1. City of Decatur National Citizen Survey 2012 Results City Commission Work Session July 16, 2012

2. Citizen Survey Results  Contracted with the National Research Center, Inc. for fourth time  Survey conducted by mail in February & March, 2012  1200 randomly selected residential addresses in the 30030 zip code  468 returned for a response rate of 40%

3. Top 5 Positive Responses  Rated as “excellent” or “good” Safety in Decatur’s downtown area and neighborhoods during the day (98%) Decatur as a place to live (96%) Decatur as a place to raise children (96%) Recommend living here to someone who asks (96%) Overall Quality of Life (96%)

4. Top 5 Positive Responses across the years 201220102008 1. Safety in Decatur’s downtown area and neighborhoods during the day (98%) Decatur as a place to live (97%) 2. Decatur as a place to live (96%) Safety in Decatur's downtown area and neighborhoods during the day (96%) Safety in Decatur's downtown area and neighborhoods during the day (97%) 3. Decatur as a place to raise children (96%) Recommend living here to someone who asks (97%) Overall image or reputation of Decatur (94%) 4. Overall Quality of Life (96%) Fire Services (96%) Decatur as a place to raise children (93%) 5. Recommend living here to someone who asks (96%)Overall Quality of Life (95%)Cleanliness (90%)

5. Top 5 Negative Responses  Rated as “poor” Traffic signal timing (22%) Amount of public parking (19%) Street repair (15%) Code enforcement (15%) Employment opportunities (14%)

6. Top 5 Needs Improvement Responses through the years 201220102008 1.Traffic signal timing (22%)Traffic signal timing (27%)Traffic signal timing (31%) 2. Amount of public parking (19%) Amount of public parking (23%) Amount of public parking (22%) 3.Street repair (15%) Availability of affordable quality childcare (19%) Traffic flow on major streets (22%) 4.Code enforcement (15%) Service to low-income people (18%) Availability of affordable quality housing (20%) 5. Employment opportunities (14%) Traffic flow on major streets (17%) Employment opportunities (16%)

7. Highest “Excellent” Ratings  For Service Quality Recycling – 58% Fire – 57% Garbage Collection – 50% Police – 45% City parks – 40%

8. Highest “Poor” Ratings  For Service Quality Traffic signal timing – 22% Street repair – 15% Code enforcement – 15% Sidewalk maintenance – 13% Storm drainage – 11%

9. Citizen Survey Results Observation: Percentage of respondents who had visited a city park and visited at least 26+ times a year.

10. Citizen Survey Results Observation: Rated impression of interaction with City of Decatur staff as “excellent” or “good.”

11. Citizen Survey Results Observation: How Government Service Providers are Perceived Combined Ratings of “excellent” or “good” City of Decatur – 94% United States – 45% DeKalb County – 37% State of Georgia – 29%

12. Citizen Survey Results More Observations  88% rated opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities as “good” or “excellent”; 56% indicated they “never” participated in religious or spiritual events.  30% responded that they talked or visited with their immediate neighbors “just about everyday.”  76% have never watched a City Commission meeting on cable television.  71% have never ridden a local bus.  70% have never participated in a club or civic group in Decatur.  64% have never attended a “public” meeting.

13. Citizen Survey Results National Benchmarks  Job the government does at welcoming citizen involvement – 1 st out of 307 jurisdictions (Decatur avg = 75)  Opportunities to participate in community issues – 1 st out of 179 jurisdictions (Decatur avg = 78)  Overall quality of businesses and service establishments – 1 st out of 171 (Decatur avg = 76)

14. Citizen Survey Results National Benchmarks  Ease of walking – 5 th out of 54 jurisdictions (Decatur avg = 80)  Read the City’s newsletter – 3 rd out of 171 jurisdictions (Decatur avg = 98)  Visited the City’s website – 4 th out of 114 jurisdictions (Decatur avg = 82)

15. Citizen Survey Results Southern Region Benchmarks  City as a place to live – 1 st out of 21 jurisdictions(Decatur avg = 89)  Ease of walking– 1 st out of 17 (Decatur avg = 80)  Place to work – 1 st out of 19 (Decatur avg = 75)  Overall quality of business and service establishments – 1 st out of 15 (Decatur avg = 76)  Safety in downtown during the day – 1 st out of 17 (Decatur avg = 94)  Police Services – 2 nd out of 20 (Decatur avg = 77)  Quality of new development – 3 rd out of 18 (Decatur avg = 69)

16. Citizen Survey Results Southern Region Benchmarks  Opportunities to participate in community issues – 1 st out of 15 (Decatur avg = 78)  Opportunities to volunteer– 1 st out of 15 (Decatur avg = 79)  Services provided by the City – 1 st out of 26 (Decatur avg = 78)  Job government does at welcoming citizen involvement – 1 st out of 20 (Decatur avg = 75)  Emergency preparedness – 1 st out of 14 (Decatur avg = 70)  Overall direction city is taking– 2 nd out of 19(Decatur avg = 71)

17. Citizen Survey Results  Interesting Demographics 44% lived in Decatur five years or less 35% had someone under the age of 17 in the home 18% had someone 65 years of age or older in the home Median total housing costs are between $1,000 – $1,499 per month 24% believe that the economy will have a negative or very negative impact in the next six months.

18. Citizen Survey Results Policy Question #1 Currently, healthy trees can be removed from single family residences without a permit or a tree replacement plan. To what extent do you support or oppose amending the City’s tree ordinance to require a city-issued permit to remove trees from private property? Strongly support – 23% Somewhat support – 32% Somewhat oppose – 22% Strongly oppose – 23%

19. Citizen Survey Results Policy Question #2 Do you think that the current level of traffic enforcement by the Decatur Police Department is too little, too much or about right? Too much – 8% About right– 75% Too little– 17%

20. Citizen Survey Results Policy Question #3 Please indicate to what extent you would support or oppose financing that would use tax funds for the renovation of the old Beacon School complex, including construction of a new Decatur Police Department headquarters on West Trinity Place. Strongly support – 26% Somewhat support – 51% Somewhat oppose – 14% Strongly oppose – 8%