CITIZEN SURVEY RESULTS
DISCUSSED BY COMMISSION
Sarasota, FL: Results of The National
Citizen Survey™ conducted for the City of Sarasota
for 2008 were discussed today during the regular City Commission
meeting.
The City of Sarasota received high ratings in overall appearance,
overall image and reputation and opportunities for cultural
activities. Ratings for the City of Sarasota as an “excellent
or good” place to live were also high, at 84%. City
employees were rated as “excellent or good”
by 73% of the respondents who had contact with their departments.
City of Sarasota citizen involvement is
above average, as 64% watched a local government meeting;
38% attended a local government meeting, and 53% visited
the City’s website. Ratings were down for code compliance,
economic development and recycling, with increases for transit
services, street cleaning, city parks, recreational facilities,
cable TV and public information, drinking water, and stormwater.
The areas with decreasing performance ratings will be reviewed
for improvements as we move forward in Fiscal Year 2008-09.
The City also identified several community-wide
focus areas for improvement: availability of affordable
housing, ease of bicycle travel, and ease of bus travel.
The City will continue to work with Sarasota County to improve
these County-wide services.
The National Citizen Survey™ is sponsored
by the International City/County Management Association
in cooperation with National Research Center, Inc. The questionnaire
and survey procedure were designed based on the experience
of hundreds of local governments, ranging in size from small
to large. Scientific sampling and weighting of the responses
in each city ensure accurate and reliable results. Because
each city's survey is developed using a standard template,
and many cities can be surveyed at one time, The National
Citizen Survey™ is a very efficient way to measure
citizen opinion.
The complete 2008 Citizens Survey can be
found on the City Manager’s webpage at www.sarasotagov.com.
For more information, please contact:
Jan
Thornburg, Public Information Officer (941) 954-2613
jan.thornburg@sarasotagov.com
