Residents give Longboat Key high marks in citizen survey

Longboat Key is still held in high regard by residents. 

That’s the theme of the 2024 Annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey, the results of which were presented to the Longboat Key Town Commission on April 1. 

Overall quality of life was ranked as either excellent or good by 98% of survey respondents. 

The town has conducted the survey every year since 2020. The survey is developed and analyzed in partnership with the Florida Institute of Government at the University of South Florida. 

Results of the survey help town commissioners gather feedback from property owners about how satisfied they are with the town and town services, as well as how important certain quality-of-life issues are. 

Town commissioners partake in a period of strategic planning in the spring leading up to the creation of the next fiscal year budget. These results are another piece for commissioners to take into consideration, the report said. 

Each residence is assigned a unique code to ensure that responses are only received from property owners and residents and that there’s only one response per household. The survey was also promoted through the town’s social media channels and website. 

The fifth annual survey launched the week of Jan. 8 and closed on Feb. 10. Out of 8,817 mailers, a total of 1,392 surveys were completed, which is 44 more than last year, according to the report. 

That yields a 16% response rate, which is similar to last year’s response rate of 15%. 

The report also stated that 36% of this year’s respondents indicated they did not participate in the 2023 survey. 

Key takeaways

In 2022, Longboat Key ranked the same in overall quality of life, with 98% of respondents marking positive sentiments. 

Among those who used the services, about 90% were satisfied with the police department in 2022 and 2023. For fire and ambulance, satisfaction rose from 96% in 2022 to 98% in 2023. Parks and town facilities stayed almost the same, around 93%.

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

For those who completed the survey, traffic congestion remained a significant concern. About 59% of residents reported they were dissatisfied with traffic flow and congestion. The survey also showed that 63% of respondents ranked traffic as one of the most important issues the island faces. 

Public transit was also an area for improvement, with 19% of respondents satisfied with current offerings. At the same time, 57% of respondents expressed interest in using an on-demand service for transit on the island. 

In terms of the town’s communications, 73% of respondents felt sufficiently informed by the town, but there were some areas respondents felt unfamiliar with.

For example, 78.5% of respondents were either “not very familiar” or “not at all familiar” with the town’s fertilizer ordinance. Similarly, 66.4% of respondents said the same about the monthly town manager briefs. 

Results of this year's survey and all previous years can be found on the town's website.

The commissioners have a strategic planning retreat on April 15, which will be the next step in the fiscal year 2024-2025 planning stage.