percent overall approval rating, with 95 percent of respondents satisfied with the response time of police vehicles to calls; 98 percent of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the department’s professionalism.

The school department received favorable marks as well with 92 percent of residents pleased with class size and student-to-teacher ratio. Athletic programs at schools were favored by 93 percent and 95 percent were satisfied with the quality of extracurricular activities offered. 

Library services were rated equally high, with 99 percent of respondents satisfied with the availability of services and 98 percent with cleanliness of the library.

Trash collection and winter snow removal also ranked at the top of residents’ lists. Trash collection received a 94 percent approval rate and 95 percent of residents were satisfied that all major roads were passable after a storm.

The approval rating for quality of life in Scarborough was 97 percent.

However, there were some areas of the survey that did not score as favorably as others. The town’s code enforcement department received a rating of 69 percent approval; planning and engineering received a rating of 63 percent; and economic development in town scored lowest, with a rating of 58 percent.                                    

Hall said that although the negative results are still meaningful, they are “statistically something that has to do with low responses,” due to the low percentage of people who responded to those particular sections on the survey.

Town Planner Dan Bacon agreed and said there were only 44 residents who responded in the area of planning. 

“Personally I think the planning department has improved significantly over the years in terms of being customer friendly and efficient and good to work with, so I’m a little bit surprised at those numbers compared to other departments. That being said, there were not many in the sample,” Bacon said. “Although I certainly think it’s something we need to look at and make every effort to provide good service and make sure people are satisfied at end of day.”

Hall said a negative perception regarding economic development may be because residents are not aware of Scarborough Economic Development Corp. and the role it plays in fostering development.

Analyzing the results further, Hall said the survey indicated residents had concerns over pedestrian and sidewalk safety and inadequate street lighting.

“They’re all valid, so I’m not surprised. The people that responded all had direct experiences and those people are the ones we want to hear from, good, bad or indifferent,” Hall said.

He said the town currently is conducting a study of Oak Hill and is planning improvements for pedestrian safety, traffic signals and sidewalk improvements.

Public Works Director Michael Shaw said the town already has undergone various capital improvement projects to address residents’ needs. Among those projects have been installation of new sidewalks along Maple Avenue and in the Higgins Beach area as well as a drainage project along Sawyer Road near the high school.

Shaw also said the town will improve the Haigis Parkway intersection near Tim Hortons by adding traffic lanes, drainage and sidewalk improvements within the next few weeks.

“It’s going to be a full reconstruction of the intersection,” Shaw said.

He said increased interest in alternate forms of travel such as bicycling has created a greater demand for pedestrian access.

“People are becoming more active certainly and that is something we need to look at and take into consideration when doing a project. Clearly budget is always an issue,” Shaw said.

Hall said that each department contributes to the success of providing quality of life for residents.

“All credit must be given to the department managers. They’re really the ones responsible for the day-to-day services. Also, the past councils’ funding and political support to build these departments and staff them to provide quality resources can’t be overstated,” Hall said. “These types of things help identify priorities and I hope also serve to indicate that we’re using resources provided (by the town) wisely and that residents appreciate it.”

Staff Writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.