City of Kamloops Releases 2024 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results

Release Date

The City of Kamloops has released the results of its 2024 Citizen Satisfaction Survey, highlighting priority areas to increase overall resident satisfaction and quality of life. Conducted by Forum Research, the survey incorporated responses from both telephone and online participants, providing a comprehensive view of community sentiment.

Key Findings

Quality of Life:

  • 75% of residents rate their quality of life as good or very good; however, this number has decreased since 2022.
  • Middle-aged residents are more likely to report declining quality of life.
  • Residents identified improvements in community amenities and infrastructure as positively impacting their quality of life. 
  • Residents continue to express dissatisfaction with services provided by other levels of government, with homelessness, crime, housing affordability, and drugs identified as worsening areas related to quality of life.
  • Kamloops’ nice weather, along with residents’ access to amenities and green spaces, tops the list of what makes Kamloops a good place to live. 
  • Continuing a trend from 2022, most residents (80%) believe their community has become less safe over the past three years, with drugs/drug-related crime and homelessness identified as the biggest issues related to crime or safety.

Communication and Community Engagement:

  • Satisfaction with communication and public engagement has declined to 56% from 71% in 2022 and 83% in 2019. Older residents reported higher levels of satisfaction than middle-aged residents.
  • 48% of residents contacted the City within the past 12 months, mostly by telephone. 
  • When contacting the City, overall satisfaction returned to pre-COVID levels (76%), with residents providing high ratings for staff’s courteousness, knowledge, and helpfulness. Since 2019, satisfaction also increased in the speed and timeliness of service and staff’s ability to resolve the issue. 
  • The most popular way to obtain City information is from the Kamloops.ca website, which received an 83% satisfaction rating. 
  • The most preferred way to receive information is by subscribing to a City newsletter; however, this is currently only used by 6% of residents. 

Fiscal Responsibility:

  • 65% of residents feel they receive good value for their tax dollars, comparable to other Canadian municipalities.
  • There has been an increase in the percentage of residents who would prefer to cut services to maintain or reduce the tax rate (42%), resulting in a relatively even split with those who would support a tax increase to maintain or enhance services (44%).
  • When facing a need to increase revenue, the majority prefer collecting user fees only or in conjunction with tax increases. Only 5% of residents support an increase in taxes only.
  • Three-quarters of residents support increased taxes or user fees to maintain city infrastructure or increase community safety resources. 
  • 70% of residents are satisfied with the City's environmental leadership, and more than half of residents oppose increased taxes or user fees to support municipal policies that reduce the effects of climate change. 

City Services:

  • Satisfaction with most services and aspects of the City remained consistent with 2022, except for notable declines in satisfaction with communication and public engagement and with alternative forms of transportation, with only 56% of residents expressing satisfaction with either aspect.
  • Satisfaction with infrastructure improvements (sidewalks, street lighting, road repairs) is 64%, steady compared to 2022.
  • Residents remain very satisfied with programs and services for recreation and sport and the availability of green spaces for recreation and enjoyment. Both areas received over 90% satisfaction. 

Priority Areas for Improving Overall Satisfaction

The following areas are prioritized based on the importance of the service to residents’ satisfaction levels and the room for improvement for each area. Based on these two factors, improvement efforts to services should be focused on:

  • Communication and public engagement
  • Infrastructure improvements, such as sidewalks, street lighting, and road repair 

The survey highlights that resident satisfaction is not only based on services provided by the municipality. When asked about the most important issue facing the community that should receive the greatest attention from local leaders, residents overwhelmingly identified non-municipal services, such as homelessness, crime and safety, and drugs. In addition, residents prioritized family doctors/health care for Council advocacy efforts, followed by mental health and addiction support.

By continuing to focus on these areas, the City aims to foster a stronger sense of community trust and loyalty and improve residents’ quality of life.

The draft Citizen Satisfaction Survey report is available at Kamloops.ca/CitizenSatisfaction2024. The next survey will be conducted in fall 2026 following the next municipal election.