08-13-18 Information and Technology

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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Community Services Survey in April and May of this year. The goal of that survey was to gather feedback from residents to get a snapshot of what they are thinking overall about how the City is doing and how they feel about the services we are providing. We wanted to find out how satisfied they were with the services and what is most important to them. We then also got access to benchmarking data to compare how we are doing among other cities both regionally and nationally. The vendor we worked with has done over seven hundred (700) municipal surveys. That is what they specialize in. They helped us to make sure we get a sample that is representative of the City of South Bend. So over seven hundred (700)households participated, it was a random sample, and the results are representative by Common Council District. That means we can tell if the responses we got say something different about residents living in one (1) district or another along with their experiences. The surveys were mailed out and could be completed online or by mail. They could also be completed over the phone and in Spanish. She continued, So as you can see (referencing a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office) we did have at least one hundred (100) responses in each Council district. Our vendor worked to make sure we had about one hundred (100) in every district and the responses were representative of South Bend in terms of the demographics. So we asked about how people feel about South Bend overall and the general perceptions. We also asked about satisfaction with all these different service areas. I just want to go over some very high-level results. We did ask about satisfaction with City leadership. I just pulled out a few questions as a highlight. About half the residents who responded were satisfied with the overall quality of life in the community.Forty two percent (42%) were satisfied with the leadership of the elected officials. And one (1) of the ones we got a lower response on is the level of public involvement in local decision-making and planning. That was something the residents wanted to see more of.Nineteen percent(19%) of the residents that took this survey said they have met their current City Council Member. She went on, The other thing that is really useful about this tool is it not only asked how satisfied they were with different services but it also asked them to rank which services they feel are most important. Combined,both these sources of information will help the City prioritize which services to work on improving over the next couple of years. Basically, the survey asked how they feel about these categories of services overall and then how important you think they are. When you compare all the City services side by side, the one (1) that came out on top in terms of not very satisfied and thinking it is important is the maintenance of City streets, sidewalks and infrastructure. The high priority items were quality of police protection, how well the City is planning growth and the enforcement of codes and ordinances. It is important to note on this because it accounts for importance in satisfaction. Then these (referencing a slide in the presentation) were the secondary priority, ranging from Parks and Recreation, facilities, all the way down to Fire and EMS. She continued, We also, as I mentioned, got access to benchmarking data. We did rate below average compared to the national and regional cities in a few areas. I want to highlight a few of them here. Generally,we are rating below the benchmarks on enforcement of codes and ordinances and public safety. I pulled up some of the specific services where that was true on the slide here (referencing the presentation). We also did rate above average on some benchmarks. We are doing pretty well in the solid waste category, customer service and downtown revitalization. One (1) of the other things that is important of the survey is that we can break down results by the Council district level. This will help us understand the differences in people's experiences, perceptions or priorities in the different parts of the City. There are a few different ways to look at this. I put EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building',227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.92211 f574.235.9173 TfD 574.235.5567 I www.southbendin.gov 5