The City of Murrieta is pleased to announce the results of a citywide survey that was conducted in April of this year. The results show an overall satisfaction ranking of 81% (a combination of very satisfied and somewhat satisfied) and an impressive 88% of residents said the overall quality of life in Murrieta is excellent or good.
“In a post-COVID environment where rating satisfaction levels can be risky in a city, this is a very gratifying score,” shared Murrieta City Manager Kim Summers. “These numbers are a direct result of our efforts to provide excellent service to the community so it’s something we are very proud of”.
Citizen satisfaction is a priority for the City and a reason why the Community Opinion Survey was conducted. The city retained Dr. McLarney with True North Research to oversee the survey. Respondents were randomly contacted from a comprehensive list of households in Murrieta. Residents were asked to participate through a variety of methods including emails and text messages, and as a follow-up, phone calls. Those wanting to participate online were issued a one-time passcode to gain access to the actual online survey. 850 respondents completed the survey, resulting in a high degree of statistical accuracy.
For several specific service areas, the scores were high:
- Fire protection, prevention, and emergency medical services scored 95%.
- Library services scored 95%.
- Graffiti removal scored 92%.
- Keeping public buildings and facilities clean scored 91%.
- Law enforcement and crime prevention scored 90% (a combination of very satisfied and somewhat satisfied).
In addition, residents who interacted with City staff during the previous 12 months rated staff highly for being professional, accessible, and helpful.
With respect to local governance:
- 88% said the overall quality of life in Murrieta was excellent or good.
- 82% of respondents said they trust the City.
- 81% said the City manages its finances well.
- 76% said the City operates transparently.
- 72% said the City is responsive to its residents.
“As is typical with growing cities, we saw much lower scores for traffic circulation, with only 40% indicating that traffic in the City overall was good, and only 28% rated traffic on major streets as good,” noted Summers. “Traffic is a challenge for the entire region, but we have worked diligently to build bridges and interchanges on both Interstate 215 and Interstate 15 for a total of 9 with the Keller Interchange being the last”.
Furthermore, 54% of respondents thought the City’s efforts to manage growth and development were good.
The survey results also showed where citizens would like the city to prioritize future spending:
- 96% of respondents rated maintaining streets as a high or medium priority.
- 83% of respondents rated addressing homelessness as a high or medium priority.
- 74% of respondents rated providing community events and activities as a high or medium priority.
- 73% of respondents rated improving the maintenance and appearance of landscaping in public areas and along roadways as a high or medium priority.
This is the second Community Opinion Survey True North Research has conducted for the City of Murrieta. True North Research is a full-service survey firm that serves public agencies. Dr. McLarney has conducted over 1200 surveys for public agencies in general and more than 400 surveys just for California municipalities and special districts.
###
About Murrieta
Murrieta's more than 115,000 residents live in one of the safest cities in the U.S., with top-ranked schools, 53 parks, and a dynamic business environment. Central to all of Southern California, Murrieta is truly the gem of the valley. With a median age of 36 and an average household income of $136,000, Murrieta boasts a well-educated population and a strong labor force. Ranked the fiscally healthiest fullservice city (with more than 100,000 residents) in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties, Murrieta’s future is undoubtedly bright.