Raymond residents rate their quality of life and town services favorably, according to a community survey administered and analyzed by the research and consulting firm Pan Atlantic SMS Group of Portland. The survey was commissioned by the Raymond Selectboard in 2013 to determine the level of satisfaction with the town and to evaluate its future needs.
Utilizing
a 4-page survey mailed to 2,871 registered voters and property owners (re-duped
to ensure one survey per household), the firm sought to determine residents’
opinions on town departments such as public safety, public works, and town
management, codes and ordinances. Further explored were the needs and
priorities for Raymond over the next 10 years and the level of satisfaction
with RSU 14 consolidation with Windham.
Pan
Atlantic reported a response rate of 20 percent, considered “very high for a
project of this nature,” yielding a +/- 3.8 percent margin of error.
Quality of life
Perceptions
of Raymond, that is, as a place to live, raise children or retire rated an
overall “good”, or 4.0 on a five point scale (where 1 is low and 5 is high).
Respondents judged opportunities to participate in community matters and
overall confidence in Raymond’s elected officials to be “average to good.” On
members of various town boards and opportunities for adult education and enrichment,
results came in as “average.”
Public Safety
Across
the board ratings of public safety tested very strong with scores between 4.0 –
4.5; 41 percent favored keeping policing services provided by the Cumberland
County Sheriff’s Office, 9 percent preferring enhanced services with the
sheriff’s office, 5 percent opting for the town to organize its own police
force, and the rest saying they did not have enough information to respond.
The
overall quality and professionalism of Raymond Fire and Rescue personnel,
including response times, rated extremely high, including a 4.98 score in one
sub-category.
Public works and
town maintenance
Residents
expressed a high degree of satisfaction with curbside trash and recycling
collection, which rated close to 4.4. The quality of public recreation areas
scored favorably at just over 4.1.
Responsiveness
of public works to address problems, the overall condition and quality of state
and town maintained roads scored comparatively lower with ratings from 3.6 to
just over 3.7, averaging out to a 57 percent level of satisfaction.
Town management
and town codes and ordinances
Good
to strong scores were garnered for town management and town codes and
ordinances, including the town manager’s office, customer service at the town
office, satisfaction with department heads and enforcement of town codes.
Ratings in these areas ranged from 3.8 – 4.47.
Communications
Residents
also gave favorable ratings to the town’s website (www.raymondmaine.org) and streaming
video of various town and board meetings.
Taxes and
enhanced services
Over
one third of respondents indicated they “would not find any tax increase
tolerable.” An additional 9 percent did not favor pursuing any additional
services, facilities, infrastructure or other projects. Of the approximately 54
percent who agreed some level of tax increase would be tolerable, 16 percent
would cap the hike at one percent.
Possible
service enhancements that were identified in the survey included support for
conservation (open space, milfoil eradication, etc.), Raymond Village Library
and economic development.
School
consolidation
The
towns of Raymond and Windham formed Regional School Unit14 in 2009 to
consolidate educational costs. The marriage has had a rocky start with many
residents of Raymond calling for a divorce. Others contend the problems are
growing pains and that the partnership should be given the chance to work,
citing “economy of scale,” and the advantages of sharing resources.
The
survey showed satisfaction with the RSU to be low, with only 18 percent of
respondents saying they are somewhat or very satisfied with the union. About a
third indicated some level of dissatisfaction. Among those with children in the
household, dissatisfaction was even higher.
Concern
was expressed last fall with a proposal to build a new school in Windham that
would likely have a high cost to Raymond residents. A vote by residents of both
towns that would reduce Raymond’s share of the consolidation cost is scheduled
for March 18. The proposal for the new
cost sharing formula was advanced after the Raymond community survey was
conducted.
How
do the Raymond survey results compare with other Maine towns of comparable
size? The Pan Atlantic researchers noted that “it can be difficult to make
direct comparisons because of differences in population, income levels, range
of services provided by the town….and geographic location.”
Town
officials have said the survey will be valuable in determining future policies
in Raymond and in the formation of a new comprehensive plan.
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