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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Citizen Satisfaction Survey

January 21, 2016 Revision 2016.01.21

Town of Tecumseh 917 Lesperance Rd., Tecumseh, ON N8N 1W9

Telephone (519) 735-2184 Facsimile (519) 735-6712 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.tecumseh.ca

“RFP – Citizen Satisfaction Survey – 2016”

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Citizen Satisfaction Survey

January 21, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page A Information for Applicants 3

B Scope 6

C Design Objectives 8

D Proposal Content 9

E Evaluation and Selection 10

Appendices

I - Acceptance 12

II – Submission Checklist 13

III – Pricing Information 14

IV – References 15

V – Ward Map 16

VI – Town of Tecumseh Citizen Satisfaction Survey 2014 17


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SECTION A - INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS 1 PROPOSAL NAME

This request for proposals will be referred to as the “RFP – Citizen Satisfaction Survey – 2016”

2 OVERVIEW

The Town of Tecumseh (Town), population 25,000, was incorporated in 1999 through the amalgamation of the Town of Tecumseh, Township of Sandwich South and Village of St. Clair Beach. The Town of Tecumseh is geographically situated immediately east of the City of Windsor, and is bounded on the north by Lake St. Clair. The Town is a lower tier municipality within the County of Essex. The Town’s Strategic Plan identifies the importance of communication with its ratepayers. While efforts are made to provide the community with information electronically and through the media, the Town wishes to conduct a comprehensive survey to gauge the citizens’ satisfaction with services provided by the Town. Tecumseh Council has committed to conducting this survey every two years. The first survey was conducted in March, 2014 (Appendix VI – Town of Tecumseh Citizen Satisfaction Survey – March 27th, 2014). The 2014 survey will be used as a benchmark for comparison against 2016 results. The 2016 survey is expected to include the majority of the 2014 questions with the addition of a few new questions.

3 CLOSING TIME AND DATE

Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. - Thursday, February 18, 2016. Proposal packages, one original and two copies plus electronic format (i.e. Acrobat PDF file) should be returned in a sealed envelope marked:

“RFP – Citizen Satisfaction Survey - 2016” At the following address: Town of Tecumseh 917 Lesperance Road Tecumseh, ON N8N 1W9 Attention: Ms. Laura Moy, Director Corporate Services & Clerk Any proposal received after the specified closing time will be returned unopened.

Proposals received via email or facsimile will not be accepted.


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4 PROPOSAL OPENING

The opening of the submissions shall commence at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday February 18, 2016, unless the Clerk or designate acting reasonably postpones the start to some later hour, but the opening shall continue once started, until the last bid is opened.

5 CONTACT PERSON

Any questions or concerns arising out of this RFP, should be addressed to: Mr. Shaun Fuerth, B.C.S. Director Information & Communication Services Phone: (519) 735-2184 x108 [email protected]

6 TIME FRAMES

The following time frames are proposed:

RFP Close date: February 18, 2016 Final recommendation: March 1, 2016 Project Commencement: March 2, 2016 Conduct Survey: Early April, 2016 Substantial Completion: April 29, 2016 Council Presentation: May 10 or 24, 2016

7 FIRM IDENTIFICATION AND CONTACT

Each respondent should provide the full legal corporate name of each corporate identity involved in the proposal, and the name, title, address, telephone number, facsimile number, URL website address, and email address of the individual to be contacted with respect to the submission. (see Appendix I)

8 REFERENCE

The vendor will provide a company background including references in their proposal. References must include surveys conducted in municipalities of similar size and structure.

9 COST The Town of Tecumseh is not liable for any costs incurred in replying to this RFP.


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10 CHANGES TO QUOTATION SPECIFICATION

If it becomes necessary to revise any part of the RFP, or otherwise provide additional information, an addendum will be issued by the Town of Tecumseh and furnished to all vendors that have registered as an interested party via the Town’s website. Please acknowledge the receipt of any addendum in the appropriate sections as indicated in the addendum.

11 PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

Any restrictions on the use of information contained within a proposal and all confidential information must be clearly identified within the response.

12 ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

The Vendor shall ensure that all its employees, agents, volunteers, or others for whom the Vendor is legally responsible receive training regarding the provisions of the goods and services contemplated herein to persons with disabilities in accordance with Section 6 of Ontario Regulation 429/07 (the “Regulation”) made under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 as amended (the “Act”). The Vendor shall ensure that such training includes, without limitation, a review of the purpose of the Act and the requirements of the Regulation, as well as instruction regarding all matters set out in Section 6 of the Regulation. The Vendor shall submit to the Town, as required from time to time, documentation describing its customer service training policies, practices and procedures and a summary of its training program, together with a record of the dates on which training was provided and a list of the employees, agents, volunteers or others who received such training. The Town reserves the right to require the Vendor to amend its training policies to meet the requirements of the Act and the Regulation.


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SECTION B - SCOPE The purpose of this request for proposal is to determine the most qualified vendor to create, conduct, evaluate and report on a citizen satisfaction survey to Tecumseh residents including costs. A single proposal that provides all components required by this RFP is preferred.

1. PROJECT DELIVERABLES

The goal of this project is to implement the most intuitive, flexible and easy to use solution available to help the Town of Tecumseh provide increased or enhanced services to its citizens. The services provided must include:

i. Questionnaire design/consultation

ii. Scripting of survey iii. All interviewing and data collection via telephone only iv. All coding and data processing v. Ongoing debrief through fieldwork

vi. Weekly progress reports vii. All data tabulations/data files

viii. Gap analysis that graphs importance of Town services with satisfaction ix. Analysis and comparison with data compiled in 2014 survey x. Final report on the results that includes an Executive Summary (including an

introduction, themes and highlights), graphical Reports, methodology and benchmarking to municipal norms or comparative data, where applicable

xi. Comparative reports by ward and resident demographics xii. Final report presented in-person to Council by vendor at a regular council meeting

(date to be determined but before June 1, 2016)

2. VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS The successful vendor must meet the following criteria:

i. Submit a proposal in accordance with the defined proposal format on or before the specified date and time.

ii. The submitted proposal must contain sufficient detail and survey description for proper evaluation and demonstrate the ability to provide the best and most cost effective solution to successfully meet the Town’s goals.

iii. The submitted proposal must provide a full explanation of all deviations from the specifications contained within this document.

iv. The selected vendor must be able to follow proposed schedule and implementation plan. (Section A 6)

v. Demonstrate a proven track record in providing survey information to similar organizations within the past 10 years.


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vi. Provide background on proposed project manager and implementation team.

3. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Provide a complete description of your implementation methodology for this project including all significant milestones, and an estimate of the number of days required to conduct the survey including pricing on the following suggested models:

N of 300 at 10 minutes



N of 400 at 15 minutes This survey will be conducted by calling via telephone to residents within the Town of Tecumseh boundaries (see Appendix V – Ward Map). These calls will be made to residents in all four wards with distribution as follows:

Ward 1 - 40%

Ward 2 – 20%

Ward 3 – 20%

Ward 4 – 20%


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SECTION C - DESIGN OBJECTIVES 1 QUESTIONS

The consultant will work with Town representatives to develop the questions used in the survey. The key objectives of the survey are:

- Overall satisfaction with Town’s programs and services - Gauge overall impressions and quality of life in Tecumseh - Top-of-mind issues in need of attention from Town Council - Awareness of Town services - Perceptions of Town services, including impressions and satisfaction - Perceptions of and satisfaction with Town's citizen service - Communication and information needs; and - Awareness of and priorities for capital projects

Once complete, these questions we be used in a trial callout session to confirm accuracy of results.


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SECTION D - PROPOSAL CONTENT 1 SUBMISSION

The proposal submission shall be divided into the following categories and reference the line numbers identified in this Request for Proposal.

a) Acceptance (Appendix I)

b) Submission Checklist (Appendix II)

c) Company Profile

d) Accessibility (A.O.D.A. compliance)

e) Pricing Information – The detailed pricing for the proposal will include the following (Appendix III):

i. Consultation with Town Representatives on survey content;

ii. Preparation of survey;

iii. Survey deployment to residents

iv. Data compilation and comparisons to other municipalities of similar size

v. Final report including Executive Summary, comparison to 2014 results, data analysis and complete survey results.

vi. Presentation to Council (May 2016)

f) The proponent will provide at least 3 (three) references of surveys conducted in municipalities of similar size and structure. (Appendix IV)

g) The Town of Tecumseh requires one original and two copies “RFP – Citizen Satisfaction Survey – 2016” and also in electronic format. (ie. Acrobat PDF file)

h) Indicate the process that will be followed including:

i. Milestones

ii. Approvals

iii. Overall timeframe to complete the work

iv. Specify when information or material from the Town will be required


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SECTION E - EVALUATION AND SELECTION 1 SELECTION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria (order is not indicative of weight or importance): a) Extent to which the services provided address the requirements in this document; b) Pricing Information, c) Timelines; and d) Vendor’s record

i. Citizen satisfaction surveys as evidenced by Vendor’s references; ii. Financial security and longevity;

iii. Qualifications of personnel; iv. Vendor may be requested to make an oral presentation.

2 EVALUATION PROCESS

The Town of Tecumseh will evaluate each submission examining the submissions with a panel comprised of members from the Corporate Communications Group. After evaluating all respondent proposals, the panel will recommend a short-list of preferred respondents. During this process, references may be contacted.

3 INTERVIEWS

The short-listed respondents may be invited to present their proposals to the panel at pre-arranged interviews.

4 FINAL SELECTION After completion of the interviews, the panel will make a recommendation to the Chief Administrative Officer and Purchasing Coordinator. The Town of Tecumseh reserves the right to reject any and/or all of the proposals.


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APPENDICES


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APPENDIX I - ACCEPTANCE

I/We, the Undersigned, having examined the RFP and understand all conditions contained therein, do hereby affirm the acceptance of the requirements of the RFP. I/We do certify that the information supplied on the Proposal Form to be true and complete in all respects.

_______________________________________________________________________

COMPANY NAME

________________________________________________________________________

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE PRINT NAME TITLE

________________________________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS

________________________________________________________________________

CITY PROVINCE POSTAL

________________________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE NO. FACSIMILE NO. EMAIL ADDRESS

Dated at____________________________ this ______ day of _______________, 20___

Signature in the designated space, by an authorized officer of the Company affirms acceptance of the Request for Proposal requirements set forth in this document, the associated costs (where applicable) attributed to the business arrangement between the Company and the Town of Tecumseh and hereby certifies that the information supplied in this proposal to be true and compete in all respects.


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APPENDIX II – SUBMISSION CHECK LIST

(To be enclosed in the Quotation Envelope)

BEFORE SEALING THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE CHECK THAT THE FOLLOWING THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE:

1. Have you identified and addressed all requirements of Section A through D? ____

2. Have you included: (a) A signed acceptance (Appendix I) ____

(b) Pricing Information (Appendix III) ____

(c) A list of references (Appendix IV) ____

(d) One original copy and two hard copies of proposal and PDF file ____

3. Have you determined you can meet the commencement and completion deadlines, as per Section A 6? ____

Notes:

(i) Your proposal will be informal and may be disqualified if ANY of the foregoing points have not been complied with.


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APPENDIX III - PRICING INFORMATION

Please provide pricing for the following alternatives related to sample size and survey length:

Alternative 1: N of 300 at 10 minutes

Quantity Unit Price Subtotal

Consultation with Town Representatives

Preparation of Survey

Deployment/Implementation of Survey

Incidental Costs Estimate (see fee guide below)

Data Compilation/Comparison

Final Report, Analysis and Presentation

Other:

Estimated Project Subtotal

H.S.T.

Estimated Project Total









Other:


H.S.T.



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Other:


H.S.T.










Other:


H.S.T.



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Incidental Costs as applicable (for all alternatives described above)

ITEM RATE UNIT QTY TOTAL

Travel Time Per hour

Per Diem Per day

Hotel Per day

Flight Flight

Car Rental Per day

Mileage Per km

Other - Specify:

Total


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APPENDIX IV - REFERENCES

Organization

Contact Name, title

Contact email

Phone number

City, Province, Postal Code

Dates of Service

Description of Service

Organization

Contact Name, title

Contact email

Phone number


Dates of Service


Organization

Contact Name, title

Contact email

Phone number


Dates of Service



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APPENDIX V – WARD MAP

Town of Tecumseh

Citizen Satisfaction Survey

Prepared for

Town of Tecumseh

March 27th, 2014

sfuerth

Typewritten Text

sfuerth

Typewritten Text

APPENDIX VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS KEY FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 0

1.0 RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY ................................................. 2

2.0 PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS ................................................................................... 3

3.0 RESEARCH RESULTS ............................................................................................... 4

3.1 OVERALL CITIZEN IMPRESSIONS ....................................................................... 4

3.1.1 Tecumseh Public Issues Agenda ........................................................................ 4

3.1.2 Perceptions of Tecumseh’s Quality of Life .......................................................... 5

3.1.3 Views Regarding the Direction of the Town ......................................................... 6

3.2 MUNICIPAL SERVICE ASSESSMENT................................................................... 7

3.2.1 Perceived Value For Tax Dollars ......................................................................... 7

3.2.2 Overall Satisfaction With Town Services ............................................................. 8

3.2.3 Relative Importance of Specific Town Services ................................................... 9

3.2.4 Satisfaction With Specific Town Services ...........................................................10

3.2.5 Quadrant Analysis – Importance vs. Satisfaction ...............................................13

3.2.6 Recommended Service Improvements ..............................................................15

3.2.7 Perceived Importance of Town Festivals/Events ................................................16

3.3 COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES .............................................................................. 17

3.3.1 Citizen Contact Overview ...................................................................................17

3.3.2 Preferred Methods of Communication ................................................................19

3.3.3 Usage of the Town Website ...............................................................................20

3.3.4 Views Regarding Streaming Council Meetings ...................................................22

APPENDICES

Questionnaire Detailed Tabular Results

KEY FINDINGS

The following is an overview of the key findings to emerge from this telephone survey of 402 adults

living in Tecumseh, Ontario:

Overall Citizen Impressions

The condition of the Town’s infrastructure and the level of taxation charged to residents (20%

each) are the most important “top-of-mind” issues raised by Tecumseh residents.

Overall, the vast majority of Tecumseh residents believe that they enjoy a superior standard

of living (47% say the Town’s quality of life is excellent and an additional 48% describe the

quality of life in Tecumseh as being good).

More than four-in-five citizens (84%) believe that the Town of Tecumseh is heading in the

right direction. This is significantly higher than the proportion of citizens in other Canadian

municipalities who say their community is heading in the right direction (56%).

These findings suggest most Tecumseh residents are extremely happy with the overall

direction of their community and feel that they are receiving a good return on the money they

pay for civic services.

Municipal Service Assessment

Three-quarters of Tecumseh residents believe that they obtain satisfactory value for the taxes

they pay to the Town in exchange for municipal services (26% say they receive excellent

value and an additional 49% feel they obtain good value for their taxes).

Virtually all Tecumseh residents (97%) are pleased with the overall level of service they

receive from the Town. This includes 58 percent who are very satisfied with Town services

and an additional 39 percent who are somewhat satisfied.

“Core” civic services, such as household drinking water, fire protection, waste management,

snow clearing, road maintenance and drainage, are perceived to be the most important

services in the eyes of residents. The vast majority of Tecumseh residents are satisfied with

the Town’s performance in delivering these essential services. However, citizens tend to be

slightly less satisfied with the Town’s ability to provide road maintenance and stormwater

drainage than with civic performance with respect to fire protection, waste management,

snow clearing and policing.

o A quadrant analysis comparing citizens’ assessment of the importance and

satisfaction of Town services reveals that there is generally a great deal of

contentment with the job the Town does when it comes to core municipal services.

Other civic responsibilities, such as parks development/maintenance, recreation

programming, libraries and festival/event programming, are considered by citizens to

be “nice to have” services rather than to essential civic amenities.

o These findings suggest that even though citizens have identified two areas for the

Town of Tecumseh to improve (road maintenance and stormwater drainage),

generally speaking citizens are extremely happy with the services provided by the

Town, as satisfaction levels with nearly all civic services are much higher in

Tecumseh than in other Canadian communities.

The most important service improvement that was raised by citizens is to make

improvements to the Town’s core infrastructure, including streets/roads and underground

water infrastructure (32%).

The event that is perceived by the greatest proportion of Tecumseh residents as being the

most important to the community is the Corn Festival (76%), followed by the Christmas in

Tecumseh/Santa Claus Parade (59%) and the BIA Art of Eating Festival (48%).

Communications Issues

Slightly more than two-in-five citizens (43%) have contacted the Town in order to resolve a

specific complaint. Tecumseh residents are most likely to deal directly with a member of

Town Council to resolve an issue. Overall, two-thirds of citizens (68%) have been satisfied

with the manner in which a Town official/department has dealt with their problem. This level

of satisfaction with the Town’s performance in addressing these issues is roughly in line with

that found in other Canadian municipalities.

Citizens are most likely to want to receive information from the Town via direct mail (38%),

followed by email and telephone (19% each).

The majority of adults living in Tecumseh (59%) have visited the Town’s website, with

citizens most likely to seek out information regarding parks and recreation programs as well

as notices about festivals and events. The majority of those surveyed were satisfied with the

information provided on the Town website (86%, including 30% who were very satisfied).

Only about one-third of Tecumseh adults (33%) indicated that they would be interested in

watching live streaming video of council meetings on the Town’s website.

For more information on this research project, please contact:

Curtis Brown Senior Research Associate Probe Research Inc. Suite 850 – 125 Garry Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3P2

Tel.: (204) 926-6563 Fax: (204) 926-6566 E-mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Town of Tecumseh Citizen Satisfaction Survey

GM20CTOL-01 Page 2

1.0 RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

Probe Research was commissioned by the Town of Tecumseh to conduct a telephone survey of adult

residents of the Town. This survey is intended to measure citizens’ satisfaction with civic services, as

well as pinpoint attitudes regarding other Town initiatives.

This report represents the findings of a survey conducted by telephone between and March 18th and

March 24th, 2014 among a random and representative sampling of 402 adults aged 18 years and

over. With a sample of 402, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within +/- 4.9

percentage points of what they would have been if all adult residents of Tecumseh had been

interviewed. The margin-of-error is higher within each of the survey’s population sub-groups.

The survey was designed by Probe Research Inc. in close consultation with representatives of the

Town of Tecumseh. Some of the results in this report which compare citizens’ satisfaction with

municipal services to national norms are taken from other Probe Research studies, including A Clear

Perspective VI, Probe Research’s biennial syndicated study of 2,000 Canadian adults regarding

water-related issues; Everything is Local, which is a comprehensive survey of 1,500 Manitoba adults

regarding municipal issues; and surveys conducted on behalf of other municipalities. Where possible,

results from this survey of Tecumseh adults are compared to the aggregated results from these other

studies to allow for comparisons and benchmarking.

The results were collected using state-of-the-art Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)

software and the data analysis was conducted in-house with SPSS and other packaged software.

A profile of the respondents who participated in this survey is presented on the following page.


GM20CTOL-01 Page 3

2.0 PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS

WARD

Total

(n=402)

Ward 1 (n=224)

Ward 2 (n=65)*

Wards 3 and 4 (n=113)

(%)

Gender

Men 48 48 48 48

Women 52 52 52 52

Age

18-34 years 23 23 23 23

35-54 years 38 39 38 39

55+ years 38 38 39 39

Income

<$40K 17 17 23 14

$40K-$99K 43 43 42 43

$100K+ 40 40 35 42

Education

High school or less 22 17 23 28

Some post-secondary 17 18 15 17

University or college graduate 61 64 62 55

Ward

1 56 100 - -

2 16 - 100 -

3 and 4 28 - - 100

Dwelling Type

Single-family detached 87 86 79 94

Duplex/Townhouse 5 6 4 4

Apartment/Condominium 7 8 16 2

*Caution: Small Base

DK/NS Removed


GM20CTOL-01 Page 4

3.0 RESEARCH RESULTS

The following section provides the detailed findings from this survey of Tecumseh residents, including

an overview of the total results as well as statistically significant variations across demographic sub-

groups.

3.1 Overall Citizen Impressions

3.1.1 Tecumseh Public Issues Agenda

Citizens were asked to identify which public concerns they feel are the “most important” issues facing

the Town of Tecumseh. As the graph below illustrates, the top two issues identified by Tecumseh

residents included taxation and infrastructure (20% each). Fewer than one-in-ten residents cited a

number of other public concerns, including jobs and the economy (7%), public transportation, town

planning/growth and recreation (6% each). Other mentions included the state of general public

services, such as garbage removal and snow clearing (5%), education and environmental issues (4%

each), Lakewood Golf Course, traffic and public safety services i.e. fire and police (3% each). Nearly

four-in-ten residents could not identify any top-of-mind public concern (38%).

Notable variations among the surveyed sub-populations included:

Residents of Wards 3 and 4 are slightly more likely to raise infrastructure as a significant public issue (27%, versus 17% among those living in Ward 1).

Men are more likely than women to be concerned about levels of taxation in the community (25%, versus 16% respectively).

Younger adults aged 18-34 years are less likely to be concerned than their older counterparts about taxation (13%, compared to 22% among those aged 35-54 years and 21% among those aged 55 years and over).

Most Important Community Concerns

CG1. “I would like to begin by having you tell me what you consider to be the most important issue or concern

facing Tecumseh today? And what other issues or concerns do you think are important for your municipality

today?” (n=402)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Infrastructure

Taxation

Jobs/Economy

Public transportation

Recreation

Town planning/growth

Public services (i.e. garbage pickup, snow clearing)

Environmental issues

Public safety

Other

(Nothing/Unsure)

20%

20%

7%

6%

6%

6%

5%

4%

3%

8%

38%

Base: Tecumseh adults aged 18+

*Multiple mentions were accepted; totals may exceed 100%

- Total Unaided Mentions* -


GM20CTOL-01 Page 5

3.1.2 Perceptions of Tecumseh’s Quality of Life

Tecumseh residents were asked to provide an assessment of the overall quality of life in the Town

today. Overall, the vast majority of citizens feel that their standard of living in the community is very

high, as nearly one-half (47%) said Tecumseh’s quality-of-life is excellent and an additional 48

percent rated the Town’s quality-of-life as good. Four percent said the quality-of-life in Tecumseh is

merely fair, while less than one percent rated it as poor.

Notable variations included:

The tendency to rate the quality of life in Tecumseh as excellent is positively correlated to citizens’ level of education and household income.

o For instance, fewer than one-in-three citizens with a high school diploma or less rated their quality-of-life as excellent (29%, versus 66% among those with a partial post-secondary education and 49% among university/college graduates).

o Similarly, slightly fewer than four-in-ten among those with lower household incomes rated their quality-of-life as being excellent (37% among those earning less than $40,000/year, compared to 55% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year and 48% among those earning more than $100,000/year).

Citizens who believe they receive excellent value for their tax dollars are among those who are more likely to indicate that they enjoy an excellent quality-of-life in Tecumseh (71%, versus 44% among those who believe they receive good value for their taxes and 28% among those who feel they obtain fair or poor value for their tax dollars).

Quality of Life Rating

Excellent, 47%

Good, 48%

Fair, 4%

Poor, 0%

2. “How would you rate the overall quality of life in Tecumseh today? Would you say it is …” (n=402)



GM20CTOL-01 Page 6

3.1.3 Views Regarding the Direction of the Town

Citizens were asked if they feel Tecumseh is headed in either the “right direction,” or the “wrong

direction.” More than four-in-five adults (84%) indicated that the Town is headed in the right direction,

compared to just eight percent who feel Tecumseh is going down the wrong path. (An additional eight

percent of those surveyed said the town is going in neither the wrong nor right direction, or were

unsure/did not respond).

The following graph compares the proportion of Tecumseh residents who believe their municipality is

headed in the right direction against the proportion of citizens of other Canadian municipalities who

believe their community is going on the proper course. As it shows, a significantly higher proportion of

Tecumseh adults are happy with the current direction of their community (84%, versus 59% among

other municipalities).


Those who are very satisfied with Town services (91%, versus 76% among those somewhat

satisfied with municipal services) and those who feel they receive excellent value for their tax

dollars (91%, versus 74% among those who do not believe they receive good value for what

they pay in taxes) are among those most likely to believe the Town is headed in the right

direction.

Perceived Direction of Tecumseh- Town Results Versus National Norms -

3. “Overall, would you say things in Tecumseh are going in the right direction, or the wrong direction?” (n=402)


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Tecumseh Other Municipalities

84%

59%

8%

30%

Right Direction Wrong Direction


GM20CTOL-01 Page 7

3.2 Municipal Service Assessment

The following section reveals citizens’ views on the relative importance of, and their overall

satisfaction with, civic services provided within the Town of Tecumseh. It also provides an

assessment of the relative value that citizens feel they receive for their tax dollars, as well as views

regarding potential improvements to public services. An examination of the ascribed importance of

festivals and events sponsored by the Town is also included in this chapter.

3.2.1 Perceived Value For Tax Dollars

Tecumseh residents were asked to provide an indication of the amount of value they feel they receive

for the tax dollars they provide to their municipal government each year.

One-quarter of those surveyed (26%) said they receive excellent value for their tax dollars from the

Town, with an additional one-half of citizens (49%) offering the view that they obtain good value for

their municipal taxes. One-in-five citizens (21%) believe they only receive fair value for their local

taxes, while just three percent of those surveyed indicated that they receive poor value from the Town

of Tecumseh when it comes to municipal taxation and spending.

Notable variations include:

Those who are very satisfied with the services they receive from the Town were also more likely to believe that they receive excellent value for their tax dollars (38%, versus 10% among those who are just somewhat satisfied with Town services).

Perceived Value For Tax Dollars

Excellent, 26%

Good, 49%

Fair , 21%

Poor, 3%Unsure, 1%

8. “Approximately one half of the property taxes that you pay go to the Town of Tecumseh. Thinking about all of

the services you receive from the Town of Tecumseh, how much value would you say you receive for the tax

dollars that you pay towards these services? Would you say the value you receive is… ?” (n=402)



GM20CTOL-01 Page 8

3.2.2 Overall Satisfaction With Town Services

Satisfaction with all of the services provided by the Town of Tecumseh is generally quite high. As the

following graph shows, nearly six-in-ten (58%) are very satisfied with civic services in Tecumseh, with

an additional four-in-ten respondents (39%) somewhat satisfied with Town services. Just two percent

of those surveyed were dissatisfied, while one percent were unsure or did not respond.

Women were slightly more likely to be very satisfied with the level of services provided by the Town (63%, versus 52% among men).

Younger adults were slightly less likely than their older counterparts to express high levels of satisfaction with Town services (47% very satisfied, versus 65% among those aged 35-54 years and 60% among those aged 55 years and over).

Those with lower levels of formal education were also slightly less likely to state that they are very satisfied with Town services (46% among those with a high school diploma or less, compared to 63% among university and college graduates).

Those who believe they obtain excellent value for their local tax dollars (85%) and those who feel they enjoy an excellent quality-of-life in the community (79%) were also more likely to be very satisfied with the services offered by the Town of Tecumseh.

Overall Satisfaction With Town Services5. “Overall, how satisfied are you with the services provided to you by the Town of Tecumseh? Would you say

you are…?” (n=402)


0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

58% 39% 1%

2%

Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied (Unsure) Dissatisfied


GM20CTOL-01 Page 9

3.2.3 Relative Importance of Specific Town Services

Respondents were asked to provide an assessment of the relative importance of a number of civic

services provided in Tecumseh. This was done using a 1-10 scale where a 1 meant the service is

“not at all important” to them personally and a 10 means the services is “very important.” (It is also

important to point out that not all of these services are provided directly by the Town of Tecumseh,

but are instead provided by - or through partnerships with - other levels of government).

Household drinking water and fire protection are the most important services in the eyes of Tecumseh

residents (89% each indicated these are important by providing a score between 8 and 10 out of 10).

A slightly smaller proportion of respondents indicated that waste management (88%) and snow

removal (85%) are essential services, with approximately four-in-five citizens placing a premium on

road maintenance and upgrades (82%), policing and stormwater drainage (81% each). Seven-in-ten

respondents (69%) indicated that parks, playgrounds and greenspace are very important to them,

while about one-half (53%) emphasized the importance of recreation programs provided by the Town.

Slightly fewer than one-half of Tecumseh residents feel that libraries and festivals/events are

important Town attributes (47% each).


Women were more likely than men to indicate that policing is important to them (87%, versus 76% respectively).

Women were also more likely than men to believe that stormwater drainage is an important public service (88%, versus 74% respectively).

Those who believe they enjoy an excellent quality-of-life were among those more likely to value the importance of parks, playgrounds and greenspace (78%, versus among 60% those who believe they only enjoy a good quality-of-life in Tecumseh).

Younger adults were slightly more likely to place an emphasis on recreation programming (62% among those aged 18-34 years feel that this is important, compared to 47% among those aged 55 years and over).

Perceived Importance of Selected Municipal Services and Amenities

4. “I am going to read to you a list of services provided by the Town of Tecumseh. For each one, I would like you

to tell me how important this service is to you using a 1-10 scale where a 1 means this service is ‘not at all

important’ and a “10” means it is ‘very important.’” (n=402)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Household drinking water

Fire protection

Waste management

Snow removal

Road maintenance/upgrades

Policing

Stormwater drainage

Parks/playgrounds

Recreation programs

Libraries

Hosting festivals/events

89%

89%

88%

85%

82%

81%

81%

69%

53%

47%

47%

- % Indicating Very Important “8”, “9”, “10” -



GM20CTOL-01 Page 10

Women were also more likely to state that libraries are an important public service (55%, versus 38% among men).

Those with relatively high household incomes were less likely to believe that libraries are an important public service (38% among those earning more than $100,000/year, versus 52% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year and 51% among those earning less than $40,000/year).

Wealthier Tecumseh residents were also less likely to state that hosting festivals and events is of importance (38% among those earning more than $100,000/year, compared to 58% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year).

3.2.4 Satisfaction With Specific Town Services

Tecumseh residents were also asked to provide an indication of how satisfied they are with these

important civic services. This was done using a 1-10 scale where a 1 meant they are “not at all

satisfied” with how this service is being delivered and a 10 meant they are “very satisfied.”

Tecumseh citizens are most likely to be happy with the Town’s waste management services (88%

satisfied, as expressed by a score of 8, 9 or 10 on the 10-point scale), with slightly fewer residents

expressing satisfaction with the delivery of fire protection, snow removal (82% each) and policing

(80%). More than three-quarters of those surveyed (77%) are satisfied with the Town’s provision of

household drinking water, with slightly fewer than seven-in-ten (69%) happy with the condition of local

parks and playgrounds and slightly smaller numbers praising the Town’s efforts with respect to

stormwater drainage (65%) and hosting festivals/events (61%). Nearly six-in-ten Tecumseh residents

are satisfied with road maintenance and upgrades in the Town (57%), while about one-half of those

surveyed are satisfied with recreation programs (51%) and local libraries (50%).

Perceived Satisfaction With Selected Municipal Services and Amenities


to tell me how satisfied you are with this service using a 1-10 scale where a 1 means you are ‘not at all

satisfied’ with this service and a 10 means you are ‘very satisfied.’” (n=402)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Waste management

Fire protection

Snow removal

Policing


Parks/playgrounds

Stormwater drainage


Road maintenace/upgrades

Recreation programs

Libraries

88%

82%

82%

80%

77%

69%

65%

61%

57%

51%

50%

- % Indicating Very Satisfied “8”, “9”, “10” -



GM20CTOL-01 Page 11


Older adults aged 55 years and over (62%, versus 41% among those aged 35-54 years and

43% among those aged 18-34 years) and apartment/condominium dwellers (70%, versus

47% among those living in single-family homes) were more likely to be satisfied with the

condition of local libraries.

Older adults aged 55 years and over were also more likely to be satisfied with the Town’s

provision of stormwater drainage (74%, versus 56% among those aged 35-54 years and 62%

among those aged 18-34 years).

Those with higher household incomes tended to be less likely to be satisfied with the Town’s

stormwater drainage services (62% among those earning more than $100,000/year, versus

82% among those earning less than $40,000 annually).

Middle-income earners were more likely to be satisfied with the Town’s efforts at hosting

festivals and events (76% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year, versus 59% among

those earning more than $100,000/year and 57% among those earning less than

$40,000/year).

Those who are generally very satisfied with the Town’s services – as well as those who feel they

receive excellent value for their tax dollars - also tend to be more likely to be satisfied with individual

services provided in Tecumseh. The following table illustrates these differences among these

categories of citizens:

SATISFACTION WITH TOWN

SERVICES

VALUE FOR TAX DOLLARS

Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Excellent Good Fair/Poor

SERVICE (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Waste management 94 80 95 92 73

Fire protection 90 73 89 81 77

Snow removal 89 74 94 85 64

Policing 86 71 89 79 71

Household drinking water 85 67 93 78 59

Parks/playgrounds 79 55 79 72 50

Stormwater drainage 78 47 85 63 48

Hosting festivals/events 69 51 71 62 50

Road maintenance 67 42 73 56 43

Recreation programs 55 47 63 52 37

Libraries 54 41 58 50 39


GM20CTOL-01 Page 12

The following graph compares the overall satisfaction with services among Tecumseh residents to the

level of satisfaction expressed by other Canadians with the services provided by their local

government. It is very apparent that for many of these service dimensions, Tecumseh residents are

significantly happier than other Canadians with the services provided by their Town government. This

is particularly the case with respect to the following services:

Waste management (88% satisfied in Tecumseh, 49% in other municipalities)

Fire protection (82% in Tecumseh, versus 62% elsewhere)

Policing (80%, versus 41% elsewhere)

Household drinking water (77%, versus 46%)

Parks and playgrounds (69%, versus 44%)

Upgrading and maintaining streets and roads (57%, versus 13%)

Recreation programs (51%, versus 38%)

Perceived Satisfaction With Municipal Services – Tecumseh vs. Other Municipalities

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Waste management

Fire protection

Snow removal

Policing


Parks/playgrounds

Stormwater drainage


Upgrading streets/roads

Recreation programs

Libraries

88%

82%

82%

80%

77%

69%

65%

61%

57%

51%

50%

49%

62%

41%

46%

44%

13%

38%

46%

Tecumseh

Other Municipalities

- % Indicating Very Satisfied “8”, “9”, “10” -



to tell me how satisfied you are with this service using a 1-10 scale where a 1 means you are ‘not at all

satisfied’ with this service and a 10 means you are ‘very satisfied.’” (n=402)


GM20CTOL-01 Page 13

3.2.5 Quadrant Analysis – Importance vs. Satisfaction

The chart on the following page depicts the simultaneous high importance/performance ratings of 11

selected Tecumseh service dimensions. Overall, citizens offered an average importance rating of 74

percent for these 11 municipal attributes, and a 69 percent average “performance” rating for these

same factors.

Summary: A graphic analysis of both importance and satisfaction of Tecumseh functions provides a

vivid portrait of service deficits and opportunities. The vertical axis of the quadrant chart depicts how important the issue is for citizens. Thus, the higher up the function appears on the vertical axis of the chart, the greater the perceived importance. The horizontal axis reveals perceived citizen satisfaction on these same attributes. The further to the right on the chart, the higher the level of perceived performance. Observed in its entirety, quadrant analysis provides a visual depiction of areas of strategic opportunity and weakness for the Town of Tecumseh.

The four quadrants represent:

Critical Strengths – These are characteristics that are seen to be relatively important and with which citizens are relatively satisfied (top right section). These represent services that the Town of Tecumseh should strive to maintain high levels of satisfaction. Items in this quadrant are highly desirable and are signs of organizational strength.

It is important to note that nearly one-half (5 out of 11) attributes can be found in this quadrant. These include waste management, snow removal and fire protection. Policing is a slightly less important attribute that a higher-than-average proportion of citizens are nonetheless satisfied with, while household drinking water is perceived as a critical strength yet citizens are slightly less satisfied with this than they are with other services.

Critical Weaknesses – These are issues that are very important to citizens, but with which

they are relatively less satisfied (top left section). These represent areas of opportunity for the Town of Tecumseh to enhance citizen satisfaction and items which the Town may want to prioritize. These services include road maintenance/upgrading and stormwater drainage.

Latent Strengths – These are areas where members are satisfied with the Town’s performance, yet they are not seen as being as important as other functions (bottom right). The lone item that falls into this quadrant is parks, playgrounds and greenspaces.

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Im

po

rta

nc

e (7

4%

A

ve

ra

ge

)

Satisfaction (69% Average)

Household

Drinking

Water

Critical Weaknesses Critical Strengths

Latent WeaknessesLatent Strengths

Tecumseh Quadrant Analysis

Fire Protection

Waste Management

Snow RemovalRoad maintenance

PolicingStormwater Drainage

Parks/Playgrounds


Rec programs

Libraries


GM20CTOL-01 Page 14

Latent Weaknesses – These are services that are not regarded as particularly important, and ones with which the Town (or its service delivery partners) are seen to be performing relatively poorly (bottom left). Service aspects in this quadrant include hosting festivals and events, recreation programs and libraries.


GM20CTOL-01 Page 15

3.2.6 Recommended Service Improvements

When asked to identify which specific Town services are most in need of improvement, respondents

were most likely to identify infrastructure improvements, such as repairs to roads and water

infrastructure (32%). One-in-ten Tecumseh residents (11%) mentioned improvements to parks and

recreation programs and services, while smaller numbers mentioned that they wish to see

improvements to education (5%), snow removal and emergency services (4% each). Other mentions

included events, waste management, public transportation and traffic/parking (3% each). More than

one-third of respondents (34%), meanwhile, were unable or unwilling to suggest an area where

municipal services could be improved.

Older and middle aged adults were more likely to indicate that infrastructure improvements should be a municipal priority (37% among those aged 35-54 years and 36% among those aged 55 years and over, versus just 17% among those aged 18-34 years).

Top-of-Mind Municipal Service Improvements

7. “What specific Town services would you say are most in need of improvement? Any others?” (n=402)

0% 20% 40% 60%

Infrastructure/roads/potholes

Recreation/parks/greenspace

Education

Snow removal

Public safety

Events

Public transportation

Garbage/recycling

Traffic/Parking

Water quality

Lower taxes

Customer service

Other

(Nothing/Unsure)

32%

11%

5%

4%

4%

3%

3%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

7%

34%

Multiple mentions were accepted, thus totals may exceed 100%




GM20CTOL-01 Page 16

3.2.7 Perceived Importance of Town Festivals/Events

Tecumseh residents were asked to rate the relative importance of three local festival and events to

the community: the Tecumseh Corn Festival, Christmas in Tecumseh/Santa Claus Parade and the

Tecumseh BIA Art of Eating Festival.

Three-quarters of town residents believe that the Tecumseh Corn Festival is important to the

community (76%, versus 18% who provided a neutral rating and 4% who said it is not important). Six-

in-ten indicated that the Christmas in Tecumseh/Santa Claus Parade is relatively important to

Tecumseh (59%, compared to 32% neutral and 7% who said it is not important). Slightly fewer than

one-half of Town residents, meanwhile, believe the BIA Art of Eating Festival is important to the

community (48%, compared to 36% neutral and 9% who say it is not important).

There were no statistically significant variations among the surveyed sub-populations.

Perceived Importance of Local Festivals

17. “As you may know, the Town of Tecumseh is involved with hosting a number of award-winning festivals and

events. How important would you say the following festivals are to the community? Let’s use a 1-10 scale

where a 1 means this festival is “not at all important” and a 10 means it is “very important” to you?” (n=402)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

BIA Art of Eating Festival

Christmas inTecumseh/Santa Parade

Tecumseh Corn Festival

48%

59%

76%

36%

32%

18%

8%

2%

2%

9%

7%

4%

Important (8-10) Neutral (4-7) (Unsure) Not important (1-3)


GM20CTOL-01 Page 17

3.3 Communications Issues

The following chapter provides information regarding citizens’ interactions with the Town, including

their experiences resolving problems and their usage of the Town website. Information regarding how

citizens would like to receive information from the Town, as well as their views regarding the option of

watching council meetings online, are also discussed in the following section.

3.3.1 Citizen Contact Overview

Approximately two-in-five Tecumseh residents (43%) have contacted the Town about a specific issue

or concern, while the majority (57%) indicate that they have never done this. Those who were more

likely to have contacted the Town about a specific issue or concern included:

Older and middle-aged adults (50% among those aged 55 years and over and 48% among those aged 35-54 years, versus 22% among those aged 18-34 years).

Those who believe Tecumseh is headed in the wrong direction (75%, versus just 39% among those who think the Town is going in the right direction).

Citizens are most likely to have contacted the Mayor or Councillor if they have a specific concern

(29%). The Town’s Environmental Services Department is the most contacted division of the Town,

with one-in-five (22%) indicating that they have been in touch with this department to deal with

concerns pertaining to roads, waste management or water-related infrastructure. One-in-ten residents

have contacted either the Clerk’s Office or Parks and Recreation Services (10% each) about an

issue, while smaller numbers of respondents reported contacting the Town’s Chief Administrative

Officer (8%), the Finance Department (4%), the Planning and Building Department and Information

Services (1% each) to resolve a problem. Other mentions of services not provided directly by the

Town of Tecumseh included the police (3%) and social services (1%). Four percent of those surveyed

were unsure or did not respond.

0% 20% 40%

Mayor/councillor

Environmental Services

Clerk's/Staff Services

Parks and Recreation

CAO

Financial Services

Police

Planning/Permits

Information Technology

Social Services

(Unsure)

29%

22%

10%

10%

8%

4%

3%

1%

1%

1%

14%

Citizen Contact with the Town

Yes43%

No57%

9. “Have you ever contacted someone from the Town

of Tecumseh about an issue or concern?” (n=402)

10. “Who did you contact about this issue?” (n=171)


Base: Those who have contacted the Town

about an issue/concern


GM20CTOL-01 Page 18

When asked to indicate how satisfied they were with how the Town official or department dealt with

their issue, fully two-thirds of those surveyed indicated that they were satisfied that their concern was

handled effectively (68%, including 26% who were very satisfied and an additional 42% who were

somewhat satisfied). One-third of those who raised an issue with the Town, on other hand, were

dissatisfied about how the municipality dealt with their problem (32%, including 16% not very satisfied

and 16% not at all satisfied).

As the graph below illustrates, the level of satisfaction with how the Town of Tecumseh resolves

citizen problems is roughly the same as it is in other Canadian municipalities (68% very or somewhat

satisfied, versus 64% respectively).

There were no statistically significant variations among the surveyed sub-populations.

Customer Satisfaction Comparison

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Tecumseh Other Municipalities

68%64%

32%36%

Very/Somewhat Satisfied Not very/not at all satisfied

11. “Thinking about all the times you have contacted the Town about a particular issue, how satisfied are you that

your concern or concerns were dealt with effectively?”


GM20CTOL-01 Page 19

3.3.2 Preferred Methods of Communication

Tecumseh residents are most likely to want the Town to provide them with information via direct mail

(38%). One-in-five residents each want to receive updates via email or telephone (19% each). Other

preferred methods of communication mentioned by fewer than one-in-ten Tecumseh adults included

inserts with their water bill (6%), advertisements in the local newspaper (5%), advertisements in other

print media (4%), information on the Town website (3%) and updates in news media reports (2%).


Those from lower income households were less likely to prefer receiving updates via email (5% among those earning less than $40,000/year, compared to 24% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year and 21% among those earning more than $100,000 annually).

Older adults aged 55 years and over were also less inclined to receive news from the Town via email (14%, versus 24% among those aged 18-34 years and 23% among those aged 35-54 years).

Preferred Methods of Communication

15. “What would be the best way for the Town of Tecumseh to reach you with important information? (n=402)

0% 20% 40% 60%

Direct mail

Email

Telephone

With water bill

Ad in local paper

Ad in other print

Town website

News media (general)

Municipal Information sign

Radio commercial

Social media

(Unsure)

38%

19%

19%

6%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%


Multiple mentions were accepted, thus totals may exceed 100%



GM20CTOL-01 Page 20

3.3.3 Usage of the Town Website

Overall, nearly six-in-ten Tecumseh adults (59%) report that they have visited the Town’s website. Those who were more likely to have visited the Town website included:

Younger and middle-aged adults (65% among those aged 18-34 years and 69% among those aged 35-54 years, compared to 46% among those aged 55 years and over);

Those from middle- and high-income households (67% among those earning $40,000-$99,999/year and 64% among those earning more than $100,000/year, versus just 37% among those earning less than $40,000/year); and

University and college graduates (69%).

When asked to identify what specific things they were looking for on the Town website, the most

common queries included information about sports/recreation programs and facilities (22%) and

festivals and events (17%). Other reasons for visiting the Town website mentioned by respondents

included seeking general information regarding the Town (14%) and seeing what is new on the

website (13%). Other reasons mentioned by fewer than one-in-ten respondents included seeking

contact information (9%), browsing job opportunities with the Town (8%), finding information about

garbage and recycling services (7%) as well as seeking specific information about certain

departments and business/community updates (6% each). Other mentions included seeking

information regarding bylaws, permits and regulations, tax/financial information (4% each) as well as

about transit and council meetings (3% each). Four percent were unsure or did not indicate what

types of specific information they were looking for on the website.

Views Regarding the Town Website

Yes59%

No41%

12. “Have you ever visited the Town website?”

(n=402)

13. “Why did you visit the Town website?”

(n=236)


0% 20% 40%

Parks/recreation info

Festival/event info

Town general info

See what's new

Contact info

Job opportunities

Garbage/recycling info

Specific dept. info

Community updates

Bylaws/permits

Tax/financial info

Transit

Council meeting info

(Unsure)

22%

17%

14%

13%

9%

8%

7%

6%

6%

4%

4%

3%

3%

4%

Base: Tecumseh adults aged 18+ who have

visited the Town website


GM20CTOL-01 Page 21

The overwhelming majority of visitors to the Town website were relatively pleased with the content on

this website (86% satisfied, including 30% who were very satisfied with the information found on the

site and an additional 56% who were somewhat satisfied). Only slightly more than one-in-ten

respondents were dissatisfied with the information provided on the Town of Tecumseh website (14%,

including 9% not very satisfied and 5% not at all satisfied).

Variations among the sub-populations surveyed are not considered statistically significant.

Satisfaction With Information on Town Website

Very satisfied, 30%

Somewhat satisfied, 56%Not very

satisfied, 9%

Not at all satisfied, 5%

(Unsure), 14%

14. “Overall, how satisfied are you with the information provided on the Town website?” (n=236)

Base: Tecumseh adults aged 18+ who have visited the Town website


GM20CTOL-01 Page 22

3.3.4 Views Regarding Streaming Council Meetings

Tecumseh residents were asked if they would like to have the option of watching council meetings

online. As the following graph illustrates, only one-third of citizens (33%) would be interested in

watching council proceedings on the Town’s website, with more than one-half (56%) not interested in

viewing council meetings online.

There were no statistically significant variations among the sub-populations surveyed.

Interest in Streaming Council Meetings Online

Yes, interested, 33%

No, not interested, 56%

(Depends), 8%

(Unsure), 2%

16. “If the Town of Tecumseh broadcast its regular council meetings on the Town website, would you be

interested or not interested in viewing these meetings online?” (n=402)


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