Measuring Public Satisfaction and Priorities

Improving the services Newton residents care about requires knowledge regarding which services are most valued and measures of customer satisfaction. Through the use of management tools, such as project teams, NewtonStat, service level agreements, and a customer service database (please see the Finance & Management section for discussion), we will generate data which will inform us which services are delivered most efficiently and which need improvement. We will also know which City services and employees deserve recognition for excellence and which areas need improvement. Services should be designed to meet the needs of residents and should be modified or eliminated if they are not meeting those needs. For example, Newton developed a fixed-route shuttle bus system known as the Nexus without first identifying which Newton residents were in need of public transportation services and where they needed to go, which failed to meet the needs of Newton residents and was discontinued.

We propose that customer satisfaction and service prioritization metrics be integrated into the City’s budget process, starting with the Fiscal Year 2011 operating budget.