City Council Meeting Date: May 19, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Risi Karim, Assistant City Administrator
Title
2026 Community Survey Report and Presentation
Body
Action Requested:
City Council receives the presentation from ETC Institute regarding the findings of the 2026 Community Survey.
Summary Report:
Understanding resident perspectives and experiences is essential to delivering high-quality City services and planning for the future of the community. As part of the City’s 2025-2028 Strategic Plan under the priority area of “Enhance Service Delivery,” staff initiated a bi-annual community survey to gather meaningful feedback from residents regarding City services, community priorities, quality of life, and overall resident satisfaction. The survey results help inform future planning, budgeting, service delivery improvements, and strategic decision-making.
In fall 2025, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking qualified firms to administer and analyze a comprehensive community survey. The City received seven proposals through the RFP process. Following evaluation of the proposals, ETC Institute was selected to conduct the 2026 Community Survey based on the firm’s experience, methodology, and ability to provide comparative benchmarking data.
ETC Institute administered the survey during January and February 2026. A five-page survey was mailed to a random sample of households throughout the City of Northfield. The survey effort was designed to obtain statistically valid feedback representative of the community. The project goal was to receive at least 400 completed surveys. This goal was successfully achieved, with a total of 428 households responding to the survey.
The survey collected resident feedback on a wide range of topics, including City services, public safety, infrastructure, parks and recreation, communication and engagement, and overall quality of life within the community. The results provide valuable insight into resident satisfaction levels and community priorities.
Mr. Robert Heacock, Senior Project Manager with ETC Institute, will present the survey findings and key observations to the City Council.
Following tonight’s presentation, staff plans to continue working with ETC Institute to conduct an additional targeted follow-up survey. This smaller-scale survey will include original respondents who indicated in their survey submission that they would be interested in participating in further outreach and engagement opportunities. Staff is working with ETC Institute to develop a more focused survey intended to better understand the community’s communication preferences and needs, while also gathering additional feedback on various topics identified through the initial community survey process. The follow-up survey is anticipated to occur later this year, with staff planning to report back to Council on the findings at a future meeting.
Alternative Options:
Not applicable
Financial Impacts:
Not applicable.
Tentative Timelines: