ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager with a Request to RECEIVE and FILE the COMMUNITY LIVABILITY REPORT from the NATIONAL CITIZEN SURVEY.
Body
BACKGROUND:
National Citizen Survey
The National Citizen Survey (NCS) is a service offered by the National Research Center, Inc., in conjunction with the International City/County Management Association. The survey allows cities and counties to quantify their residents' opinions on a range of factors that impact their quality of life. The standardized questions and random sampling ensure valid results that can be compared across communities. Households were selected at random to receive the survey. A preliminary postcard was mailed to the selected addresses to introduce the survey, followed by two separate mailings of the full survey. In total, NCS collected 286 responses, or a 26 percent response rate. This rate provides statistically significant results within +/- 6 percentage points.
NCS collected the completed surveys and compiled the data. The survey and results are divided into three parts: community characteristics, governance and participation. The City's strengths and deficiencies from each section are outlined below. Additional information is also detailed from the custom questions and open ended question that were drafted by Staff. The information below is derived from the Community Livability Report drafted by NCS, which is attached.
Community Characteristics, Governance, Participation
Each question within the survey provided insight into three different factors that contribute to the overall quality of life for citizens:
· Community characteristics reflect upon what makes a community attractive to residents.
· Governance reviews the outlook that citizens have on the quality of services and the delivery of those services provided by the City.
· Participation measures respondents' engagement within the community.
Each of the three areas was rated on:
· Safety,
· Mobility,
· Natural Environment,
· Built Environment,
· Economy,
· Recreation and Wellness,
· Education and Enrichment, and
· Community Engagement.
Each item was then compared to the national benchmark. Peoria's performance in each category is indicated in the charts below.
Community Characteristics |
Strengths |
Deficiencies |
Mobility |
Safety |
Economy |
Natural Environment |
Recreation and Wellness |
Built Environment |
Education and Enrichment |
Community Engagement |
|
Governance |
Strengths |
Deficiencies |
Safety |
Mobility |
Natural Environment |
Built Environment |
Education and Enrichment |
Economy |
Recreation and Wellness |
Community Engagement |
|
Participation |
Strengths |
Deficiencies |
Safety |
Natural Environment |
Mobility |
|
Built Environment |
|
Economy |
|
Recreation and Wellness |
|
Education and Enrichment |
|
Community Engagement |
|
|
|
The City has many strengths that are desirable for a community, a few of which include: ease of transportation, affordable quality housing, a strong health care community, an active religious/spiritual community, a high level of volunteerism, a strong library system, the retention of citizen spending within City limits, and an exceptional level of citizens stay in Peoria for work. The survey also covered a range of issues on which the City could improve. The City's Strategic Plan addresses the deficiencies that were noted in all three parts of the survey. Those efforts include:
· Safety: The results from the survey clearly spoke to the concerns about public safety. The City is taking steps to improve not only crime levels, but also how safe residents feel, both in their homes and throughout the community. The survey showed that residents feel very safe within their own neighborhoods, but do not perceive the City as a whole to be safe. The Police Department is taking meaningful action to address both of these concerns. First, the Police Department is working diligently to reach full staffing levels, including the six additional positions that were added with the assistance of the Community Oriented Policing Grant that was received in 2013. Second, the Department is continuing the implementation of innovative measures to prevent and reduce crime including the Resident Police Officer Program and Don't Shoot. The Police Department is also working directly with citizens to address safety concerns. The newly formed Peoria Community Against Violence volunteer group is a way for residents to make a direct impact on the reduction of crime.
· Mobility: The main concerns about mobility within the City are related to the condition and maintenance of streets. The Public Works Department is working toward better street conditions through an asset management system, which will identify needed repairs. A schedule will be created to address the issues with the most critical repairs scheduled first. Another focus area was on walkability and biking, both of which are integral to the complete streets policies that have been implemented in different parts of the City.
· Natural Environment: The City's garbage, recycling and yard waste collection services ranked very well on the survey which affirms the community's current contract with the Peoria Disposal Company. However, concerns were noted about the overall natural environment including open space, water quality and air quality.
· Built Environment: The built environment as a whole earned lower marks on land use, planning and zoning, and code enforcement. The Council participated in a Policy Session that focused solely on these areas. The newly created Neighborhood Wellness Plan was a byproduct of that session, and is in its early stages. The plan will best utilize the City's available resources to address concerns focused around the community's built environment.
· Community Engagement: The City is taking strides to improve participation in community decisions through public forums and input. Council recently approved the addition of a Communications Specialist to the City Manager's Office as well. This position will create a greater deal of coordination in terms of disseminating information to the public. The City continues to analyze technological advances to help streamline communication. The new Peoria Cares uReport application allows citizens to report issues through their phones or other devices. The City is also encouraging participation in the neighborhood social media site Nextdoor. Through Nextdoor, the City will also be able to directly communicate with neighborhoods about issues pertaining to that area.
· Economy: The Community Development Department is committed to rebuilding the economic development function within the City, as indicated by the efforts to hire a Director to spearhead the endeavor. While the City is developing its own economic development framework, it is also working in concert with other local entities to develop a comprehensive regional focus. Survey respondents also voiced concerns about the vitality of the Downtown area. The City is working closely on economic development initiatives in the Downtown area and Warehouse District with a focus on the newly created Downtown Development Corporation. Concerted efforts are also ongoing to attract needed commercial activity and development to remaining areas of the City.
· Education and Enrichment: While this category received positive feedback, respondents did voice concerns about educational opportunities in the community, specifically from kindergarten through high school. The City is engaging both Districts 150 and 323 to discuss how the City and School Districts can work together to improve the images and performance of schools in Peoria.
Custom Questions
Staff designed questions to assess the public's tolerance for changes to the City's budget strategy. Citizens were asked questions to identify their opposition or support in terms of increasing or decreasing revenues and service levels. When asked if the City should increase revenues or reduce service levels, the greatest proportion of respondents indicated that the City should use a combination of tax increases and service level reductions to maintain core service delivery. The forms of revenue that respondents suggested using to increase funds were code enforcement fines, public safety fees for tax-exempt entities, development fees and user fees for City services. The majority of respondents strongly opposed increases to property taxes or the Motor Fuel Tax. When asked which service areas could be reduced, the majority of respondents indicated that riverfront festivals and activities as well as code enforcement services could be reduced. However, it should be noted that a reduction in code enforcement services would reduce the effectiveness of generating greater revenues through increase code enforcement fines. The majority of respondents strongly opposed reduction in Police or Fire services.
Open Ended Questions
Survey respondents were asked to answer the following question: What is the single most important issue that you would like the Peoria City Council to address in 2014? Of the 286 surveys that were collected, 202 of the respondents provided an answer to this question. The topics that were identified included:
Topic |
Percent of Responses |
Crime, Safety, Police |
25% |
Schools |
17% |
Infrastructure, Roads, Transportation |
17% |
Taxes, Budget, City Government |
11% |
Housing, Downtown Development |
10% |
Economic Development |
9% |
Code Enforcement, Beautification |
5% |
Other/Don't Know |
7% |
Conclusions
There are ways for the City to improve in each area, but it is also important to identify priorities in order to efficiently and effectively utilize resources. Respondents indicated that the most important areas of focus are the overall economic health of the community, as well as the overall feeling of safety in Peoria. The City should also then address concerns about mobility, the natural and built environment, and community engagement. The City Council has indicated ways to achieve improvement in these areas in the Strategic Plan, and Staff continues to work toward those initiatives.
One of the most useful features of a tool such as this survey is the ability to assess long term trends. Rather than using the survey as a tool to look back on previous performance, it is a means to plan for future improvements. It is the intention of Staff to conduct the survey on a regular basis to build longitudinal data that can then be interpreted. This year's survey will serve as the baseline for understanding the community's outlook on the overall quality of life in Peoria, and will assist Staff and policymakers with developing future policies and priorities.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: N/A
IMPACT IF APPROVED: N/A
IMPACT IF DENIED: N/A
ALTERNATIVES: N/A
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: N/A
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Financially Sound City Government, Effective City Organization
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Have an efficient government.
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office