MISSOULA — While speaking with residents on the streets of Missoula about their perceptions of local government, responses vary widely.
Some praise the city's trails and open spaces, while others express concerns about the rising cost of living.
Overall, sentiment towards Missoula's local government appears to be unfavorable, a topic that has recently garnered significant attention from city officials.
The City of Missoula recently received results from a randomized survey in which residents shared their perceptions of the city and its actions.
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“We wanted to hear from our residents about different facets of our community in ways that then we could have a measurable way to make improvements,” said Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis.
The survey, done by Polco, a national company that helps cities across the country conduct surveys, presented the results to the city council a few weeks ago, giving them a better idea of what the residents of the city value and what they think about the local government.
“Clearly, we do have a role in people's perception and experience with health and recreation, and several of the questions were directly related to the City government. We wanted to hear from our residents, we wanted to understand their perceptions, and we wanted to basically have a way in which we could be fully transparent to the community,” relayed Davis.
A total of 3,500 randomly selected households were invited to participate in the survey, with the city receiving 350 responses back, which, according to Polco, is enough responses to accurately measure residents’ views.
There were several key findings — opportunities for education, culture and the arts outperformed the national average, with 8 in 10 respondents saying they had a positive view on the topic, and that overall community design and the economy were largely viewed as a negative, although the ratings were on par with national averages.
“It's expensive to live here. The cost of living is high. And, of course, those two things are related,” said Davis.
The results give the city a road map on what to focus on going forward, as the city stated that it wishes to be more involved with the community.
“That in and of itself will help build trust because that's an area that we see from the survey, that needs improvement. And transparency in government, understanding all of the facets of local government, and then being accountable to our community members,” explained Davis.
The city plans to conduct this survey again in two years. Officials hope it will help them understand whether the improvements they're making are effective.
Read the survey resultshere.
