Shakopee survey: residents rate services high, but transit satisfaction falls

Shakopee city staff presented results of the 2025 community survey at the March 3 City Council meeting, saying residents gave exceptionally high marks to police and fire services and that overall trust in local government rose. Assistant City Administrator Chelsea Peterson demonstrated an interactive dashboard on the city website where the full data are publicly available.

Peterson summarized the top-level findings, saying, "Residents love Shakopee" and that the city 's scores exceed national and comparable-city benchmarks in several categories. She highlighted public safety and parks as especially strong areas and noted the city will distribute results in utility bill inserts and at city events.

The presentation reported a statistically significant response portion of about 14% and an additional roughly 125 open responses. Peterson said the city asked targeted open questions this year on response times and tax values; the survey found "significant support for people that would be willing to pay a $2 monthly increase" (about $24 annually) for public safety and roadway improvements.

Council members pressed staff on transit metrics after Peterson noted declines on several transit items. The mayor observed that ease of travel by public transportation fell from 52 to 38 on the survey and that transit-related questions reflected a snapshot from October'November 2024, prior to some route changes. Councilors raised concerns about data selection and whether event-driven service (for example, seasonal or festival-related routes) affected subsidy calculations.

Peterson reminded the council that the full interactive dashboard and detailed breakdowns are available on the city's website for anyone who wants to drill into the data.

The council thanked staff for the work and recognized the uptick in confidence in city government.