City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2008 08 12

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City of Louisville Citizen Survey August 2008 Executive Summary Survey Background and Methods The Louisville Citizen Survey serves as a consumer report card for Louisville by providing residents the opportunity to rate their satisfaction with the quality of life in the city, the community's amenities and satisfaction with local government. The survey also permits residents an opportunity to provide feedback to government on what is working well and what is not, and to communicate their priorities for community planning and resource allocation. This is the second time National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) conducted the Louisville Citizen Survey and the fifth iteration in a series of citizen survey projects completed by the City of Louisville since 1990. The Louisville Citizen Survey was administered by mail to 2,000 randomly selected households within the city. Of those households receiving the survey, 976 residents responded to the mailed questionnaire, giving a high response rate of .50%. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points around any given percentage for the entire sample. Survey results were weighted so that the characteristics of gender, age and tenure (rent versus own) were represented in proportions reflective of the entire city. Because Louisville has administered a resident survey before, comparisons could be made between 2008 responses and those from prior years. L,ouisville's results also were compared to those of other jurisdictions around the nation as well as to those of other Front Range jurisdictions. These comparisons were made possible through NRC's national benchmark database. This database contains resident perspectives gathered in citizen surveys from approximately 500 jurisdictions. Survey Findings Since the 2004 survey, Louisville has been recognized in three publications as one of the best places to live and raise a family in the United States.' The 2008 survey results corroborate these rankings, as the vast majority of residents rated most aspects of Louisville highly. Findings from 2008 were not only positive but stable or better than those in 2004, with very few exceptions. Survey results indicated that a majority of residents value a wide variety of aspects of life in Louisville and the services being provided to them by the City. Of the 89 ratings that could be compared to the nation, 85 were above the national benchmark, two were similar and only one was below. Most ratings also were above ratings given by residents in other Front Range jurisdictions. Quality of Life and Community As in previous years, the majority of Louisville residents who were surveyed perceived their quality of life to be "good" or "excellent." Other ratings of quality of life, such as neighborhood as a place to live, place to retire and place to raise children, were stable or had improved since 2004. Some of the quality of life ratings differed by age, gender and voting status. For instance, older residents ' In July of 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Louisville fifth on their list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. Criteria included financial, housing, education, quality of life, leisure and culture, and weather data. In May of 2006, in Best Places to Raise Your Family: The' Top 100 Affordable Communities in the U.S., ranked Louisville first on their list of best places in the U.S. to raise a farnily. In August of 2007, CNN/Money and Money magazine again ranked Louisville third on their list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. (httpaien.wikipedia.org/wikiJLouisville, Colorado, accessed July 29, 2008). U C U s ro N C 0 .~ z 0 0 N 0 of Results