Harnett County survey: residents rate county services highly; health care, water and safety top future priorities

A county‑commissioned community survey presented Tuesday found Harnett County residents broadly satisfied with local services but identified access to health care, water quality and public safety as top future priorities.

Jason Marado, vice president and director of community research at ETC Institute, told the Board of Commissioners the five‑page survey used a mail and online random sample and returned 502 completed questionnaires, which the firm says yields a margin of error of about ±4.4% at the 95% confidence level. "We received 502 completed surveys. Our goal was to get to 400. So we accomplished that," Marado said.

Marado said residents rated the county especially high for customer service, libraries, EMS and 911. Compared with ETC’s regional and national benchmarks, the county scored roughly 20–23 percentage points higher than the U.S. average on customer service measures and above regional and national averages on library services, solid waste and parks and recreation.

When asked which core county services should receive the most emphasis over the next two years, respondents prioritized development services, parks and recreation and social services. Looking ahead, residents’ top community priorities were access to quality health care, improving water quality and increasing public safety, Marado said.

The survey also probed health‑care access: 47% of respondents rated access to medical care as excellent or good, while about one‑third rated it below average or poor; roughly 30% reported someone in their household experienced problems seeking medical care in the prior two years. The most commonly cited barriers were a lack of local doctors or clinics and long appointment wait times.

The presentation included geographic breakdowns and satisfaction maps showing generally positive ratings across most zip codes. Residents reported they most often get county news from Harnett County social media accounts, the county website and word of mouth, and they said social media is their preferred channel for county information.

The survey was positioned as a baseline for measuring trends over time and to inform the county’s performance‑management plan aligned with strategic goal 2 (organizational excellence). Marado said the firm can compare the county’s results with communities nationwide and suggested running the survey on a two‑ to three‑year cadence.

A commission question asked whether the survey covered county hiring practices; Marado said the external resident survey did not include internal human‑resources metrics and that the county could provide internal hiring information separately.

Next steps: the county will post the full report and open‑ended comments online for residents to review.