Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Survey topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broomfield survey: residents split on direction; quality-of-life ratings remain high
Summary
A Magellan Strategies survey of 2,908 residents found strong satisfaction with quality of life and city services but sharp concerns about cost of living, utility rate increases and growth. About 36% said Broomfield is headed in the right direction, 29% said wrong track and 35% were unsure.
The City and County of Broomfield tonight heard results of a 2025 community survey conducted by Magellan Strategies that shows high marks for local quality of life and government services but sharp resident concern about cost of living and recent utility rate increases.
Courtney Sievers, a survey researcher with Magellan Strategies, told the City Council the firm completed 2,908 interviews conducted Feb. 24–March 20, 2025 and sent outreach texts to about 44,628 residents, roughly 71% of the adult population. Sievers said the survey is weighted to match Broomfield’s adult population and reports a margin of error of 1.77 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for the overall sample; subgroup margins of error are larger.
The survey asked whether things in Broomfield are moving in the “right direction” or on the “wrong track.” Sievers said 36% responded “right direction,” 29% said “wrong track” and 35% were “unsure.” Among respondents who said Broomfield is moving in the right direction, Sievers said praise centered on parks, trails, libraries, recreation centers and responsiveness of city services such as snow plowing and street maintenance. Among residents who said the city is on the wrong track, she said concerns focused on cost of living, utility and trash-hauling increases, perceived overdevelopment and declines in maintenance and public safety.
Julie Storey, Broomfield’s director of communications and engagement, summarized the presentation, saying the survey shows “a high level of resident satisfaction across those key community performance indicators,” while noting cost of living, smart growth and affordable housing as top concerns. Storey and Sievers pointed council members to a longer public version of the presentation that includes subgroup tables and 10-year trend charts.
Other notable findings presented: 88% of respondents reported at least some satisfaction with drinking water; 87% were satisfied with recreational amenities; 82% rated overall quality of life as good or excellent; and 62% said fees, charges and taxes provide good value. The survey included 772 requests via an online form for a survey link (369 completed those links), five Spanish-language completions and one completion received via the Broomfield Fish link. Sievers said the data include ward-level breakdowns and tenure in Broomfield and that younger residents and recent arrivals were more likely to register “unsure” responses.
Council members asked whether Magellan could provide cross-community comparisons; Sievers said comparisons to nearby jurisdictions are possible and that Broomfield generally ranks in the top three on quality-of-life measures compared with nearby cities. Council members also discussed communications strategy after the presentation; Storey said staff will increase outreach about engagement platforms such as Broomfield Voice and the In the Loop newsletter and highlighted plans to expand content in R Broomfield magazine and continue event-based outreach.
The presentation packet and the longer public version of the slide deck were made available to council and to the public, and staff said they will use the survey results to guide communication and policy prioritization.
