Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Survey topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brown Deer releases 2025 community survey: residents rate police, fire and parks highly
Summary
The Village of Brown Deer published a 2025 community survey with 720 responses showing high satisfaction for police, fire, elections and library services, notable gains since 2023, but underrepresentation of younger residents and renters; 58% supported a police referendum to add officers.
The Village of Brown Deer’s 2025 community survey, presented to the board on Sept. 15, drew 720 responses and showed broad public satisfaction with municipal services while flagging areas for follow-up.
Haley Wilkinson, the village administrative intern who compiled the results, told trustees the survey was conducted in March and April 2025 and is non-scientific (open to the public). “We had a total of 720 responses,” Haley said.
Key findings included very high satisfaction ratings for public-safety services — police (95%), fire protection (100%), emergency medical services (98%) and dispatch (97%) — and strong ratings for municipal services and parks. Compared with 2023, the village saw gains in parks maintenance and walking/biking opportunities; for example, park maintenance satisfaction rose 18 percentage points.
The report also found some declines in perceptions of local businesses and the community’s reputation compared with 2023. On several questions the survey recorded many “never used” responses, which staff said can depress measured satisfaction for services that fewer residents use. Haley noted demographic gaps: younger residents and renters remain underrepresented in survey responses.
The survey asked hypothetical funding questions. Respondents were split on environmental or sustainability tax increases (47% opposed, 35% in favor), but a proposed Riverwalk along the Milwaukee River and Beaver Creek had 64% support. On a possible referendum to add police officers — estimated to raise property taxes by roughly $60 to $220 per year on a $250,000 home — 58% of respondents supported the idea, Haley reported.
Trustees asked whether open-ended comments were available; Haley said she recorded comments in a document and staff would share them with trustees on request. Staff recommended targeted outreach in future surveys to better reach renters and younger residents.
