Our main goal as a city is to provide residents of Santa Clarita with the services and programs they desire. To help inform our decisions, every two years, the city of Santa Clarita hires an independent consultant to conduct a Public Opinion Poll. The city conducts this scientific survey to evaluate the quality of services provided and to gather feedback on what is most important to residents as we plan for the future.

At the June 28 City Council meeting, city staff presented the results of the 2022 poll. I am pleased that, once again, the feedback received from residents was overwhelmingly positive. Residents shared favorable opinions of Santa Clarita on each aspect tested. Among those aspects tested, the most positive ratings, rated excellent or good by 85% of respondents, were provided for Santa Clarita as a place to raise a family, as a place to live and the overall quality of life in the city. Additionally, 86% of respondents were satisfied with services provided by the city and indicated staff were professional, accessible and helpful.

This scientific poll was conducted by True North Research, a nationally-recognized firm that specializes in survey research methodology, sampling theory, weighting and the use of statistical methods to generalize survey results.

One of the key questions in the survey is, what is the most important issue facing the community right now? This feedback helps guide future funding and strategic planning decisions as we place a high priority on proactively addressing anticipated changes in the community. This year residents cited public safety as the top concern, followed by overdevelopment/growth, traffic congestion and homelessness.

It is no surprise that public safety has risen to the top of the list. The directives by District Attorney George Gascon have undermined public safety and the laws put in place to protect the general public. We have seen an increase in crime in Santa Clarita and across Southern California.

However, Santa Clarita continues to be hailed as one of the safest cities in the nation. This was not by accident. Maintaining the safety of our residents has been a priority of the city Council since its incorporation in 1987. This is seen in our collaboration with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the city’s work to preserve the integrity of our neighborhoods and the innovative programs that inform residents of all ages.

The city invests in public safety through the nearly $30-million annual contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and, of course, the new state-of-the-art Sheriff’s Station. We work closely with the Sheriff’s Department on a comprehensive, multi-faceted crime reduction strategy to prevent and combat crime. This includes special operations and saturation patrols that target potential crimes, from DUIs to grand theft auto.

Overall our city has once again received high marks from the community we serve, even during this trying time. Under the leadership of the City Council, we are committed to raising the bar and providing services that exceed residents’ expectations now and into the future. I want to thank residents who took the time to participate in our 2022 Public Opinion Poll. If you would like to review all the data collected, please visit the City of Santa Clarita website.

Ken Striplin is the City Manager for the city of Santa Clarita and can be reached at kstriplin@santa-clarita.com.