Needham wins ‘Voice of the People’ award

Needham was one of 10 cities and towns recognized for earning high marks from residents in a comprehensive survey using a tool devised by the International City/County Management Association. The town also won the ICMA award in 2008.

Fifty-one percent of Needham residents participated in the survey, which asked for their grades on a range of town services.

Opinions of the town’s police, fire and other emergency services, for example, were overwhelmingly favorable, according to Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick. Public safety personnel received “excellent” or “good” ratings from 97 percent of respondents.

Fitzpatrick said it would have been challenging for Needham to conduct research of this kind on its own.

Fitzpatrick recommends that communities use the survey to focus on what people are unhappy with.

“There is a lot of useful information you can use to help guide your budgets,” she said.

For Needham, this meant more money for snow removal, amenities for outdoor activities, and sidewalk and trail improvements, Fitzpatrick said.

Needham was the only community in the Northeast to be recognized this year.