Politics & Government
How Do You Think Royal Oak is Doing? City Releases Survey Results
City officials got a look at residents perceptions of local government, parks, city events and more at the Royal Oak strategic planning meeting on Saturday.
How do you think Royal Oak is doing?
City official wanted to know, too, so they hired Cobalt Community Research – a Lansing-based nonprofit organization – to mail a six-page survey to registered voters asking them to think about and then rate on a scale of 1 to 10 everything from law enforcement to the public school system to local government leaders.
Cobolt sent the survey to 1,500 residents drawn from voter records and received valid responses from 333 residents.
According to the survey, the city's overall American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score is 70. For comparison, the state's ACSI score is 60, the Midwest's is 61 and the national ACSI score is 62.
City Commissioners approved the survey on Sept. 16 by a 4-2 vote. (David Poulton and Peggy Goodwin were nays. Mayor Jim Ellison was absent.) The cost of the Cobalt survey is estimated at $12,085.
Here are some of the results of the survey. (High and low scores are highlighted for emphasis):
Services citizens' believe should be prioritized for funding:
- Police (86 percent of respondents)
- Road maintenance (67 percent)
- Fire prevention and suppression (63 percent)
- Ambulance service (49 percent)
- Snow removal (46 percent)
- Parks (44 percent)
Overall satisfaction with city services on a scale of 1 to 10
- Ambulance 8.9
- Animal control 6.7
- Building inspection 6.7
- Code enforcement 6.5
- Fire prevention and suppression 8.4
- Pest control 5.6
- Police 8.0
Outcome behaviors (high score 100)
- Recommend as a place to live: 79
- Remain in community: 74
- Plan to volunteer: 51
- Encourage business start to start up: 63
- Support current government: 58
Community image (high score 100)
- Overall community image: 79
- Safe place to live: 81
- Enjoyable for children: 81
- Enjoyable for young adults: 87
- Enjoyable for seniors: 78
- Enjoyable for everyone else: 82
- Attractive: 78
- Great place to live: 81
- Great place for business: 75
- Growing responsibility: 72
- Safe place to bike and walk: 74
- Safe place to walk at night: 72
- Perfect community for me: 75
Quality of life components (high score 100)
- Overall public schools: 68
- Overall transportation: 63
- Overall fire and emergency medical services: 85
- Overall police department: 78
- Overall property taxes: 70
- Overall shopping opportunities: 77
- Overall local government: 67
- Overall community events: 77
- Overall economic health: 65
- Overall diversity: 61
- Overall parks and recreation: 73
- Overall library: 80
Local government management (high score 100)
- Overall local government: 67
- Leaders are trustworthy: 69
- Being well-managed: 65
- Well trained employees: 71
- Effective communication: 67
- Spending wisely: 59
- Open to citizen ideas: 62
- Having a website that meets your needs: 70
Interaction with city employees/officials (high score 10)
- Level of knowledge 7.7
- Level of professionalism 7.7
- Ease of reaching the right person 7.4
Parks and recreation (high score 100)
- Overall parks and recreation: 73
- Facilities and parks meet your needs: 75
- Facility and park maintenance: 70
- Quality of programs: 75
- Variety of programs: 73
Community Events (high score 100)
- Overall community events: 77
- Range of events: 78
- Strong-vibrant art community: 79
- Quality sporting events: 52
- Variety of festivals and events: 82
Library (high score 100)
- Overall library: 80
- Hours of operation: 74
- Adequacy of resources: 79
- Location: 84
To see how Royal Oak's scores compare with state, Midwest and national benchmarks, scroll through the infogr.am above or click here.
Are you surprised by the results? Or did the survey-takers get it right? Tell us in the comments.
RELATED:
- Survey Says: Residents Open to Selling Parks, Supporting Tax Increase for Roads
- Residents Speak Out at Royal Oak Strategic Planning Session
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