Residents continue to see the Town of Greenwich as a great place to live with excellent amenities one might find in a city while still being a community with a small-town feel.
That is the conclusion from the 2023 Resident Satisfaction Survey which was conducted by Probolsky Research from Nov. 15 to Dec. 1, 2023. The survey found residents overall are satisfied living in Greenwich, with access to Town parks, beaches and open space all listed as favorites among residents.
The survey also found residents to be satisfied with police and fire protection as well as by services offered by the Department of Parks and Recreation. Greenwich’s results are to be celebrated, First Selectman Fred Camillo said.
“It is great to see high overall marks for Greenwich in this survey,” First Selectman Camillo stated. “Our parks and beaches are justifiably known for being jewels of this Town and the results show how pleased people are with our commitment to preserving land in Greenwich to remain as open space. In discussing the findings with Probolsky Research, it’s clear our numbers are the envy of surrounding municipalities. We’re doing so much better with resident satisfaction than other communities and there’s a lot to be extremely happy with here.”
Camillo added it is clear, though, that there are still places to improve and they now have a homework assignment to work to get better.
“Our Town departments and my office remain committed to getting those levels of satisfaction even higher and we definitely see areas for improvement in these results,” Camillo said.
The survey results found that while residents remain satisfied overall with the quality of education in Greenwich, that number has declined over the past five years. Residents have expressed concern about the condition of school infrastructure and the quality of curriculum. Concerns were also registered about how to manage growth in Greenwich.
“These results show where we need to do better but also make clear that residents love living in Greenwich and want us to continue to invest in our Town’s infrastructure,” Camillo said. “Improvement in those areas of concern will be a focus going forward. This survey remains an excellent tool to find out what people enjoy about Greenwich and where we need to do better. I will work closely with Town departments to address resident concerns.”
The Greenwich Resident Satisfaction survey is done biennially and was last done in 2021. This was the first year the Town contracted with Probolsky Research for the survey and the firm was able to obtain a representative sample size of 425 residents for its findings. Data was proportioned and weighted to match the demographics of Greenwich and Probolsky has said that a sample of this size yields a margin of +/- 4.9 percent at a 95 percent level if confidence.
Responses for the survey were collected online and by telephone with participants invited primarily through invitations that were sent out to residents via direct mail as well as email and text. A second sample for the survey was derived from a link that was posted on the Town’s website and yielded 237 responses.
Overall, the results of the 2023 Survey resulted in several key findings:
· Residents overall are satisfied living in Greenwich with parks, open space and beaches as their favorite features. The survey found that residents believe the Town provides coastal access with beautiful spaces while fostering a safe and strong community.
· Respondents also said they appreciate that the Town is generally safe, offers many amenities and is conveniently located in close proximity to New York City and other surrounding cities.
· In general, residents are satisfied with the services that are provided by the Town of Greenwich, particularly when it comes to police and fire protection. Satisfaction with public safety has remained relatively stable over time with only slight fluctuations in the average scores over the last five years.
· The number in satisfaction with the quality of education in Greenwich has declined over the last five years, but the majority of residents are satisfied. Infrastructure and curriculum stood out as concerns and Probolsky found residents wanted to see school buildings renovated and updated and the firm also found that a small number of residents were concerned about political influence in schools. Many residents want to see funding into school infrastructure and education.
· Concerns were also raised about overdevelopment and overcrowding in Town and how that has an impact on traffic and congestion as well as on affordability and the cost of living, Maintaining a small-town community feel is considered a priority by residents.
The complete 2023 Resident Satisfaction Survey report can be accessed online here.
As always, residents are encouraged to reach out directly to our Town departments regarding issues or questions with any service.
