citizen-survey-2010

							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

           ResourceAllocation
           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:
             Theentire 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