[Durham INC] Durham Releases 2011 Resident Satisfaction Survey Results

Fri Mar 2 11:11:42 EST 2012

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

News Release

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

For Immediate Release: March 2, 2012

Durham Releases 2011 Resident Satisfaction Survey Results

Durham Residents More Satisfied with Major City Services; 

Data-Driven Methodology to Help Determine Upcoming Budget Priorities

DURHAM, N.C. - Just released results of the City of Durham's recent
resident satisfaction survey show that overall satisfaction has improved
since the 2009 survey, with 82 percent of residents rating the city as
an "excellent" or "good" place to live and 77 percent rating the city as
an "excellent" or "good" place to work. These ratings are up from the
2009 survey, which were 78 percent and 75 percent respectively.

According to City Manager Tom Bonfield, the purpose of the bi-annual
survey is to help the organization better assess residents' satisfaction
with City-provided services and to gather input from residents about
issues facing the community.  "One of our goals is to make sound budget
decisions based on data-driven feedback from our residents," Bonfield
said.  "The results from this survey help us determine our priorities
for the community as part of our Strategic Plan and the ongoing budget
planning process. It provides guidance in making daily management
decisions as well as helps us determine our long-term strategic
direction and funding."

Results from the 2011 survey results indicate that satisfaction improved
in 48 of the 57 areas, including feelings of safety, since the 2009
survey. Two of the areas stayed the same and seven areas showed
decreases in satisfaction and/or feelings of safety. Of the 48 items
that showed increases, 27 had significant increases of 5 percent or
more, while none of the seven decreases from 2009 were significant.

According to the ETC Institute, which conducts the bi-annual survey on
behalf of the City, Durham has also significantly improved overall
resident satisfaction, and truly stands out when compared to all U.S.
cities. "We are pleased at the progress we've made and feel this
organization is definitely moving in the right direction," Bonfield
said. "Overall satisfaction with City services increased by 10 percent
since 2009, and in comparison with other cities nationwide, our overall
composite satisfaction index is 118 compared to 91 nationally. These
positive results are a testament to the sound leadership of our elected
officials and the dedicated work by our employees to continue to make
this community a great place to live, work and play."

Areas that influence overall perceptions of Durham also ranked highly
with 76 percent being satisfied with the quality of life in their
neighborhood, 70 percent were satisfied with the quality of services
provided by the City, and 68 percent were satisfied with the overall
quality of life in the city. Although residents were least satisfied
with the value they receive for their tax dollars and fees, satisfaction
has increased from 35 percent in the 2009 survey to 40 percent. 

Fire protection and rescue services continued to show the highest
satisfaction, with 85 percent happy with the quality of fire protection
and rescue services, and 85 percent satisfied with the proximity of fire
stations. Although 36 percent of residents were least satisfied with the
overall maintenance of City streets, the level of satisfaction has
significantly increased from 31 percent in the 2009 survey. 

The three major categories of City services that residents thought
should receive the most emphasis from City leaders over the next two
years were the maintenance of City streets, the quality of police
protection, and the flow of traffic in the city. These were the same top
three priorities identified in the 2009 survey.

Other major findings regarding satisfaction with specific services
included:  

*         Parks and Recreation. The highest levels of satisfaction were
greenways and trails at 71 percent and cultural programming at 70
percent. Residents were least satisfied with City swimming pools at 37
percent.

*         City Maintenance. The highest levels of satisfaction were the
condition of street signs and traffic signals at 71 percent, the
condition of parks at 61 percent, and the condition of recreation
centers and facilities at 61 percent. Residents were least satisfied
with street repairs at 34 percent, which is a significant increase from
24 percent in the 2009 survey.

*         Code Enforcement. The highest levels of satisfaction were the
appearance of houses in neighborhoods at 74 percent and graffiti removal
at 56 percent. Residents were least satisfied with the enforcement of
junk clean up on private property at 40 percent.

*         City Zoning Services. The highest levels of satisfaction were
the enforcement of the mobile vendor ordinance at 56 percent and
enforcement of the noise ordinance at 53 percent. Some 42 percent of
residents were least satisfied with enforcement of no front-yard
parking.

*         City Utilities Services. The highest levels of satisfaction
were solid waste services at 86 percent, curbside recycling services at
85 percent, and sewer services at 78 percent. Residents were least
satisfied with stream and lake protection at 57 percent.

*         Customer Service. The highest levels of satisfaction were how
courteous City employees were at 78 percent and the ease of contacting
City employees at 71 percent. Residents were least satisfied with the
time taken for a request to be answered at 63 percent.

*         Economic Development. The highest levels of satisfaction with
various aspects of economic development were the proximity to arts and
cultural amenities at 66 percent. Residents were least satisfied with
resources to support training the under-employed at 35 percent and the
approach to job creation at 34 percent.

*         Perceptions of Safety. Residents felt most safe walking alone
in their neighborhood during the day at 86 percent, followed by 64
percent when visiting a City recreation center, 60 percent in downtown
Durham, and 56 percent walking alone in their neighborhood at night. All
of these are up from the 2009 survey, which were 80 percent, 60 percent,
56 percent, and 42 percent respectively. Residents felt least safe when
riding the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA)/Bull City Connector at
48 percent. The 2011 survey was the first time residents were asked
about their feelings of safety when riding DATA, so no prior year
comparison is available.

*         Communication. Sixty percent of residents were satisfied with
the availability of information about City programs, while 56 percent
appreciated the City's efforts to keep them informed on local issues.
However, 45 percent were least satisfied with the level of public
involvement in local decisions.

The 2011 survey asked a random sample of Durham households about their
opinions on the delivery of major City services. Of the 1,200 sample
households within the city, 401 completed the survey for a 33 percent
response rate. The results for the random sample of 401 households have
a 95 percent level of confidence with a precision of at least +/- 4.9
percent.

Since 1999, the City's Budget and Management Services Department has
conducted a resident satisfaction survey every two years. The ETC
Institute, a professional market research firm with more than 20 years
of expertise in customer satisfaction, resident issues, and community
needs assessment research, performed this survey in the winter of 2011
on behalf of the department. 

The complete results of the 2011 survey were reported to the Durham City
Council during today's budget retreat. Full results of the survey are
now available on the City's website at 
http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/as/bms/Pages/Citizen-Survey-Results.aspx. 

About the Budget & Management Services Department

The Budget and Management Services Department is responsible for
preparing, implementing, and monitoring the City's annual operating
budget as well as the five-year revenue/expenditure projections for all
City government services. The department also provides operational and
organizational studies as identified by the City Council, City Manager's
Office, and department staff. Guided by the City's Strategic Plan, which
the department established and maintains, the department helps to ensure
that the City of Durham is a well-managed city by working with City
agencies to build and implement performance measurement monitoring and
evaluation. The department is also responsible for preparing the Capital
Improvement Plan (CIP), coordinating the City's process for petition and
City-initiated annexations, conducting resident satisfaction surveys,
and evaluating departmental achievement of City goals and objectives. To
learn more, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/as/bms/Pages/Home.aspx. 

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