BARRHEAD - Roads were at the top of the minds of County of Barrhead residents when they completed the 2025 Budget Priorities survey.
However, only 2.2 per cent of residents completed the survey, County of Barrhead manager Debbie Oyarzun told councillors during their Oct. 15 meeting as she walked them through the "What We Heard Report".
The municipality received 113 responses to the 35-question survey, available online and in hard copies from Aug. 12 to Sept. 30.
She said this is despite the county advertising the survey through the newspaper, its website, summer newsletter, social media platforms and the Barrhead and Area Regional Crime Coalition (BARCC) messaging system via text, e-mail and voice call.
The report also included the comments of the 17 people who attended the municipality's two-day 2025 budget open house. The report is available on the municipality's website.
The municipality switched to the survey due to low attendance at its budget-priority open houses.
Oyarzun also noted a sizeable decrease in responses from 2020, the first year the municipality conducted the survey, in which 327 responses from county residents, or 5.6 per cent, were received down to 1.9 per cent.
"It is disappointing, as it takes as much time for staff to prepare the survey and the "What We Heard Report", she said, adding of the 113 responses, several would be from council and other county staff.
Most respondents identified themselves as owning property in the county, the majority being their primary residences at 84 per cent, compared to those who own a farm, business or recreational property at 40, nine, and seven per cent, respectively. Only one per cent of respondents stated they accessed county services because they lived on rental property or worked in the municipality.
Of the property owners, 58 per cent stated they owned their property for over 20 years, compared to 21 per cent that owned their properties from 10 to 20 years. About 20 per cent stated they were relatively new to the county, with 12 per cent saying they've owned their properties for one to five years, compared to two per cent who've had their properties for less than a year.
As for services respondents used last year, they said the most commonly accessed county services (excluding roads) were the landfill (used by 64 per cent of respondents), BARCC messaging (60 per cent), transfer stations (51 per cent) and the Barrhead Public Library (34 per cent). Lesser-used services included campgrounds and day-use areas (32 per cent), ag services (27 per cent), waterline or truck fill (18 per cent), wastewater and sewage dumping (15 per cent), Family Community Support Services (FCSS) (14 per cent), planning and development (11 per cent) and bylaw enforcement (11 per cent). Rounding out the bottom of respondents, the least used services were fire services, sewer connection, social housing and the Johnson Industrial Airport at nine, seven, four, and two per cent.
When it came to tangible services respondents believed to be most important, roads easily topped the list, with 92 per cent, followed by transfer stations and the landfill at 70 and 71 per cent, water/wastewater at 59 per cent, agricultural and environmental services at 58 per cent, and recycling services at 54 per cent.
Oyarzun said when it came to the county's more intangible or social services, economic development led the way, with 58 per cent of respondents saying it was very important or important, followed by bylaw enforcement at 51 per cent, parks and green spaces at 50 per cent, FCSS at 47 per cent, tourism and promotion at 32 per cent, grants to non-profits (i.e. Community Policy grant program) at 30 per cent and the Johnson Industrial Airport at 14 per cent.
Most respondents preferred the status quo for service levels related to road maintenance. Sixty-eight per cent said the municipality should keep the current service level in the summer compared to 66 per cent in the winter, and 62 per cent in favour of the county continuing to subsidize seasonal dust control.
About 29 per cent of the respondents said the county should boost its winter maintenance compared to 22 in the summer. Seven per cent responded that the municipality should decrease road maintenance levels in the summer compared to four in winter.
Regarding the landfill and transfer station service levels, three-quarters of respondents believe they should remain at the current level compared to 17 per cent who believe they should be boosted, with five per cent who say they should be reduced.
Slightly fewer believed that recreational service levels remain static at 68 per cent, with 21 per cent wanting service levels to increase and 10 per cent asking for them to be lowered.
On the protective services (fire, bylaw, BARCC, staff safety training, and county contributions to police and STARS Air Ambulance) front, 60 per cent of respondents believe service levels should be kept at the, 36 per cent want an increase in service, and three per cent suggest decreasing them.
For the planning and development department, 78 per cent of respondents selected keeping service levels the same, while six per cent wanted them increased and 12 per cent decreased. For agricultural services, 67 per cent preferred the status quo, with 20 per cent wanting an increase in service and 13 per cent believing it should be decreased.
On the final question of how the county should best balance its budget, 73 per cent of respondents selected increasing user fees as their first or second selection, compared to 42 per cent for a combination of cutting service levels and increasing taxes and user fees 42 per cent. In comparison, 39 per cent preferred a combination of raising property taxes and user fees, with 38 per cent selecting cutting service levels only and 10 per cent selecting increasing property taxes.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
