On Monday (August 15), Okotoks town council was given the results of the 2022 Citizen Satisfaction Survey.

The survey was intended to gauge Okotokians' thoughts on a few subjects relating to the town, including quality of life, satisfaction with town services, and value for tax dollars.

It was conducted by Pivotal Research and got 703 responses, with the benchmark for statistic validity being 400.

For overall quality of life, 98 per cent of respondents responded with "good" (68 per cent) or "very good" (29 per cent). That's in line with previous years, which also showed results in the upper 90s.

Three-quarters of respondents said they feel connected to their neighbours, and 81 per cent says they feel the town's values aligned with theirs.

From the 674 comments, top concerns were safety with 225 mentions, infrastructure issues with 187 mentions, and traffic with 134 mentions.

Close to a quarter of participants said they have faced discrimination based on sex, age, ability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. That number increased to 62 per cent for households containing one or more members of a visible minority.

Participants were also asked about their satisfaction with the town's services, facilities, and programs.

The categories that scored highest for satisfaction were Parks & Pathways (96 per cent) and Outdoor Recreation Facilities (96 per cent), with the lowest being Municipal Enforcement (76 per cent) and Affordable Housing (57 per cent).

Those who said they were unsatisfied with town services were asked for suggestions on how to improve them, which included lowering the cost of water and sewer services, increasing the speed of maintenance and snow removal, and increasing the visibility of bylaw officers.

When asked which services they'd be most willing to see reduced spending on, the highest were Cultural and Historical Services (58 per cent), Subsidized Taxi Service (57 per cent), and In-Person Services (51 per cent).

The results of the Citizen Satisfaction Survey will be used during future strategic and operational planning, as well as the town's four-year planning rotation.

The full report can be found here.