2008 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results May 29, 2009

2 Purpose of Survey 1.Determine how satisfied citizens are with county services, programs and quality of life 2. Identify county’s strengths and challenges 3. Develop action plans for improvement

3 Format of Survey 1. Survey was conducted by the Center for Survey Research, at the University of Virginia from (October-December 2008) 2.A telephonic survey with pre-notification letters sent to all listed phone numbers. 3.Telephone numbers included both cell-phone and landline 4. 30% response rate; 1,774 responses (approximately 330 responses per district) with a sampling error of percent

4 Magisterial District Responses

5 Highlighted Areas I.Quality of Life II.County Government III.Customer Service Index IV.Taxes/Value for Tax Dollar V. Normative Data VI. Successes VII. Opportunities for Improvement VIII.Post Survey Actions

6 I. Quality of Life Quality of life Education provided by schools A place to raise children Key quality of life indicators Safety in the county Living in the county Maintenance of roads

7 Quality of Life Overall, how would you rate the “Quality of Life” in Chesterfield County? Excellent Good Fair Poor “Above” the national norm Fair/Poor8.2%5.8%7.2% Good/Excellent91.8%94.2%92.8% 6.0% 94.0%

8 Quality of Life Excellent Good Fair Poor “Above” the national norm How would you rate the education provided by Chesterfield County Public Schools? Fair/Poor18.0%15.7%14.2% Good/Excellent82.0%84.3%85.8% 13.0% 87.0%

9 Quality of Life Excellent Good Fair Poor “Above” the national norm How would you rate Chesterfield as a place to raise children? Fair/Poor11.5%7.7%8.1% Good/Excellent88.5%92.3%91.9% 7.1% 92.9%

10 “Above” national norm “Below” national norm “Below” national norm Excellent Good Fair Poor Overall, how would you rate the following aspects of quality of life in Chesterfield County: Quality of Life Fair/Poor36.2%37.2%43.1%45.5% Good/Excellent63.8%62.8%56.9%54.4% 46.7% 53.3%

11 Quality of Life Please rate how you feel about your personal safety in the following areas: “Similar to” national norm “Above” national norm “Below” national norm “Below” national norm “Above” national norm Unsafe/Very Unsafe2.1%7.7%3.5%48.0%6.0%3.5%2.1%7.2% Safe/Very Safe97.8%92.4%96.5%52.1%94.1%96.5%97.9%92.8% Very Safe Safe Unsafe Very Unsafe

12 Using a 10-point scale (10 being best), how much do you like living in Chesterfield County? Quality of Life

13 How would you rate the maintenance of roads in Chesterfield County? (snow removal, fixing potholes, mowing, repaving, and signs) “Above” the national norm Quality of Life Fair/Poor27.6%48.9%43.7%37.1% Good/Excellent44.5%51.1%56.3%62.9% Excellent Good Fair Poor * 2001 scale included “Neither” *

14 II. County Government Access to board members Employee ratings on: Knowledge Timeliness Courtesy Follow through on promises Ability to direct calls Ethics and Integrity Overall customer service Management of the county Satisfaction with County Government

15 How would you rate access to your elected Board of Supervisors member? County Government Fair/Poor 39.1%38.9%30.9% Good/Excellent 60.9%61.1%69.1% Excellent Good Fair Poor

16 County Government “Below” national norm How would you rate Chesterfield County Employees on the following: Fair/Poor14.3%22.0%12.9%25.3%20.7%15.2%16.2% Excellent/Good85.6%78.0%87.0%74.7%79.3%84.8%83.8% Excellent Good Fair Poor “Similar to” national norm “Below” national norm “Below” national norm

17 How would you rate the quality of management of the county? County Government “Similar to” the national norm Fair/Poor10.1%37.1%36.6%28.0% Good/Excellent55.9%62.9%63.4%72.0% Excellent Good Fair Poor * * 2001 scale included “Neither”

18 Using a 10-point scale (10 being very satisfied), how satisfied are you with the Chesterfield County government? County Government “Above” the national norm

19 Customer service index III. Customer Service Index Overall customer service index rating Satisfaction w/county government Quality of services provided by county Employee customer service Quality of Life in the county Like living in the county

20 Customer Service Index Very DissatisfiedVery Satisfied Overall index rating Satisfaction w/county government Quality of services provided by county Employee customer service Quality of life in the county Like living in the county

21 V. Taxes/Value for Tax Dollar Value of services relative to taxes paid Amount of taxes paid Willingness to pay more taxes for additional or improved services

22 Taxes/Value for Tax Dollar “Above” the national norm Taking into consideration the services provided by Chesterfield County, how satisfied would you say you are with the value of services provided relative to taxes paid? Dissatisfied/Very Dissatisfied 16.2%17.0%14.3% Satisfied/Very Satisfied 83.8%83.0%85.7% Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied

23 Taxes/Value for Tax Dollar From your personal standpoint, are Chesterfield County taxes too high, too low or about right? About Right Too Low Too High

24 Taxes/Value for Tax Dollar How willing would you be to pay more taxes to improve or add county services? Unwilling/Very Unwilling 39.3%60.8%59.8% Willing/ Very Willing 60.7%39.2%40.2% Very Unwilling Unwilling Willing Very Willing

total jurisdictions* Questions matched local jurisdictions across Virginia Questions matched - 29 National Comparisons Local Government Comparisons VI. NORMATIVE DATA Data provided by The National Research Center *includes twelve in Canada

26 29 questions were “Above” the norm 5 questions were “Similar to” the norm 12 questions were “Below” the norm National Comparisons NORMATIVE DATA

27 Questions that scored “Above” the National Norm 1.Quality of life 2.Police services 3.Crime prevention programs 4.Response time of the Police Department 5.Response time of the Fire Department 6.Response time of EMS 7.Fire and emergency medical services 8.Recycling services 9.Maintenance of roads in the county 10.Public water and wastewater services 11.Public library services 12.Maintenance of libraries 13.County parks 14.Maintenance of parks 15.Recreational programs and services 16.Animal control services 17.Availability of medical and health services 18.Services for children & youth 19.Satisfaction with county government 20.Satisfaction with value of services provided relative to taxes paid 21.Education provided by county Public Schools 22.Cleanliness and appearance of the county 23.A place to raise children 24.A place to live compared to other cities or counties where you have lived 25.Recreational opportunities in county 26.Safety/In your neighborhood during the night 27.Safety/In your home 28.Availability of safe affordable housing choices 29.Mental Health, Mental Retardation or Substance Use services NORMATIVE DATA National Comparisons

28 1.Preservation and protection of historic resources 2.Quality of governmental services 3.Management of the county 4.County employees on overall customer service 5.Safety/in your neighborhood during the day Questions that scored “Similar to” the National Norm NORMATIVE DATA National Comparisons

29 Questions that scored “Below” the National Norm 1.Getting citizens views & opinions before making major decisions 2.Museums & historical sites 3.Job opportunities 4.Ease of starting a new business 5.Safety/In county parks during the day 6.Safety/In county parks at night 7.Planning services 8.Social Services 9.Services available for senior citizens 10.County employees on courtesy 11.County employees on knowledge about county services 12.County employees on timeliness in responding to questions and concerns NORMATIVE DATA National Comparisons

30 Local Government Comparisons Local Governments Include: Arlington County, VA; Stafford County, VA; Botetourt County, VA; Chesapeake, VA; Hanover County, VA; Prince William County, VA; Virginia Beach, VA; Newport News, VA; Spotsylvania County, VA; Albemarle County, VA; Chesterfield County, VA; James City County, VA; Roanoke, VA; Williamsburg, VA; Hopewell, VA; Lynchburg, VA; Staunton, VA; Northampton County, VA; Lexington, VA 21 questions were “Above” the norm 2 questions were “Similar to” the norm 6 questions were “Below” the norm NORMATIVE DATA

31 1.Quality of life* 2.Police services* 3.Crime prevention programs* 4.Recycling services* 5.Maintenance of roads in the county* 6.Public water and wastewater services* 7.Public library services* 8.County parks* 9.Animal control services* 10.Availability of medical and health services* 11.Services for children & youth* Questions that scored “Above” the Local Government Norm 12.Quality of governmental services 13.Satisfaction with the value of services provided relative to taxes paid* 14. Education provided by county Public Schools* 15. Cleanliness and appearance of the county* 16. Job opportunities in the county 17. A place to raise children* 18. A place to live compared to other cities or counties where you have lived* 19. Recreational opportunities in county* 20. Availability of safe affordable housing* 21. Safety/In your neighborhood during the night* NORMATIVE DATA Local Government Comparisons * Also scored “Above” the National Norm

32 1.County services available for senior citizens 2.Employees on courtesy Questions that scored “Similar to” the Local Government Norm NORMATIVE DATA Local Government Comparisons

33 1. Employees on overall customer service 2. Employees on knowledge about county services 3. Getting citizens views & opinions before making major decisions 4. Safety/In your neighborhood during the day 5. Safety/In county parks during the day 6. Safety/In county parks at night Questions that scored “Below” the Local Government Norm NORMATIVE DATA Local Government Comparisons

34 Five Highest Scoring Areas Safety in the home 2.Safety in neighborhoods during the day 3.Fire and emergency medical services 4.Location of fire stations 5.Maintenance of libraries VII. Successes

35 Five Lowest Scoring Questions Willingness to pay additional taxes to improve or add county services 2.Access to rail passenger service 3.Tourism 4.Getting citizens’ views and opinions before making major decisions 5.Planning services VIII. Opportunities for Improvement

36 IX. Post Survey Actions Communication: –Present to Leadership Team –Present to Board of Supervisors –Present to Directors –Communicate to Employees –Post results to Internet/Intranet –Communicate to public Action Items: –Quality Office will provide deputies, chiefs and county administrator with department questions and results Departments identify targets for their questions and action plans for improvement where appropriate –Deputies, chiefs and county administration directors will review action plans and provide progress reports to the leadership team in December