6.
City Council Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 01/28/2014
- Co-Submitter:
- Kimberly Ott, Public Information Officer
- From:
- Kimberly Ott, Public Information Officer
- Department:
Co-Submitter:
TITLE:
2013 Citizen Survey Results
DESIRED OUTCOME:
Receive completed survey results and presentation.
INFORMATION:
The City of Flagstaff thanks our citizens for participating in the survey and giving us their valuable time and feedback. We haven’t done a survey since 2009 due to budget constraints, but are pleased we have new data this year. The City takes this feedback seriously and is sincerely committed to learning from the results of the survey. Specifically, this information helps the City of Flagstaff understand what our residents feel that we are doing well and what we need to improve upon. It is very important to us that we know both.
The 2013 survey looked at a wide variety of issues and services. Questions addressed a range of areas from quality of life and community, shopping, transportation, to City government satisfaction of services.
We’ve highlighted a few of the key results as they relate to Council priorities:
Quality of City Services - The overall quality of City services ranked 69%. This is a decrease from 2009 when 79% of citizens rated the quality of City services as “excellent” or “good”.
We expected a decrease due to the recession and corresponding budget cuts, but we learned that some areas suffered more significant service delivery impacts than we anticipated. We also found that our ranking is similar to our benchmark communities which points to a decrease in confidence in government around the nation. The City has worked hard to maintain core service levels through the Great Recession while budget and staffing resources available to provide these services have decreased. The survey results indicate that the quality of how the City delivers municipal services has suffered as a result. This means we have some work to do. The good news is that City Council’s priorities for the upcoming budget are in line with the areas we need to improve - service delivery, adequate staffing resources, and infrastructure.
Street Maintenance - Street Maintenance was our lowest rated service with only 33% of residents rating the service quality as “excellent” or “good”; 27% of respondents cited “better traffic flow, roads or mass transit” as the ONE thing that the City could do to most improve your quality of life in Flagstaff and 62% said they would be willing to support a tax increase to address the condition of Flagstaff streets.
Staff, Council and citizens are all in agreement that road repairs and street safety improvements are a priority worth funding. The City has been working to improve this service area since 2010. In fact, City Council increased this year’s funding for road maintenance by $2 million with $1 million in ongoing funds and $1 million in one-time funds.
Planning & Building Services - Ratings for Planning and Building Services jumped significantly, and it was the only service to increase in satisfaction from 2009. It is still the second lowest rated service and half of the respondents said “I don’t know” when asked about this service.
This City service saw some of the biggest financial cuts during the recession, but also some of the first restorations in staffing in FY14. This demonstrates the impact of the political and administrative emphasis that was placed upon this area in recent years.
Quality of Life - More people find that Flagstaff as a place to live has gotten better and cite the quality of the overall natural environment as the top rated characteristic (91%) that they relate to Flagstaff. Further, the survey revealed that an overall feeling of safety, overall image or reputation of Flagstaff and health and wellness opportunities in Flagstaff plays the biggest role in how residents assess their overall quality of life.
This tells City leaders that continuing to invest in safety, our image, and health & wellness improvements will continue to elevate residents’ quality of life. Specifically, open space purchases such as Picture Canyon and Observatory Mesa; and the BBB tax investments into Beautification, Arts & Science, Recreation, Tourism, and Economic Development are going to the right places and having a positive impact.
Ranking of City Services - Nearly all City services, ranked comparable or higher than our benchmark communities. Flagstaff as a place to work had the only lower ranking than our benchmark communities at 39%. This corresponds with a 41% ranking on Flagstaff’s overall economic health. 10% of respondents cited “more employment and higher wages” as the ONE thing that the City could do to most improve your quality of life in Flagstaff.
The City continues to invest in economic development in Flagstaff through partnerships and initiatives; NACET, ECONA, business accelerator, STEM community.
Direction the City is Taking - In rating “The Overall Direction the City is taking, 18% of the survey respondents gave a “poor” rating. While our rating is similar to our benchmark communities, there were a high (27%) number of “I don’t know” responses.
The high number of “I don’t know” responses could be tied to the question asking residents about the amount of information they are getting about City issues, services, and programs. 50% of respondents said they were getting too little information while 39% said they were getting the right amount.
Banning Plastic Bags - Banning plastic bags has nearly 60% support based upon the survey results. Expect such an initiative to show up on Council's agenda in 2014.
Snow Plowing - Support for NOT plowing when there is less than 4 inches of snow in neighborhood was split 50/50; however, residents who have lived here longer than 5 years are more accepting of this policy.
The results reflect the continued modification our service (cinders, colder months plowing), attempting to find the right blend of service expectations and costs.
Housing - Of those who reported not owning their home, 60% of respondents reported that the main obstacle to ownership is the availability of homes for sale in their price range. That said, when asked how likely or unlikely they would be to leave the community because housing costs too much; about half reported being “somewhat” or “very” likely (51%) and the other half reported being “somewhat” or “very” unlikely (49%). However, more residents said they were “very unlikely” than “very likely” to leave due to housing costs.
No surprise to City leaders; housing is still a big issue for residents, and supports the City’s efforts in our housing program and in economic development to find higher paying jobs and work on employer assisted housing initiatives.
Mail Survey vs. Telephone - Survey officials state that more negative results can be expected due to using a mail in survey rather than telephone surveys as were previously conducted. Results for this most recent mail-in survey indicate a significant increase in “I don’t know” responses than in years past. Survey experts suggest that “I don’t know” responses are much more likely in mail in surveys than surveys conducted telephone, likely impacting the overall survey rankings.
We selected the survey company and their recommendation to use a mail in survey based upon the significant decrease in the use of land-lines and participation rates by cell phone.
Next Steps
The 2013 survey looked at a wide variety of issues and services. Questions addressed a range of areas from quality of life and community, shopping, transportation, to City government satisfaction of services.
We’ve highlighted a few of the key results as they relate to Council priorities:
Quality of City Services - The overall quality of City services ranked 69%. This is a decrease from 2009 when 79% of citizens rated the quality of City services as “excellent” or “good”.
We expected a decrease due to the recession and corresponding budget cuts, but we learned that some areas suffered more significant service delivery impacts than we anticipated. We also found that our ranking is similar to our benchmark communities which points to a decrease in confidence in government around the nation. The City has worked hard to maintain core service levels through the Great Recession while budget and staffing resources available to provide these services have decreased. The survey results indicate that the quality of how the City delivers municipal services has suffered as a result. This means we have some work to do. The good news is that City Council’s priorities for the upcoming budget are in line with the areas we need to improve - service delivery, adequate staffing resources, and infrastructure.
Street Maintenance - Street Maintenance was our lowest rated service with only 33% of residents rating the service quality as “excellent” or “good”; 27% of respondents cited “better traffic flow, roads or mass transit” as the ONE thing that the City could do to most improve your quality of life in Flagstaff and 62% said they would be willing to support a tax increase to address the condition of Flagstaff streets.
Staff, Council and citizens are all in agreement that road repairs and street safety improvements are a priority worth funding. The City has been working to improve this service area since 2010. In fact, City Council increased this year’s funding for road maintenance by $2 million with $1 million in ongoing funds and $1 million in one-time funds.
Planning & Building Services - Ratings for Planning and Building Services jumped significantly, and it was the only service to increase in satisfaction from 2009. It is still the second lowest rated service and half of the respondents said “I don’t know” when asked about this service.
This City service saw some of the biggest financial cuts during the recession, but also some of the first restorations in staffing in FY14. This demonstrates the impact of the political and administrative emphasis that was placed upon this area in recent years.
Quality of Life - More people find that Flagstaff as a place to live has gotten better and cite the quality of the overall natural environment as the top rated characteristic (91%) that they relate to Flagstaff. Further, the survey revealed that an overall feeling of safety, overall image or reputation of Flagstaff and health and wellness opportunities in Flagstaff plays the biggest role in how residents assess their overall quality of life.
This tells City leaders that continuing to invest in safety, our image, and health & wellness improvements will continue to elevate residents’ quality of life. Specifically, open space purchases such as Picture Canyon and Observatory Mesa; and the BBB tax investments into Beautification, Arts & Science, Recreation, Tourism, and Economic Development are going to the right places and having a positive impact.
Ranking of City Services - Nearly all City services, ranked comparable or higher than our benchmark communities. Flagstaff as a place to work had the only lower ranking than our benchmark communities at 39%. This corresponds with a 41% ranking on Flagstaff’s overall economic health. 10% of respondents cited “more employment and higher wages” as the ONE thing that the City could do to most improve your quality of life in Flagstaff.
The City continues to invest in economic development in Flagstaff through partnerships and initiatives; NACET, ECONA, business accelerator, STEM community.
Direction the City is Taking - In rating “The Overall Direction the City is taking, 18% of the survey respondents gave a “poor” rating. While our rating is similar to our benchmark communities, there were a high (27%) number of “I don’t know” responses.
The high number of “I don’t know” responses could be tied to the question asking residents about the amount of information they are getting about City issues, services, and programs. 50% of respondents said they were getting too little information while 39% said they were getting the right amount.
Banning Plastic Bags - Banning plastic bags has nearly 60% support based upon the survey results. Expect such an initiative to show up on Council's agenda in 2014.
Snow Plowing - Support for NOT plowing when there is less than 4 inches of snow in neighborhood was split 50/50; however, residents who have lived here longer than 5 years are more accepting of this policy.
The results reflect the continued modification our service (cinders, colder months plowing), attempting to find the right blend of service expectations and costs.
Housing - Of those who reported not owning their home, 60% of respondents reported that the main obstacle to ownership is the availability of homes for sale in their price range. That said, when asked how likely or unlikely they would be to leave the community because housing costs too much; about half reported being “somewhat” or “very” likely (51%) and the other half reported being “somewhat” or “very” unlikely (49%). However, more residents said they were “very unlikely” than “very likely” to leave due to housing costs.
No surprise to City leaders; housing is still a big issue for residents, and supports the City’s efforts in our housing program and in economic development to find higher paying jobs and work on employer assisted housing initiatives.
Mail Survey vs. Telephone - Survey officials state that more negative results can be expected due to using a mail in survey rather than telephone surveys as were previously conducted. Results for this most recent mail-in survey indicate a significant increase in “I don’t know” responses than in years past. Survey experts suggest that “I don’t know” responses are much more likely in mail in surveys than surveys conducted telephone, likely impacting the overall survey rankings.
We selected the survey company and their recommendation to use a mail in survey based upon the significant decrease in the use of land-lines and participation rates by cell phone.
Next Steps
- Customer Service Initiative
- Citizen committee on streets
- Top 3 priorities - police staffing and other staffing. Infrastructure.