NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The results of Nampa’s 2024 Citizen Survey are in with data on the pressing concerns and priorities of the community.
Similarly to last year, growth was among respondents’ top concerns. This year’s responses also highlighted community support for improved safety.
The 2024 survey received 13% more responses than in 2023, with a total of 2,728 residents participating.
Nampa Director of Communications Amy Bowman said that the number of survey responses has been growing every year.
The survey results often come up during the city’s annual budget process, Bowman said.
“Our community has shared that these are their priorities,” Bowman said. “That helps inform decisions, and so hopefully the community sees the time that they take to share their feedback as valuable time.”
CRIME AND SAFETY
Responses prioritized safety throughout this year’s survey.
The top priority for areas of funding was police protection, with fire/EMS following in second.
Police also ranked No. 1 in the “priority services for funding” category, followed by street maintenance and fire/EMS.
At her 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Debbie Kling discussed the city’s commitment to the Nampa Police Department.
“We have had substantial growth in equipment and personnel,” Kling said about the NPD. “Many may not realize that 100% of general fund property tax dollars go to the police department.”
According to the Nampa 2025 fiscal year budget, approximately 81% of property taxes go into the city’s general fund. That 81%, or $35.7 million for 2025, all goes toward police.
Community Engagement Coordinator Carmen Boeger said that, in her 30-plus years working for the NPD, the department has always been the largest part of Nampa’s budget.
“We are grateful that our mayor makes community safety a high priority,” Boeger wrote in an email. “Although we are not at the staffing levels we’d like to be at, we do an excellent job policing Nampa with what we have.”
The survey asked participants to rate their sense of safety in different situations on a numerical scale.
Compared to 2023, participants’ sense of safety from violent and property crimes has improved. In contrast, driving safety has become a greater concern.
Seeing the largest shift, people’s belief that “crime rates are decreasing” has decreased by 22.8%.
Despite this perception, Canyon County’s crime rates have seen a 13% decrease, according to the Idaho State Police’s Crime in Idaho 2023 Report. The Nampa Police Department saw a 7.7% decrease in total criminal offenses in 2023.
“Nampa’s violent crimes have been on a downward trend over the last couple years,” Boeger wrote. “We believe people doubt that because of what they see daily on social media and the national narrative of crime.”
At the State of the City address, Kling commended Nampa’s police.
“It is my belief that the Nampa Police Department is the best in the state of Idaho and possibly one of the best in our entire nation,” Kling said. “They serve our community with integrity. I’m pleased to say that, in Nampa, we back the blue.”
GROWTH
Also consistent throughout the results, in other categories, respondents’ largest concerns were related to the city’s continuing growth.
A category for growth-related concerns ranked congestion and transportation as No. 1, followed by housing affordability and taxes.
For another year, the Planning and Zoning Department was ranked poorly among city services.
“I think it really had more to do with people’s perception of Planning and Zoning decisions rather than the actual staff who are doing the actual work,” Bowman said.
With this in mind, the city created its Citizen’s Guide to Planning. The guide has come in the form of monthly magazines and videos to help residents better understand the behind-the-scenes processes the city’s Planning and Zoning Department goes through.
When rating satisfaction with city services, traffic signal timing saw a large decrease, with a score that is 28.1% lower than in 2023. In addition to police and EMS, traffic signal timing was listed third in funding priority areas.
Also discussed at the State of the City, Nampa established its Integrated Command Center in 2023 to better address crime and traffic. The center has access to dozens of cameras and signal lights across the city. The cameras can aid the NPD in investigating crimes and accidents, while the connection to traffic signals makes data collection easier for the city’s transportation team.
Kling said the video feeds have helped officers solve multiple crimes. She recounted an incident in September where a local business was robbed at gunpoint and the thief drove away. Utilizing nearby cameras, police were able to identify the individual’s license plate.
DIVISION BY DISTRICT
For the first time, the survey accounted for the district respondents live in.
Overall, City Council District 1 averaged much lower scores than the other districts, expressing more dissatisfaction with city services. District 1 sprawls out across northern Nampa and reaches south to Caldwell Boulevard.
While the exact reasons for this trend are unknown, Bowman noted that the northern area includes newly developed land.
“Those are definitely things that our Parks and Recreation Department looks at — where the population is, and then, how do we help provide services to that area,” Bowman said. “This is something that all of our departments have access to and are hopefully referenced when they make those decisions.”
The results of the 2024 survey and past years can be found at cityofnampa.us/1232/Community-Surveys.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
