Survey results show City is top rated in nine areas

The City of Merriam received the highest marks in nine areas surveyed compared to other communities in the Kansas City metro region. That’s based on a recent community survey conducted by the ETC Institute, one of the nation’s leading firms in local government research.

The 2018 Community Survey assessed Merriam residents’ satisfaction with City services and compared the results with other communities across the Kanas City metro region. Merriam received top rankings in the Kansas City metro area for:
•  Snow removal on city streets – 95 percent  
•  Large-item pickup program – 91 percent
•  Mowing and trimming of public areas – 90 percent
•  Maintenance of major city streets – 90 percent
•  Maintenance of traffic signals and signs – 88 percent
•  Maintenance of neighborhood streets – 85 percent
•  Park amenities – 80 percent
•  Effectiveness of the city administrator and staff – 72 percent
•  How open the City is to public involvement – 68 percent

Merriam residents were also satisfied with how the City provides customer service. 85 percent of residents said the City gave prompt and accurate answers and 77 percent of residents were satisfied with how the City resolved issues. Other major findings include:
•  92 percent satisfied with quality of life in Merriam compared to 66 percent locally.
•  91 percent satisfied with quality of City services compared to 46 percent locally.
•  77 percent satisfied with overall image of the City compared to 58 percent locally.
•  77 percent satisfied with City’s efforts to inform residents about local issues compared to 56 percent locally.
•  77 percent satisfied with overall value received for City tax dollars and fees compared to 38 percent locally.
•  73 percent satisfied with quality of leadership from elected officials compared to 36 percent locally.
•  72 percent satisfied with effectiveness of city administrator and staff compared to 34 percent locally. This set a new level of satisfaction for the Kansas City region.

The City saw 26 areas of success measured with a 4 percent or more increase from 2015. Some of these findings include:
•  Overall quality of life in the City at 92 percent in 2018 compared to 87 percent in 2015.
•  Overall feeling of safety in neighborhoods during the night at 85 percent compared to 79 percent.
•  Overall image of the City at 77 percent compared to 73 percent.
•  Quality of leadership from elected officials at 73 percent compared to 66 percent.
•  How the City is planning new development or redevelopment at 69 percent compared to 65 percent.

The City of Merriam rated significantly higher than the national average in 41 of 43 areas assessed in the survey. View the complete survey.