(KAIR)--The City of Atchison’s emergency services excel, while street conditions and code enforcement lag.

That’s the view of the public, as revealed through the answers of a 54-question citizen satisfaction survey posed by the City of Atchison in 2018.

According to a news release from the City, more than 600 responses were submitted, which exceeded the minimum necessary for the results to be statistically accurate.

The survey revealed that three out of every five people are satisfied with the quality of life in Atchison, with fire department, police department and solid waste/recycling services being the top rated.

The survey also identified condition of streets and code enforcement as some of the city’s biggest weaknesses, with each getting less than 40% marks for satisfaction.

City Manager Becky Berger, in the release, said the survey not only provided insight into the level of satisfaction from Atchison residents regarding the City’s services, but also allowed the City to “gain critical feedback in preparation for [the] upcoming strategic planning process,” with the results to play a role for the City “in developing a strategic plan that outlines where [the City wants] to be as an organization with defined, measurable goals.”

Atchison Mayor Shawn Rizza, in the release, said the survey is something the City needs to be doing every other year, adding that “it’s evident from the results that [the City has] a lot of work to do, but it’s also fairly apparent that when [the City prioritizes] something and focus our resources to that end, such as public safety services or downtown sidewalks, it moves the needle on public opinion.”

The survey and report were put together by ETC Institute, an Olathe-based organization with what the news release called “an outstanding record of performance in gauging community feedback nationwide.”

The full report is available online, with paper copies of the executive summary to be made available at Atchison City Hall.