PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY REGARDING CITY SERVICES

Transcription

1 PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY REGARDING CITY SERVICES October 17, 2003 THE KENTUCKY POLL John D. Parker, Project Director J. J. Sloan 1341 State Street Bowling Green, KY Tel: (502)

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SUMMARY OF FINDINGS METHODOLOGY THE RESPONDENTS FINDINGS Problems Facing Bowling Green Rating of Various Aspects of Bowling Green Rating of Bowling Green City Government Services Changes in City Services During the Past Year Citizen Contacts with City Employees/Officials Citizen Information about City Government FIGURES Figure 1: % Ratings of Each Aspect of the City Figure 2: % Ratings on each City Service APPENDIX The Questionnaire and Responses

3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS This study is based on an October 17, 2003 Kentucky Poll telephone survey of 202 Bowling Green residents age 18 or older, whose telephone numbers were randomly selected. It is the fourth such survey of city residents, the first having been conducted in March 1998, the second in October 1999, and the third in October Therefore, this study represents a snapshot of Bowling Green citizens now, as well as offering a comparison with attitudes two, four and 5 2 years earlier. The people interviewed were asked a series of questions about life in Bowling Green, and their views of a range of services provided by city government. Responses were clearly positive -- though slightly less so than in This variation from 2001 is well within the margin of error that may occur when comparing two groups of respondents. It is not surprising that this year=s ratings are often slightly lower than in We noted in our report of the October 2001 survey that those high ratings might at least partly reflect the positive attitudes toward government that were being reported by pollsters all over the country in the aftermath of the September 11 th terrorist attacks. In contrast, pollsters nationwide are reporting that citizens are much more critical today. The greatest criticism this year continued to be directed toward traffic congestion. In distant second place was the condition of streets. Rising to third and fourth places were taxes and rude drivers. The sharp decline in concern about drugs and other crime that was noted in the 2001 survey continued this year. METHODOLOGY This poll was a telephone survey of numbers randomly selected from the Bowling Green City Directory. Trained Western Kentucky University students were used to make the calls on October 17, 2003 from 4:20-8:40 p.m. The telephone interviewing proceeded smoothly. A total of 1038 numbers were called in order to reach the target of 200 completed interviews (202 interviews were actually completed). Twenty-six percent of the calls were answered by machines. Sixteen percent of the persons answering the call declined to participate. Fifteen percent of the numbers were no longer in use. A fourth of the numbers dialed were business numbers, outside the Bowling Green City limits, busy, no one answered, or no person age 18 or older was present. The predictable accuracy of a poll is based on the size of the sample. A sample of 202 yields results over the entire sample with a margin of error of plus or minus 6.9 percent in 95 of 100 cases. However, the margin of error increases when the sample is divided into smaller components. For example, examining the attitudes of the 77 males in the survey would produce a margin of error of 11.2 percent.

4 THE RESPONDENTS There were more women (125) than men (77) interviewed. This female/male ratio has been present in all four of the citizen satisfaction surveys. This is related to the fact that a majority of the respondents were over age 50, and women outnumber men at that age. It is also due to the fact that women are more likely than men to answer the telephone when both are there. In addition, men were more likely than women to refuse to participate. The people interviewed ranged in age from 19 to 90, with over half being age 56 or older. Several factors account for the high number of older respondents. The rising use of caller ID display units and telephone answering machines to screen incoming calls is more prevalent among young to middle-aged residents than older people. Willingness to be interviewed is another factor. Despite the city=s prior publicity regarding the survey, 170 people who answered the telephone refused to participate in the survey. This reflects a growing national reluctance to provide information over the telephone, with older people more willing to talk. Most respondents were long-timed residents of the city, as shown below: Number of respondents Years in Bowling Green or less No answer Their incomes are shown below. Low incomes were most often reported by students and elderly respondents. Number of respondents Income Under $20, $20-40, $40-60, Over $60, Don't know/refused to say

5 FINDINGS Problems Facing Bowling Green During two decades of polling in Bowling Green, we have asked respondents what they think of Bowling Green as a place to live. Responses have consistently been overwhelmingly positive, and this certainly is true in this survey, with only one person rating the city as Anot so good,@ and three as Apoor.@ When asked what they particularly like about Bowling Green, over a third cited the size of the city, as was true in the 1999 and 2001 surveys. Only 12 people declined to name anything positive about the city, and one person specifically answered Anothing.@ Their appreciation for their city of residence did not necessarily mean that they saw no problems facing Bowling Green. When asked to name the most serious problems, the leading response continued to be traffic congestion, as in the two earlier surveys. Traffic congestion was distantly followed by street conditions, but that complaint was nevertheless much lower than in The only other concerns named by at least ten people were taxes and rude drivers. Forty people named two problems, and nine named three concerns. A total of 60 people named no problem, compared with 77 in the 2001 survey and 48 in The respondents who named more than one problem were asked which problem they considered the most serious. Their responses, coupled with those who named only a single problem, produced the same leading concerns B traffic congestion and street conditions. Those were the only two concerns named by at least ten people, though a variety of other issues were named by one or a few people. It is significant that the mention of drugs and crime by Bowling Green citizens as the leading problem has steadily declined over the past 5 2 years. During the 1990s, drugs and crime generally led national surveys of Americans' lists of problems facing the nation, despite the fact that during the past decade the Justice Department was reporting yearly drops in the national crime rate. Bowling Green citizens apparently perceive that decline in crime. As was noted in the 2001 survey, young people (under age 39) were much less likely than older people to think of traffic congestion as a serious problem in Bowling Green. In 2001 the lowest income category of respondents were much more concerned with drugs than higher-income citizens, but that is no longer so. These citizens were next asked how good a job they thought the Bowling Green city government has done in dealing with the major problem they named. The results are shown in the table on the next page for the top two concerns. Discounting the neutral responses [3 on the scale of 1 to 5], traffic and street conditions both produced more negative than positive ratings of city handling of those concerns.

6 Most Serious Problem How Well is B.G. City Government Dealing With It? [Very Bad] [Very Good] Total People Traffic 8% 29% 37% 17% 9% 52 Street Conditions 20% 30% 50% 0% 0% 10 Rating of Various Aspects of Bowling Green Respondents were asked to rate a number of aspects of Bowling Green on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "very bad," and 5 being "very good." Some of these do not directly involve city government (such as shopping opportunities), but they help shape citizens' attitudes about the city. The results [shown as questions in the Appendix] are positive on each item. Figure 1 on page 7 displays the percentage of people rating each aspect on the scale of 1 to 5. Means for each aspect are shown in the Appendix, as well as the means for 1998, 1999 and None of these nine items attained all-time high ratings this year. The only one to receive an all-time low was job availability, and that rating is understandable, given the current job market. Rating of Bowling Green City Government Services More germane to the purpose of this survey are the ratings of thirteen categories of general services provided by the Bowling Green city government. Of those citizens rating the city services, most seemed satisfied with most services. [See the number of responses at questions in the Appendix. Figure 2 on page 8 shows the percentage of people rating each service on the scale.] A comparison of this year=s means with the earlier surveys shows that no service reached an all-time high this year, though all ratings are good. Changes in City Services After rating the thirteen categories of city services, respondents were asked if any of those had gotten better or worse in the past year or so. Seventy citizens (35 percent) reported there had been some change. When asked which of the services had gotten better or worse, four individual services were named by more than ten people -- traffic control, police protection, street/sidewalk maintenance and disaster preparedness. The changes in police protection, traffic control and disaster preparedness were clearly seen as positive. The traffic control ratings are notable for their positive ratings this year (10 to 3) compared to the 2001 rating of 5 positive and 7 negative. Changes in sidewalk and street maintenance were seen slightly more positively than negatively (6 to 4). [See responses at question 38 in the Appendix].

7 Citizen Contacts with City Employees/Officials The respondents were asked if they had contacted any city employees or officials about anything during the past year. Thirty-four reported that they had. Related to the drop in concern with crime, fewer people this year reporting having contacted the police. Public Works was named most often, though several people could not remember whom they had contacted. The most common subject was routine requests for services, followed by a variety of complaints and concerns. Four of the 34 said that their concerns had been handled rudely. Thirteen people were not satisfied with the responses to their concerns, but it should be noted that some of their concerns are not quickly or easily accomplished, such as solving traffic and drainage problems. New this year was a question about citizens= experiences in applying for City jobs. Sixteen people reported that they had done so during the past three years. All but two of those reported they had been treated professionally. Citizen Information about City Government A variety of sources were cited as being important to the respondents in providing information about Bowling Green City Government. The local newspaper and TV were by far most often named. Nearly half (49.5%) said that they had watched at least some of the televised City Commission meetings during the past year. Nearly two-thirds (64 %) of the respondents reported watching "Spotlight on Bowling Green," with only three of them saying that it was not informative. Slightly more than a third (38%) reported watching any of the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings on TV. It is difficult to judge the extent of "watching" that those programs actually received, with TV "channel surfing" being quite common today. Another new question this year asked people how often they watch the Government Access Channel 3 on cable TV. Nearly half (46%) reported watching it at least once a month. Reported Internet usage among people answering this survey continues to rise. Over half (58%) said that they now use the Internet, compared to 40 percent in Given that half of the people in this year=s survey are 70 or older, actual Internet usage among the overall public is doubtlessly a good deal higher. Of the Internet users, 73 percent reported using Bowling Green=s web page, up from the 45 percent in 2001 and 35 percent in Those who have used Bowling Green=s web page were asked what they would like to see added to it, with thirteen offering suggestions. (It should be noted that the City=s web page already contains two of the suggested additions B City codes and City Commission minutes. Internet usage among these respondents is related to age and income, but not gender. As might be expected, Internet use is greater among young people and those with higher incomes. Among those using the Internet, men this year nearly caught up with women in using the city=s web page, as shown on the next page.

8 % Using Internet, by Age: % Using Internet, by Gender: < Male Female 2001: 70% 71% 80% 52% 48% 13% 8% 65% 49% 2003: % Using Internet, by Income (in $ K): % Using City=s Web Page, by Gender: < Male Female 2001: 27% 41% 63% 81% 37% 49% 2003: Another new question this year asked about readership of the City Page advertisement run in the Daily News on the first Sunday of each month. Only 29 percent reported that they never read it, while 37 percent reported reading it often. Sixty-six people (33%) said that there is a neighborhood organization in their neighborhood, with forty-nine (74%) of them considering it useful. Eight-one people said they would know where to go or whom to contact if they should need to obtain senior citizen services for themselves or someone else, down from ninety people who gave that answer in Among the respondents age 49 or older, 49 percent claimed such knowledge, compared to 29 percent of those under age 49. Over three-quarters (79%) of the citizens surveyed knew that there is a public transportation system in Bowling Green. Only those living in Bowling Green less than five years were unlikely to know about the public transportation system. Only 46 percent of them were aware of it, compared to around 83 percent of the remainder.

9 FIGURE 1: % Ratings of Each Aspect of City Very Bad Bad Neutral Good Very Good D/K Services to diversity Shopping WKU-City Crime Safety Handicapped Open to diversity Jobs Afford Housing Neighborhood

10 Fire FIGURE 2: % Ratings of Each City Service Very Bad Bad Neutral Good Very Good D/K Disaster Litter Parks/Rec Police Drainage Lights St/Sidewlk Traffic control Traffic enforce Leaf Housing Alley/Weeds

11 APPENDIX 2003 BOWLING GREEN CITIZEN-SATISFACTION SURVEY COMPARED TO 1998, 1999 & 2001 SURVEYS Note: The numbers shown are the number of people giving that response, not the percent. The percentage can easily be calculated by dividing the number of responses by 2, e.g., the 88 people choosing on question #1 in October 2001 represent 44% of the sample. There were 201 respondents in the March 1998 survey, 202 in the October 1999 survey, 200 in the October 2001 survey, and 202 in the October 2003 survey.. 1. How would you rate Bowling Green overall as The question asked in 1998 was: ADo you think a place to live? Would you say it is: Bowling Green is generally a pretty nice place to live? Oct Oct Oct 2003 Excellent No 1 Good Not sure/don=t know 4 Average Yes 196 Not so good Poor What do you particularly like about Bowling Green? [RECORD UP TO THREE RESPONSES] [This question was not asked in 1998] Size Medical services Friendly people Its growth Location/Convenience Good roads/highways Everything Restaurants Activities/Qual of life Quiet Hometown/Family here Progressive Lots of services available Low taxes WKU Downtown development Shopping Churches Parks & recreation Housing Schools Good business base Little crime Low traffic Attractiveness City government Place to raise family Diversity Jobs Police Climate Library Low cost of living Nothing/I don=t like B.G Easy to get around here

12 5-7. What do you think are the most serious problems facing Bowling Green, that is, problems that the Bowling Green city government is responsible for, not the county, state, or private companies? (PROBE) -- Anything at all in the city? (PROBE) -- Anything else? [RECORD UP TO THREE RESPONSES] *Note: Care was taken in the last three surveys to determine what aspect of and were the subject of people=s complaints. Thus, the responses for Atraffic Astreet Arude and Atraffic law are more precise for 1999, 2001 and 2003 than for Traffic congestion/flow Street conditions Taxes Rude drivers * Crime Unplanned growth Drugs Traffic law enforcement * City debt/spending Better public transport Transpark controversy City politics 4 Drainage Lack of good jobs Rundown property 2 3 Slump in city growth 3 Inadequate use of downtown 3 3 Inadequate entertainment/cultural events 1 2 Inadequate citizen info/involvement re. city issues 1 2 Inadequate affordable housing 2 Inadequate number of police 2 Discrimination/Intolerance 4 1 Teens/Juveniles/Gangs Litter Parking Inadequate family recreation 1 1 Inadequate library materials 1 Inadequate parks 1 Meeting needs of all citizens 1 Noise pollution 1 Poverty 1 Inadequate healthcare 1 Slow sewer installation 1 Inadequate attention to West Side 1 Inadequate police response 1 Inadequate senior citizen services 1 Inadequate leash law enforcement 1 City Hall behind the times 1 Convention Center dispute 1 None Of those you have mentioned, what would you say is the single most important problem the city

13 faces? Traffic congestion/flow Traffic law enforcement * Rude drivers * Street conditions Lack of planned growth Drugs Crime Transpark controversy City debt/spending Better public transit 4 Slump in growth 3 Drainage 3 2 City politics 2 Intolerance/Discrimination 3 1 Lack of good jobs Teens/Juveniles/Gangs Noise pollution 1 Inadequate use of downtown 2 3 Rundown property 2 1 Taxes Litter Inadequate family recreation 1 1 Inadequate entertainment/cultural events 1 Inadequate affordable housing 1 Inadequate parks 1 Meeting needs of all citizens 1 Noise pollution 1 Poverty 1 Inadequate healthcare 1 Slow sewer installation 1 Inadequate attention to West Side 1 Inadequate leash law enforcement 1 City Hall behind the times 1 Convention Center dispute 1 9. IF ONE OR MORE PROBLEMS WERE NAMED, ASK: How good a job do you think the Bowling Green City government has done in dealing with this problem, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "very bad" and 5 being "very good?@ 1 [very bad] [very good] No problem/don=t know Mean Now I'd like to ask you to rate some specific aspects of Bowling Green. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "very bad" and 5 being "very good," how would you rate:

14 10. Your own neighborhood, overall? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean The availability of affordable housing in the Bowling Green area? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean The availability of jobs in the Bowling Green area? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Shopping opportunities in the Bowling Green area? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean The relationships between Western Kentucky University and the community? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Your own sense of being safe from becoming a victim of serious crime? 1 [very bad]

15 [very good] D/K Mean Accessibility for the handicapped in the community? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Openness to people from diverse backgrounds? 1 [very bad] [Not asked in 1998 or 1999] [very good] D/K 10 9 Mean Services for people from diverse backgrounds? 1 [very bad] [Not asked in 1998 or 1999] [very good] D/K Mean Next, I'd like to ask you to rate some specific services provided by the Bowling Green city government. Again, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "very bad" and 5 being "very good," how would you rate: [RECORD SPECIFIC LIKES & DISLIKES THAT MAY BE VOLUNTEERED] 19. Alley and weed maintenance? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Fire protection? 1 [very bad]

16 [very good] D/K Mean Housing services, such as issuing building permits, conducting building inspections, and maintaining good housing conditions? 22. Leaf pickup? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Parks and recreation? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Police protection? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Storm drainage? 1 [very bad]

17 [very good] D/K Mean Street lighting? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Street and sidewalk maintenance? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Traffic control, such as traffic lights and stop signs? 1 [very bad] [very good] D/K Mean Enforcement of traffic laws? 1 [very bad] [Not asked in 1998] [very good] D/K Mean Litter control? 1 [very bad] [Not asked in 1998] [very good]

18 D/K Mean The city=s preparedness for a disaster? [The 1999 question asked about the city=s Y2K preparations.] 1 [very bad] [Not asked in 1998] [very good] D/K Mean Thinking of those city services that I just asked you to rate, have you noticed any of those city services getting better or getting worse in the past year or so? No Yes IF "YES:" Which? 34. Is it better or worse? 35. Any other service that has gotten better or worse? 36. Is it better or worse? 37. Record 3rd service named: 38. Is it better or worse? Service Worse Better Worse Better Worse Better Worse Better Alley & weed maintenance Fire protection Housing services Leaf pickup Parks & Recreation Police protection Storm drainage Street lighting Street & sidewalk maint Traffic control Traffic law enforcement Litter control Disaster preparedness Housing/Community Dev. 1 0 All services During the past year have you contacted any city employees or officials about anything? No D/K Yes

19 40. IF "YES:" Who? 41. What about? Cit. Assist. Off/City Central Department of Public Works City Commissioners Police BGMU Mayor Fire Department Building Inspector Downtown Development 1 Did not remember 8 8 Service requests Street conditions Filing police reports Taxes 2 Condition of nearby property Miscellaneous How courteously was your concern handled? Very courteously Somewhat courteously Somewhat rudely Very rudely The 1998 question asked was: AWas your concern handled courteously?@ Yes 34 D/K; Partially 3 No How satisfied were you with the response to your concern? Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Don=t Know The 1998 question was: AWere you satisfied with the response to your concern?@ Yes 25 D/K; Partially 2 No Have you applied for a job with the City in the last three years? Yes 16 No IF AYES:@ Were you treated professionally? Yes 14 No 2

20 46. What is your most important source of information about Bowling Green city government? [Read choices:] Paper Radio TV Other people Paper & TV Paper, radio & TV Internet not asked TV & other people Paper & radio Paper & people During the past year, have you watched any City Commission meetings on TV? Yes D/K No Did you watch any Planning and Zoning Commission meetings on TV during the past year? Yes D/K No Have you ever watched a cable TV program called ASpotlight on Bowling Green,@ which features city programs and projects? Yes D/K No IF AYES:@ Did you find it informative? Yes D/K No How often do you watch the Government Access Channel 3 on cable TV? At least once a week 34 At least once a month 59 Less than once a month 53 Never 43 Don=t have cable [volunteered] Do you currently use computer Internet services? Yes D/K No IF AYES:@ Have you used Bowling Green=s Web Page? Yes D/K 2 0 2

21 No The 1998 question asked was: ADo you think you would be interested in using Bowling Green=s Web Page when it goes online in April? Yes 55 D/K 9 No IF AYES:@ What would you like to see added to the city=s Web Page? [Not asked in 1998 or 1999] Work schedule for leaf pickup & other city services 1 6 Activities in city 4 1 Make it easier to navigate 2 Links to other sites 6 1 Shopping information 1 1 City codes 1 City Commission actions How often do you read the City Page advertisement that the city runs in the Daily News the first Sunday of each month? Often 74 Occasionally 69 Never Is there a neighborhood organization in your neighborhood? Yes [Not asked in 1998] D/K No IF AYES:@ Do you consider it useful? Yes D/K No If you should need to obtain senior citizen services for yourself or someone else, would you know where to go or whom to contact? Yes [Not asked in 1998] D/K No Do you know whether there is a public transportation system in Bowling Green? Yes, there is [not asked] I don=t know No, there is not one We're almost through. I need just a little demographic information so that we can see if different kinds of people want different kinds of services. 60. About how many years have you lived in the City of Bowling Green?

22 Under Over No answer Are you currently a student, either part-time or full-time? Yes D/K No Including yourself, how many people age 18 and older live in your household? How many people under the age of 18? In what year were you born? Age 28 and under

23 No answer Including everyone in your household, would you say your total income from all sources, before taxes, in 2002 was over $40,000 or was it under $40,000? 66. IF "UNDER:" Was it over $20,000? 67. IF "OVER:" Was it over $60,000? Under $20, $20,000-40, $40,000-60, Over $60, Don't know/refused May I have your first name, in case my supervisor wants to verify that I interviewed you? 69. Sex (from observation): Male Female Not determined 2