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15 Staff Report - Resident Satisfaction SurveyDATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: MEETING DATE: 11-03-03 ITEM NO. COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT OCTOBER 29, 2003 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL DEBRA J. FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER TOWN OF LOS GATOS RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY RECOMMENDATION: Accept report on Town of Los Gatos Resident Satisfaction Survey BACKGROUND: In September 2003, the Town entered into a contract with Godbe Research Associates (GRA) to conduct a survey of Los Gatos residents to measure their satisfaction with the services the Town provides. The Town Manager approved the contract in the amount not to exceed $25,000 under her contracting authority. GRA also conducted a resident survey in February 2003 on behalf of the Town; however, that survey focused primarily on the human needs of Los Gatos families, youth and seniors. DISCUSSION: This staff report discusses highlights of the 2003 Resident Satisfaction Survey, implications for the Town, and recommended next steps. The full survey report, Attachment 1, provides an executive summary and complete results. Purpose of the Survey The purpose of the 2003 Resident Satisfaction Survey was to gauge resident satisfaction with the quality of life in Los Gatos, with a variety of services provided by the Town, and with the job the Town is doing in providing those services. In addition, the survey results establish a baseline measure of resident satisfaction for comparison with future surveys. Ci0_ PREPARED BY: PAMELA S. JACOBS ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager 014, Town Attorney Clerk Finance Community Development Revised: 10/29/03 10:22 am Reformatted: 5/30/02 PAGE 2 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY (October 29, 2003) Methodology The survey was conducted through 18-minute telephone interviews of 400 randomly -selected adult residents of Los Gatos over the period from September 11 through September 22, 2003. The sample size of 400 residents was sufficient to produce a margin of error of 4.86 percent for those questions that were answered by all 400 respondents. This means that one can be 95 percent confident that the margin of error will not vary by more than plus or minus 4.86 percent from the result that would be obtained if all adult residents in Los Gatos were interviewed. The margin of error increases for those questions that were not answered by all respondents, of which there were quite a few as noted in the following discussion and in the report. Highlights of Key Findings Overall, the survey results revealed a high level of satisfaction with the quality of life in Los Gatos and with the services the Town provides. According to GRA, the Town's results compare very favorably with other communities of similar size and socio-economic make-up. In particular, GRA noted that 75% of our residents rating the Town an "excellent" place to live is an extremely high rating (97% said it was a good or excellent place to live). Most of the individual attributes that contribute to quality of life and the specific services the Town provides received high ratings as well, with more than three -fourths of respondents expressing satisfaction. Given these results, the Town can feel reasonably comfortable that the community is pleased with the Town. The availability of public parking is the one area to which residents gave lower ratings. With all respondents offering an opinion, only 41 % rated this attribute as excellent or good and 22% rated it as poor. For a number of services, including issuing business license, providing senior services, managing the Town's finances, maintaining and repairing sewers, planning and building services, specific library services, and specific police services, a large percentage of respondents said "don't know" or "no opinion." Of those who did respond to these questions, a much higher percentage were satisfied than were dissatisfied. However, the margin of error for the results is significantly,,higher than for the other services given the high numbers of non -responders. In addition to questions about services, the survey also posed two questions to gauge residents' opinions about rasing taxes to fund civic building improvements or maintain public services. For the most part, residents either did not favor raising taxes or were generally evenly split on the question. Street and sidewalk improvements and police services received 50% and 49% favorable responses, respectively. Implications of Survey Results Overall, these survey results set a high standard for future surveys, such that it may be challenging to improve upon the results. They also set a high standard to maintain as the Town faces fiscal challenges that may result in lower levels of service in the future. At the same time, the Town should be pleased with these high marks. PAGE 4 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY (October 29, 2003) service that produces an opinion. Publicity about the services the Town provides should continue to be a high priority using methods such as the Town's web site, the Vista, and the media in general. Some of the library services and police services fall into this category, as does "managing the Town finances" and "maintaining and repairing sewers." In general, the Town should always look for ways to communicate with the Town about events and services. The high levels of response regarding access to the Internet (87%) and preference for getting information about Town services through the Internet (62%) suggest that the Town should continue to enhance our use of the Town's web site and What's New! to communicate with the residents. Further Research The low satisfaction rates regarding public parking, either in general or at the library, should be taken into consideration as the Town proceeds to evaluate the Town's parking needs and the implementation of the Parking Management Plan. The current efforts to improve wayfinding for downtown parking may help to mitigate the low satisfaction rate, as the public may perceive there is less parking than is actually available. As noted above, the Town will need to do further research and potentially conduct further surveys of voters in the event that there is a need to pursue increased revenue for Town services. Current results may change as voters become more informed and aware of fiscal challenges facing the Town. The 2003 resident satisfaction survey provides a good benchmark for measuring the residents' satisfaction with Town services. In general, it is beneficial to conduct surveys of this type every two years to identify any trends in levels of satisfaction. As needed, the Town may also consider conducting Townwide surveys focusing on other questions such as the importance of various services the Town provides or other policy issues. CONCLUSION: Overall, Town residents rated the Town's quality of life and the services the Town provides quite favorably. This does not mean that the Town should rest on its laurels. It will continue to be important to seek to meet the community's needs, to communicate with the residents and businesses, and to measure satisfaction of our customers. The current and expected fiscal constraints facing the Town present challenges in maintaining this high level of satisfaction with Town services, suggesting that communication with the community will continue to be a very high priority. PAGE 3 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY (October 29, 2003) It is important to note that, although most of the survey results are statistically significant, the results should be used as a benchmark and a general indicator of public sentiment at this point in time, rather than as a basis for making decisions or taking immediate actions. The results indicate residents opinions, but do not indicate why they have these opinions. The results may implicate a need for improvement (such as "availability of public parking" and "parking" at the library), but do not provide the level of information needed to take actions. In addition, as noted above, the Town cannot draw conclusions with the same degree of certainty about levels of satisfaction for those questions which had a high percentage of non -responders. This is important to keep in mind when considering the results of questions related to residents' opinions about increasing taxes to pay for municipal services. Because the responses were generally evenly split or not favorable does not mean that the Town should not explore this approach in the future if reductions in service levels become necessary due to fiscal constraints. In that event, the Town would present the voters with specific information about economic conditions, potential service level changes, and estimates of increased revenue needed so that the voters could make a more informed decision than possible with the preliminary questions posed in the resident satisfaction survey. Next Steps Although there are limitations regarding the use of the survey results, as discussed above, the results do suggest a few areas for action and/or further research. These include: Targeted Customer Surveys and Focus Groups The high levels of non -response on some of the question point to a need to conduct targeted customer surveys. In these cases, the responders most likely have not had direct experience with a particular service, and yet the service has a customer base. For these services, targeted customer surveys would provide information on the satisfaction levels of those actually using the service. This is the case with planning and building services and the library services. In both of these areas, staff has already planned to conduct customer surveys. Conducting focus groups would provide more in-depth information about customers' feelings about these services. In the planning and building services area, a consultant recently conducted customer focus groups and focus groups were conducted for both planning and building services and library services as part of the Civic Center/Library Master Plan. Focus groups of non -library -users may be helpful in identifying reasons why more residents don't use the library. Marketing and Communication About Services For some of the services receiving high levels of non -responses, the respondents may simply not know that the service is available, that the Town provides the services, or have knowledge about the PAGE 5 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY (October 29, 2003) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with accepting the report on the Resident Satisfaction Survey. Attachments: 1. Town of Los Gatos Resident Satisfaction Survey, October 2003