City of Washougal's 2024 Community Survey Results Provide Insight into Progress and Future Direction
The City of Washougal's 2024 Community Survey findings have been released and emphasize a strong sense of satisfaction among residents regarding City services. The survey is an objective tool for gathering input from the community. The data reflects a positive perception of the City, indicating an overall upward trend in ratings. Notably, in 50 out of 54 areas surveyed since 2022, levels either remained consistent or improved. Furthermore, the City has seen substantial growth, with 27 areas showing significant increases of 5% or more.
“When we look at the trends from last time, this is where there’s a lot to celebrate,” remarked Chris Tatham with ETC Institute, who presented the survey findings to the Council during the June 1 annual planning session. “It shows that you took the results from the last survey, invested and made improvements in areas that residents cared a lot about. We’re seeing improvement across the board.”
ETC Institute administered the DirectionFinder® survey for the City of Washougal during the spring of 2024. The survey was administered as part of the City’s effort to assess citizen satisfaction with the quality of services. The information gathered from the survey will help the City align its priorities with the needs of residents. This is the sixth time that Washougal has administered a community survey with ETC Institute; the first survey was conducted in the summer of 2014.
A five-page survey was mailed to a random sample of 3,000 households in the City of Washougal. The survey was accompanied by a cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey and included a link for giving residents the option to complete the survey online. Of the households that received a survey, 507 responded. The results for the random sample of 507 households have a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/-4.3%.
Areas surveyed include Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Communication, Streets, Code Enforcement and Customer Service. Eighty-six percent (86%) of residents surveyed were satisfied with the quality of fire, emergency medical and ambulance services; seventy-six percent (76%) were satisfied with the quality of police services, sixty-nine percent (69%) were satisfied with the quality of customer service from City employees, and sixty-six percent (66%) were satisfied with the quality of City parks. Notable increases in satisfaction of major categories of service over the 2022 survey include streets (+12%), code enforcement (+12%), and customer service (+11%).
The study includes comparative data from cities nationwide and in the northwest region (Figure 1). Washougal stands out in several quality categories, surpassing others in fire/emergency medical/ambulance services, police services, customer service, and city parks. Moreover, the city exceeds national and regional averages in effectively communicating with the public and enforcing city codes and ordinances.
Figure 1.
Overall Ratings of City Services. Washougal vs. Northwest Region vs. the U.S.
Tantham noted, “Customer service is really where you stand out. Your overall satisfaction rating is almost double what we’re seeing in other communities these days.”
Additionally, the results offer valuable insights into areas where the city can concentrate its efforts for improvement. Enhancing the City's performance should involve focusing on several key areas: improving the maintenance of City streets, effectiveness of economic development efforts and improving the quality of water utilities. The City is actively addressing economic development concerns by appointing its first Strategic Initiatives Manager, marking a significant step forward in this regard.
“It's clear our efforts are paying off, and the positive feedback from our residents is truly inspiring,” commented Mayor David Stuebe. “With each community survey, we gain valuable perspective that shapes our decisions and priorities moving forward."
The 2024 Community Survey Final Report and related documents provide a wealth of information regarding citizens’ priorities for services across all city programs. Find the 2024 Community Survey Final Report and related documents at http://www.cityofwashougal.us/CommunitySurvey.
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About ETC Institute
ETC Institute was founded in 1982 by Dr. Elaine Tatham to help local governments gather data from residents to enhance community planning. The firm has grown from a small one-person company to a national corporation. Since its founding, ETC Institute has completed research projects for clients in 49 states. This includes thousands of surveys, focus groups, and stakeholder meetings.