With an unemployment rate of 10.6 per cent, Greater Sudbury mayor John Rodriguez said it's no surprise Sudburians are concerned about jobs.
In Oraclepoll Research's 2010 budget state of the community report, 37 per cent of respondents said economic issues, including job creation, business developement and the mining industry, were the biggest issue facing Greater Sudbury.
“(We have) one of the highest (unemployment rates) in the province,” the mayor said. “You've got a downturn in the economy, a labour dispute going on at a major mining company, and there's a spinoff effect on suppliers and service providers. People are concerned about their jobs, so naturally that's the number one issue. I'd be very surprised if it weren't.”
In the last report, in the mid-2000s, roads were the biggest issue, at 31 per cent.
“It's not surprising considering what is going on globally, and what's going on locally with the strike,” Oraclepoll Research CEO Paul Seccaspina said. “We've seen that shift, and we've seen where the public's concern is now headed.”
Economic issues surpassing roads as Sudbury's top issue caught the eye of Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino. He thinks council has done right by spending money on roads in the last few years.
“I'm sure that has to do with the downturn in the economy and the strike, and the fact that we're spending a lot of money on roads now,” Cimino said. “I think we're going in the right direction in terms of having focused on roads for the last three years.”
Although roads took a backseat to economic issues in this poll, the mayor said roads still being a top priority shouldn't surprise anyone.
“People have been driving on roads that have got potholes in them for the last eight months, and now we're fixing roads, so the first thing that comes to mind is roads,” Rodriguez said. “And winter's coming, so people are thinking of snow removal and snow plowing.”
The report also gave the city a “healthy community” check-up.
As far as providing citizens with opportunities for healthy living, 61 per cent of respondents were satisfied, and 18 per cent disagreed their needs were met.
For “having a strong viable arts community,” 53 per cent of respondents were satisfied and 21 per cent were unsatisfied.
Forty per cent of those surveyed agreed seniors were provided with quality care and services and 28 per cent disagreed.
Seccaspina said youth services were an area of concern in the healthy community numbers.
“If we're going to find a gap on those four (healthy community) indicators it comes down to quality youth services. Only 22 per cent of surveys agreed that the community provides youth in our area with quality services (and) 43 per cent disagreed. I know with the senior issue there's still some of that mushy middle where there's rom for improvement, but the gap here, if you're going to find one, is with respect to the youth-related issues.
When it came to “service delivery issues, people are generally satisfied, or more satisfied than the previous survey period (in 2004), especially in respect to road delivery, although there are still some gaps in some areas,” Seccaspina said.
The reason behind the survey, according to the Oraclepoll Research CEO, “was to provide council (with) data to make budget deliberations. We asked people to rate the importance of the services (and) rate the services.”
In terms of taxes, “One of the things that was pointed out is people will tolerate a tax increase if it's directed to something that they can see tangibly, mainly roads.” Seccaspina said.
The mayor said the results are an indication that people are not against a tax increase if it means keeping services steady.
“There was no huge resistance to a tax increase, that's how I would intrepret that,” Rodriguez said. “They didn't respond saying it should be zero. These are tough times and we have to look at how we raise taxes. We'll try to keep it as low as we possibly can, but keeping in mind that people want services.”
In total, the survey cost $18,000 and will be paid for by the office of the executive director, administrative services.
The survey took about two weeks to complete. Some 1,200 people were polled, 100 per ward.