Survey is in: Here’s what Olathe residents think of city services

Olathe residents remain among the most satisfied in the metro Kansas City area when it comes to their local government and city services, but a new survey shows several areas where that support slipped last year.

Transportation issues in particular generated some of the biggest complaints from citizens polled during the final three months of 2018 by research firm The ETC Institute. Researchers released the results of their latest survey to the Olathe City Council on Tuesday.

Only 52 percent of the roughly 500 respondents said they were satisfied with the ease of traveling east or west in the city, which was unchanged from 2017. But the percentage of those satisfied with the ease of traveling north or south through Olathe fell from 75 percent two years ago to 69 percent in 2018.

In fact, overall satisfaction with how the city manages congestion and traffic flow fell from 60 percent in 2017 to 53 percent last year.

City officials said they believed traffic disruptions caused by roadwork along Parker Street between Old 56 Highway and Santa Fe Road, at 151st Street and Mur-Len Road, and on 143rd Street between Pflumm and Quivira roads had contributed to the dissatisfaction.

Looking ahead, they said new traffic signal timing software is helping cut travel times along Santa Fe and a number of other road projects will reduce congestion, including the Parker Street work and turn lane improvements at 119th Street and Pflumm, 151st and Mur-Len and 151st and Ridgeview Road.

Not surprisingly, respondents identified traffic and congestion management as being the city’s highest priority over the next two years, followed closely by ongoing maintenance of city streets, buildings and other public facilities.

ETC researchers said 93 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the overall quality of city services, slightly down from 94 percent in 2017 but still well above the regional average of 57 percent and national average of 50 percent.

The highest satisfaction rates again went to the city’s police, fire and other first responders, who received a satisfaction rating of 95 percent, even with the previous year.

Seventy-one percent of residents said they were satisfied with the leadership of the city’s elected officials, down from 75 percent the previous two years, and 68 percent said they were satisfied with the value received for what they paid in taxes and fees. That represented a decline from 73 percent in 2017 but still ahead of the average rates in the Kansas City metro (45 percent) and nationally (38 percent).

Ninety-two percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Olathe’s overall quality of life, a dip from 93 percent the year before but above the regional and national average of 75 percent.

The percentage of Olathe residents who said they were satisfied with the overall image of the city stayed level at 85 percent in 2018. By comparison, 62 percent of Kansas City metro residents and 64 percent of respondents across the country said they were satisfied with the image of their own communities.

Ninety-five percent of residents said they were satisfied with Olathe as a place to live and 94 percent praised it as a place to raise children – both marks were down from 97 percent in 2017. The percentage of residents who said they would buy their next home in Olathe also slipped from 89 percent in 2017 to 83 percent last year.

Satisfaction with public education in Olathe, which is not a responsibility of the city government but was included in the survey, declined from 87 percent to 83 percent.

City officials did highlight some areas where satisfaction ratings have increased, including reduced odor problems and the overall quality of the city’s wastewater treatment plants, which they attributed to ongoing renovations, and satisfaction with city swimming pools, which rose from 79 percent to 84 percent.

Despite the many declines, the council is largely pleased with the report, said city spokesman Tim Danneberg, noting the data did not indicate that resident dissatisfaction was a long-term trend. He said the city was still performing at one of the highest levels in the country.

ETC, which is based in Olathe and performs evaluations for hundreds of local governments across the country, has conducted resident surveys for Olathe since 2000. It said the random sample had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

The council and city administrators use the annual surveys to make decisions on the following year’s annual budget as well as award bonuses to city employees.

The full 2018 citizen survey results are available at: https://www.olatheks.org/home/showdocument?id=3762.

▪ In other business, a number of residents spoke both in favor of and against Olathe pursuing a city ordinance that would prevent discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in terms of employment, housing or receiving public services at stores, restaurants and other businesses.

A number of other Johnson County cities, such as Mission, Merriam and Prairie Village, have passed such ordinances in the last few months. Supporters have said such measures are necessary because existing non-discrimination laws at the state and federal level do not extend to protect sexual orientation or gender identity.

Olathe officials have said they are continuing to study the issue.

This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Survey is in: Here’s what Olathe residents think of city services."