Coun. Mark Felix, chair of the Town of Stephenville’s finance committee, said the results of the budget survey the town done are now online, with no big surprises.
He said one of the glaring, but not surprising, figures is that 85.4 per cent of respondents wanted road improvements and fixing potholes.
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“If someone could come up with a material that’s a long term fix to potholes then they could save the town a whole lot of money. Maybe that kind of research should be opened up,” Felix said.
He said one thing council plans to do is demand a higher quality of asphalt when getting paving done that lasts longer than a few years.
Felix said a total of 76 people attended the public consultations that were held and provided feedback to council; along with 264 residents completing the online survey and 86 individuals returned a written copy to the town for 350 returned surveys.
He said the survey results were reviewed by council and considered in the final budget 2018 decision-making process.
Another item that stood out when it came to public support include 82.6 per cent of respondents in favour of council continuing to provide grant funding to not-for-profit groups and organizations.
Some 85.4 per cent of respondents felt council should consider installing a traffic light at the intersection of Prince Rupert Drive and Queen Street.
A big 86.9 per cent of respondents felt council should maintain current tax rates and utilize its existing budget to prioritize better infrastructure, roads maintenance and recreational facilities.
To check out the survey results, go to http://www.townofstephenville.com/ and click on the link Results of Budget Survey 2018 under Current Notices.
Felix said council will try to follow the viewpoints of taxpayers who contributed to the survey as best as possible.
