Every other year, the City of Meridian performs a Citizen Survey to get a glimpse of the community’s perspective on city services and issues important to our residents. The survey was administered by ETC Institute, a national market research firm that specializes in conducting surveys for local governments. The survey questions focused on the quality of services that are provided both by Meridian directly and those by our service partners. Whether considering public safety needs, our parks and pathways, an emerging downtown, or road and transportation needs, our goal from the survey is to understand how Meridian residents view the quality of these services.

I am pleased to see that 89 percent of respondents agreed that Meridian is a good or excellent place to live and raise a family and feel safe in our great community. Additionally, the City of Meridian rated above the U.S average in 40 of the 41 assessed areas. While national publications are known to put Meridian on lists, it is great to know that those who actually call Meridian home, agree. When reviewing the results, I have a great sense of pride because I know the survey results reflect our employees and the services they provide. It isn’t just what they do, it is their focus on how they do their job in the ‘Meridian Way’. It is who we are as public servants and how we serve the Meridian community each and every day. This commitment provides residents with clean water, amazing parks, safe neighborhoods, and an overall great quality of life. And the survey results, with more than 80 percent customer service satisfaction ratings, reflect just that. We continue to see consistent satisfaction in the City services that define your perception of the city you call home.

While I enjoy reviewing the successes captured within these survey results, I think it’s important to take a close look at opportunities for improvement as well. I was not surprised by residents’ concerns around roads, traffic, transportation, education, as well as growth and development. These are challenges that have been consistent for each survey conducted by the City of Meridian and why I have been advocating to address issues with our partners. Residents want roads improved, intersections improved, and shared bike and pedestrian facilities. Whether these concerns are our direct responsibility or not, they are the challenges our residents see and look to be addressed, and we must focus time, energy and resources on them.

Managing growth in Meridian presents challenges, as we see traffic from throughout the valley maneuver through our community. Further, development needs to be responsible and create solutions, not more problems, while enhancing the quality of life in Meridian. As we look at ways of addressing the impacts of growth, it will require community involvement and strong collaboration with the State Legislature and our local partners in both transportation and education. As your Mayor, I will continue to also work alongside the individuals and agencies that oversee these priority areas as well as our stakeholders, to implement innovative and proactive solutions.

Overall, I am excited about the 2022 survey results which speak to the premier services we provide to our residents. I want to say thank you to the residents who took the time to do this survey as it is an important tool for us as we plan for the future of Meridian.  If you would like to review the survey results for yourself, they can be found at www.meridiancity.org/citysurvey

We have a great sense of community and it is why people choose to live here in the first place. We will continue to strive to meet and beat your expectations, and know that it will take us all working together to face our challenges and move Meridian forward to be the premier community in which to live, work and raise a family.