BOWLING GREEN CITIZEN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

Fall 2010 – National Citizen Survey

National Citizen Survey

Collaborative effort between the National Research Center (NRC) & International City/County Management Association (ICMA)

The City of BG participates in ICMA’s Center for Performance Measurement

Survey focuses on community characteristics, local government services, and issues of public trust

Also measures resident behaviors relating to civic engagement

Additional Information – Survey Process

City staff reviewed standard NCS form menu and customized

We included services not provided by the City as well (library, utilities, transit)

NRC mailed questionnaires to a representative sample of 1200 BG households (100 were undelivered)

Multi-contact notification was delivered via postcard and then survey sent twice on City letterhead/envelopes

Additional Information – Survey Process

The adult with the most recent birthday was asked to complete the survey – this was done to get a representative sample

There was a 24% response rate (20 to 40% is typical) 263 of the 1200 surveys were completed and returned.

Why Survey?

Immediate Benefits – Provides useful information for: Planning Resource Allocation Performance Measurements Program and Policy Evaluation

Why Survey?

Long Term Benefits – Provides useful information for: Improved Services More Civic Engagement Better Community Quality of Life Stronger Public Trust

Understanding the Results

The Survey Contains a Margin of Error of 5% If 75% of respondents rate a

service as “excellent or good” then the range of likely responses from the entire community is between 70% and 80%

Data is statistically weighted to reflect proper community demographics including rent/own

Understanding the Results – Comparisons

Nationally, public safety services tend to be rated higher than transportation services

It is better to compare BG’s services to similar services provided by other jurisdictions rather than comparing one service to another within our City.

In order for a comparison from a previous survey to be “significant,” the +/- needs to be more then 8%

Overall, our comparisons in 2010 were better then 2008

Understanding the Results – Benchmarking

A benchmark is a standard by which something can be measured or judged

NRC has a database of survey results from 500 jurisdictions that can be used as a benchmark

Bowling Green chose to compare to: The entire database of 500

jurisdictions And the southern region specifically -

with 136 jurisdictions in 16 states

Understanding the Results – Benchmarking

77% of residents rated the overall quality of life in BG as excellent (E) or good (G) which is above or similar to the national and southern region benchmarks

Understanding the Results – Benchmarking

31 community characteristics and 37 City services were surveyed and compared to the benchmark data

For the 31 community characteristics surveyed, BG was rated “above” the benchmark in 16 categories; “similar” in 9 categories and “below” in 6 categories

For the 37 City services surveyed, BG was rated “above” the benchmark in 17 areas; “similar” in 17 areas and “below” in 3 areas

Overall Community Quality - % rated as Excellent or Good

BG as a place to live – 81% Your neighborhood as a place

to live – 67% BG as a place to raise children

– 85% BG as a place to work – 67% BG as a place to retire – 69% The overall quality of life in BG

– 78%

Service Quality - % rated as Excellent or Good

BG Police Department Services – 76%

BG Fire Department Services – 94% Street Repair – 41% Street Cleaning – 62% Street Lighting – 68% Snow Removal – 63% Sidewalk Maintenance – 51% Storm Drainage – 53%

Service Quality - % rated as Excellent or Good

City Parks – 87% Recreation Programs or Classes –

76% Recreation Centers or Facilities –

76% Code Enforcement (weeds,

abandoned buildings, etc.) – 50% Animal Control – 64% Public Information Services – 72% Cleanliness of BG – 73%

Community Characteristics - % rated as Excellent or Good

Overall Appearance of BG – 74% Cleanliness of BG – 73% Recreational Opportunities – 67% Opportunities to Volunteer – 77% Opportunities for Employment –

49% Opportunities to Participate in

Community Matters – 62% Ease of Walking in BG – 43%

Community Characteristics - % rated as Excellent or Good

Availability of Paths and Walking Trails in BG – 45%

Traffic Flow on Major Streets – 28%

Overall Image or Reputation of BG – 80%

Government Services Overall - % rated as Excellent or Good

The City of Bowling Green – 74%

The Federal Government – 48% The State Government – 49% Warren County Government –

64%

Areas for Improvement – services or characteristics that rated below average

Street Repair Sidewalk Maintenance Overall Cleanliness of BG Traffic Flow Fire Services Strom Water drainage Police Services Citizens Attending Local

Meetings

Areas We Are Excelling – services or characteristics that rated above average

Overall Image/Reputation of BG Services provided by BG City Recreation Centers Street Lighting Public Education City Parks Safety in Bowling Green’s

Downtown area during the day

Additional Information – Contact

The information presented in this power point does not include all survey questions and responses.

To view the survey in its entirety, visit www.bgky.org/

For more information or if you have questions, please contact Kim Lancaster at 393-3642 or kim.lancaster@bgky.org