Published
What St. Anthony residents told the city: the 2023 community survey, counted
The city’s first ask
In late 2023 St. Anthony did something it had never done before, in its own words:
“The City of St. Anthony launched its first annual community survey to assess community member’s views on the City’s strengths, areas for improvement, future plans, and other topics.”
— City of St. Anthony, Community Survey 2023 results summary. Retrieved 5 October 2026
The window ran October 31 to December 15, 2023 — 46 days — and the summary’s header counts 1,016 visits and 192 responses, with the asterisked note that not all raters responded to each question. The three-page summary carries the web address www.clearwaterfinancial.biz at its foot.
The ranking: what residents said to fix next
The survey’s most consequential question was a forced ranking:
“Rank the following areas that the City should focus on next year.”
— City of St. Anthony, Community Survey 2023, ranking item. Retrieved 5 October 2026
| Rank | Area, as the survey worded it |
|---|---|
| #1 | Roads, traffic, and transportation |
| #2 | Water, sewer, and trash services |
| #3 | Affordable housing |
| #4 | Growth and development |
| #5 | Telecommunications and broadband |
| #6 | Pathway and sidewalk connections |
| #7 | Other (please specify in comment box) |
Thirty-five respondents used that “Other” comment box, and the summary’s own highlights from those comments list three words: Police, Infrastructure, and Taxes/Utility Fees. For a builder, the top of this table is the useful part: streets and utilities rank first and second, which is the same order the city’s money story tells — see what St. Anthony spends on its streets and how new construction connects to city water and sewer.
The scores: what earned the highest marks
Satisfaction items used a five-point scale — 1 = Very Unsatisfied, 5 = Very Satisfied — and the summary’s top-scoring banner prints five numbers: 4.25, 4.14, 4.08, 3.97, and 3.93. It lists the topics those questions covered as city communications, city services, community safety, and infrastructure. It does not pair individual scores to individual topics, and neither will we — the honest read is that the city’s communication and service functions scored highest.
The list of rated items includes the city flower beds, the ability and ease of access to parks and recreational facilities, the quality, appearance, and maintenance of ball fields, water quality, and the general sense of safety in the City — the last two phrases being the survey’s own item wordings, not ours. Several of those map onto ground we have already counted: the parks in the fifteen-park inventory and the water system behind the drinking-water standard.
Quality of life, asked directly
One item stood alone as the survey’s headline question:
“To what extent are you satisfied with the quality of life in the City?”
— City of St. Anthony, Community Survey 2023, quality-of-life item. Retrieved 5 October 2026
The summary’s answer: out of 128 responses to that item, approximately 70% were either “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied” — printed as running text here exactly because the document prints the two response categories in quotes of its own.
The money questions
The survey also tested tolerance for specific funding mechanisms — the tools a city reaches for when the ranking above meets a budget. The five items it asked about:
- Additional taxes to fund police
- Local Improvement Districts
- Increasing property taxes for infrastructure projects
- Increased fees to enhance water services
- Increased fees to enhance sewer services
That list is practically a glossary of how projects near your lot get funded. A Local Improvement District, in particular, is the mechanism by which neighbors share the cost of improvements — the same family of tools behind the sidewalk duty at occupancy, and the reason “who pays” is a question worth asking before you buy, not after.
Reading a survey before you build
- Ranking #1 is a maintenance promise. Roads, traffic, and transportation at the top of the list is why the street fund gets renewal money — the fund’s own numbers show it.
- Ranking #6 will reach new plats. Pathway and sidewalk connections is where subdivision review looks when the curb-and-gutter ordinance gets applied to your frontage.
- Watch the funding list. LIDs and fee increases are how the #2-ranked utilities get upgraded — and both can attach to property, which is the story of assessments that follow the land.
- Context beats anecdotes. Pair this survey with the census count and the payroll picture — together they say more about a town than any single complaint.
- Wondering how the ranking touches a specific parcel? (208) 656-1745.
The survey is the residents’ voice; the hazards plan is the engineers’; the zoning map is the law’s. A wise build respects all three.
Common questions
How many people responded to St. Anthony's 2023 community survey?
192 responses, from 1,016 visits to the survey over its 46-day window, October 31 to December 15, 2023. The summary notes with an asterisk that not all raters responded to each question. It was the city's first annual community survey.
What did residents rank as the city's top priority?
Roads, traffic, and transportation ranked #1 on the survey's ranking item - 'Rank the following areas that the City should focus on next year.' Water, sewer, and trash services came in #2, affordable housing #3, growth and development #4, telecommunications and broadband #5, and pathway and sidewalk connections #6.
What were the highest satisfaction scores in the survey?
The top-scoring banner printed five scores: 4.25, 4.14, 4.08, 3.97, and 3.93 on a 5-point scale where 5 is Very Satisfied. The topics covered included city communications, city services, community safety, and infrastructure. The document does not pair individual scores with individual topics.
How satisfied are residents with quality of life in St. Anthony?
The survey asked, 'To what extent are you satisfied with the quality of life in the City?' Out of 128 responses to that item, approximately 70% were either Very Satisfied or Satisfied, per the city's results summary.
What funding options did the St. Anthony survey test?
Five items: additional taxes to fund police; Local Improvement Districts; increasing property taxes for infrastructure projects; increased fees to enhance water services; and increased fees to enhance sewer services. Those are the funding mechanisms the survey asked about, worded as the summary prints them.
Where can I read St. Anthony's community survey results myself?
The city's website posts the summary under its '2023 Community Survey Results' link - a three-page PDF listing the response counts, scores, rankings, and funding items discussed here. It is dated to the October 31 - December 15, 2023 survey window.