Albemarle County 2004 Citizen Survey October 6, 2004

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 2 Authors Thomas M. Guterbock Director Anna MacIntosh Research Analyst Katherine Draughon Research Consultant

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 3 Survey Goals Determine residents’ opinions about quality of life in Albemarle County Assess residents’ satisfaction with County’s efforts to achieve its Strategic Planning goals Determine residents’ level of satisfaction with County services Measure opinion about the way in which the County is managing growth Measure change on key indicators

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 4 Survey Features N of 707 Margin of error +/- 3.7% Some questions comparable to 1994 and 2002 surveys Field Period: June 2004

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 5 More Features RDD (random digit dialing) Respondent selection within household Balanced cross-section of County population, with post-weighting of sample CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) Solid interviewer training

6 Quality of Life in Albemarle

Quality of Life Rating “Rate Albemarle as a place to live”

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 8 On a 10-point Scale… The mean rating is 7.96 Seventy-one percent gave the county an “8” or better Sixteen percent gave the county a “10” Twelve percent rated the county “6” or lower

Quality of Life  Not significantly different from 1994 or 2002

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 10 High Ratings Come From… Women Those residents who have lived in Albemarle longer and older residents Homemakers, students, or retired residents Those residents with high incomes Homeowners and those who live in single family homes Those who reported themselves as living “out in the country” and those living in the rural areas in the southern & western parts of the County

11 Satisfaction with Efforts to Achieve Strategic Plan Goals

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 12 Questions drawn from County’s four strategic directions: providing high quality educational opportunities for Albemarle County citizens of all ages; protecting the County’s natural, scenic, and historic resources; enhancing the quality of life for all Albemarle County citizens; and providing effective and efficient County services to the public in a courteous and equitable manner.

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 13 Most satisfied with… Efforts to make the County a safe and healthy community (94%) Efforts to create learning opportunities for all ages (93%) Efforts to provide effective, responsive, and courteous service to customers (90.8%)

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 14 Least Satisfied with… Efforts to promote the development of affordable places to live (48.1%) Efforts to protect and preserve the County’s rural character (67.6%) Efforts to provide needed infrastructure (68.6%)... See page 18 of report for full list.

15 Views of Government Spending

What Should Albemarle Do About Taxes and Services?

Satisfaction With Value for Tax Dollar Percent satisfied: 80.4%

18 Satisfaction With Services

Overall Satisfaction with County Services Percent Satisfied: 90.6%

Overall Satisfaction  Not significantly different from 2002  Significantly greater than 1994

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 21 Of the 27 Satisfaction Items in the Survey… 22 had satisfaction levels of 60% or better 16 items had satisfaction levels of 75% or better

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 22 Satisfaction was highest for… Fire protection95.9% Library services95.0% Emergency rescue services94.3% Safety in business areas92.6% Police protection92.4%

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 23 Satisfaction was lowest for… Ease of getting around by public transportation45.8% Level of recycling services54.2% Safety for walkers and bicyclists 55.3% Efforts to manage growth56.4% Supporting adequate housing56.5%

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 24 Satisfaction with Quality of Education 85% in 2004 Not significantly different from % of those with children in schools were satisfied

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 25 In General… Residents were most satisfied with public safety items. Items related to growth management had lower satisfaction ratings.

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 26 Changes from 2002 No significant increases Significant decreases in 9 items

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 27 What Went Down… Efforts to manage growth Ease of getting around by car Ease of getting around by public transportation Efforts to protect natural resources and the environment Efforts to preserve open space Safety for walkers and bicyclists

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 28 And Also Down… Keeping citizens informed about programs and services Emergency rescue services Efforts to support adequate housing

29 Satisfaction with Contact with the County

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 30 Contact with County During the past 12 months, 45.7% of respondents contacted the County government Most frequently contacted departments were: Finance Police Building Code/Zoning Services

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 31 Satisfaction with Contact 81.5% were satisfied with the helpfulness of County employees 84.9% agreed that the length of time that they had to wait for service was within reason 83.5% were satisfied overall with their experience contacting the County.

32 Planning and Growth

Support for Development Areas Percent Favoring: 69.9%

Support for Development Areas

Support for Development Areas by type of Area

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 36 How Can we Attract People to Live in Urban Areas? We asked: “Please tell me how important each service is for attracting people to live in the urban areas rather than the rural areas within the County.”  Very important  Somewhat important  Not very important

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 37 How Can we Attract People to Live in Urban Areas? Most important: Public utilities Faster emergency response times A variety of housing types

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 38 How Can we Attract People to Live in Urban Areas? Least important: Having a mix of commercial, residential, and/or office uses Having bikeways Having neighborhood or corner stores Substantial variation by subgroup

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 39 Shopping Outside of County Almost half (46.5%) had traveled outside of Albemarle County for the primary purpose of shopping in the past month. Most Frequently Visited Destinations: Richmond Area Staunton/Waynesboro Northern Virginia Most Frequently Purchased Items: Clothing Groceries Housewares

40 Summary

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 41 The Survey Said… Residents are very satisfied with the quality of life in Albemarle County Ratings of most County services remain high There are some significant decreases from the 2002 survey, especially in growth-related service areas Residents are concerned about issues related to growth and development

Overall Satisfaction with County Services Percent Satisfied: 90.6%

Albemarle County 2004 Citizen Survey October 6, 2004

Center for Survey Research University of Virginia Center for Survey Research University of Virginia 44 For further information please contact: Thomas M. Guterbock Director