1999 Citizen Opinion Survey Results

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INTRODUCTION/METHODOLOGY In June of 1999, the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension/Colorado Department of Local Affairs was asked by Louisville Mayor Tom Davidson to help develop and conduct a citizen attitude survey. The CSU/DOLA program had assisted Louisville in a survey effort once before - in 1994. The CSU/DOLA program works in 14 counties of northern and eastern Colorado providing technical assistance across a wide range of subject areas. The process of conducting this community opinion survey began in earnest with the formation of a citizen task force. Task Force members worked through the summer to review the survey from 1994, develop new/revised questions, and review a number of draft questionnaires. Task Force members included: Heather Balser Diane Shanks Mimi Gillett Mary O'Donnell Clark Misner Tom Flanagan Gene Caranci Nancy Love Each person listed above worked hard on making this survey a success. They were an excellent example of a citizen committee and are due thanks for their insight, commitment, and good humor. While about 27 questions remained essentially the same in both the 1994 and 1999 surveys, the task force felt that conditions in the City of Louisville had changed enough to modify or simply replace the majority of the questions from 1994. Drafts of the survey instrument were revised through August and early September. The Louisville City Council reviewed a draft on September 14, 1999 and the instrument was finalized in October. Survey instruments were mailed to a random selection of 1,600 Louisville households on October 29, 1999. The survey included return postage to the CSU/DOLA office in Loveland, CO. Surveys could also be dropped off at a location in the Louisville City Hall. 423 surveys were completed and returned for a return rate of 26.4%. This can be considered an excellent response rate. With over 400 completed surveys, results found in this document can be considered statistically valid at a 95% confidence level - within a range of plus or minus 5%. That means that the "true" score, if the entire community had responded, would have been either 5% above, or 5% below the score for any particular response found in this document. Where questions from 1994 were repeated in 1999, the responses are compared. The 1994 survey had a 1 to 9 scale for responses (1 = Very poor/low to 9 = Excellent/Very high) while the 1999 survey had a 1 to 5 scale for responses (1 = Very poor/Strongly Disagree to 5 = Very Good/Strongly Agree). The 1999 response for these questions is modified to the "9 "scale of 1994 to compare how the ranking changed in the 5 year period. Page -2-