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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-16 Committee of the Whole Meeting Agenda and Reports IPSOS.pdfIPSOS Reid 2012 Citizen Surveys Nobody’s Unpredictable District of Maple Ridge 2012 Citizen Surveys  Job #: 11-068026-01  Presented on: March 27, 2012 2 2012 Citizen Surveys Contents  Background, Objectives & Methodology  Executive Summary  Strategic Plan Survey Results  Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results  Appendix  Pre-notification letter  Strategic Plan Questionnaire  Citizen Satisfaction Questionnaire  Overall Perceptual Map Analysis Contact: Mary Bacica, Ipsos Reid, mary.bacica@ipsos.com Background, Objectives & Methodology 4 2012 Citizen Surveys Background & Objectives  To assist in its strategic planning, the District of Maple Ridge has been conducting citizen surveys since 2003. The breadth of topics and information that is covered/collected in its research has traditionally required that the District administer two concurrent surveys:  a Strategic Plan Survey that covers residents’ perceptions of their municipal government, priorities for future planning and perceptions and feelings about living in Maple Ridge; and,  a Citizen Satisfaction Survey that covers the perceived importance and satisfaction residents have with municipal services, as well as what other services residents would like the District to offer more/less of or start/stop offering.  Previous citizen surveys were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2008. For the 2012 citizen surveys, the District of Maple Ridge decided to pursue a new methodology and commissioned Synovate to design and conduct the research. (In late 2011, Synovate was purchased by Ipsos and the two firms merged. Hence the firms now operate as one, under the name Ipsos Reid).  Prior research was conducted via telephone, while the 2012 research consisted of mailing pre-notification letters to random samples of Maple Ridge residents and inviting them to participate in an online survey (with provisions made for paper surveys for those without internet access or preferring a hard copy).  The benefits of the new methodology are:  Residents without listed landlines can be included  The online (or paper format) is more suited for the length of the surveys (approximately 20 minutes each).  This report contains the detailed findings from both the Strategic Plan and Citizen Satisfaction Surveys. 5 2012 Citizen Surveys Methodology  Pre-notification letters were sent to a random sample of 6,199 Maple Ridge households, asking for their participation in one of the online surveys. The sample of households included those with listed and unlisted landlines (including homes relying solely on cell phones).  The letter included a brief description of the study, stressed the importance of their participation, provided a link to one of the online surveys and a unique password and offered a $10 coffee card for those who participated. The letter also provided the option for residents to call into Ipsos’ 1-800 line to request a paper version of the survey, if desired. (Residents requesting a paper survey were also sent a postage-paid reply envelope.) Reminder calls, as necessary, were made to residents encouraging participation.  A total of 1,435 surveys were received (resulting in a response rate of 23%), with more surveys being completed online (1,270) than on paper (165), between January 16th and February 6th, 2012. The division of completed surveys between the Strategic Plan and the Citizen Satisfaction surveys is as follows:  To be eligible for the surveys, residents had to be 18 years of age or older, reside within the boundaries of the municipality and neither themselves or a household member could be an elected official of the District of Maple Ridge or be an employee of the District. Total Strategic Plan Survey Citizen Satisfaction Survey Completed surveys 1,435 699 736 Response rate 23% 23% 24% Online vs. paper 1,270/165 618/81 652/84 6 2012 Citizen Surveys Methodology (cont’d)  To ensure the final samples for both surveys were reflective of the District’s population, mathematical weighting was applied based on 2011 population estimates for home ownership, age and gender.  The margins of error at the 95% level of confidence for the two survey samples of 699 and 736 are +/-3.7 and +/-3.6%, respectively.  Note 1: Unless otherwise specified, results have been percentaged among those respondents giving a valid response to the question (i.e. they did not leave the question unanswered).  Note 2: Where relevant, results from past District of Maple Ridge Community Surveys are shown for reference purposes. The methodologies of these past studies differ from the current 2012 study. Hence, direct percentage-to-percentage comparisons between 2012 results and earlier cannot be made.  Below is a map of the three FSAs in Maple Ridge Executive Summary 8 2012 Citizen Surveys Executive Summary Strategic Plan Survey  Satisfaction with the quality of life in Maple Ridge continues to be high – 80% of residents are satisfied, primarily attributing their satisfaction to the parks, access to the outdoors, small community feel, people, scenery and access to recreation activities/facilities. The main issue that residents raised about the community is the lack of shopping opportunities – 51% of residents mention this on an unaided basis. Secondary concerns, mentioned by 13% to 18% of residents, include traffic congestion, growing crime, lack of public transport, homelessness, high taxes and the state of the downtown core.  The positive aspects of living in Maple Ridge mirror the vision that residents have for an ideal community. They envision a self-sufficient community that can support the local population with jobs and shopping. For the future, residents prioritize shopping, upgrading the downtown core and increased employment, while maintaining a community with a small town feeling (which includes less crime).  Given the priority residents place on the themes of economic development, having a safe and livable community and smart managed growth, it follows that these same themes continue to emerge as the most pressing issues facing the community. As a singular pressing concern, lack of shopping/business development is the top most pressing issue, mentioned by 36%.  Currently, residents are just as likely to be satisfied as they are dissatisfied with the way it is addressing issues in Maple Ridge (35% satisfied versus 34% dissatisfied). The remaining 30% are mainly neutral – being neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.  When planning for the future, the issues that are accorded the highest priority by residents, are:  Attracting high value jobs (74% give this a high priority)  Pursuing public transit improvements between Maple Ridge and other areas (67%)  Promoting the development of the downtown core into a vibrant social, recreational and commercial area (66%)  Encouraging commercial development (65%)  Identifying and protecting environmental features and areas that require special recognition and management (61%) 9 2012 Citizen Surveys Executive Summary Strategic Plan Survey (continued)  The current direction the District is taking on the previous five actions plus 12 other areas is generally considered to be the correct one or, in many instances, simply unknown by residents. One-half of all residents think the District is moving in the right direction when it comes to promoting the development of the downtown core (one of the top priority issues). For the remaining three high priority areas, anywhere from 44% to 59% simply are unaware of the direction the District is taking.  When it comes to running an open government and providing opportunities for residents to be heard and involved, Maple Ridge residents tend to either express positive perceptions or uncertainty. This conclusion is born out of the following findings:  49% agree that the District runs an open government while 33% neither agree nor disagree  40% feel they have sufficient opportunity to voice opinions on local/municipal issues while 33% are not sure  24% feel they have sufficient opportunity to be involved in the business of local government while 46% are unsure  While residents report that they are interested in local government (44% want the opportunity to be heard and provided with information, 30% just want information and 15% want to be involved in actually making recommendations) and 60% report voting in the last municipal election, the reality is only 25% actually voted.  Unchanged from four years ago, what residents want most in terms of regular information from the District is to have a review of what the District said it was going to do and what it has actually done. Residents also want information about changes to municipal taxes and vision and strategic plans. In terms of the best channels to deliver this information, newsletters sent by email or mailed to their home or newspaper announcements are most preferred.  Web-based alternatives tend to be the means by which residents want to participate in the District’s future – web-based/mailin surveys, offering comments on a website and emailing the District directly are the top preferences. 10 2012 Citizen Surveys Executive Summary Citizen Satisfaction Survey  Maple Ridge residents are generally satisfied with the District’s performance in terms of providing the various services to the community. Residents accord a high level of importance to most services and put particular emphasis on services that fall into: Streets and Utilities (safe drinking water, smooth traffic flow, effective snow and ice removal, reliable drainage and safe and reliable sewage collection), Protective Services (guaranteed level of fire response, targeting property crime offences and zero tolerance to impaired driving) and Environmental Services (protecting streams, rivers, other environmentally sensitive areas, having a recycling depot and having curb-side recycling).  The good news for Maple Ridge is that it tends to be performing moderately well or even above-average on many of the top service priorities. However, two of the most important service areas, having smooth traffic flow so that it is easy to get around Maple Ridge and targeting property crime offences, earn some of the lowest satisfaction scores.  In the categories of Protective Services, Economic Development, Services to Neighbours and Neighbourhoods and Budget and Taxes, a considerable number of residents (in some cases more than half) could not offer an opinion on the District’s current level of service. So, in other words, while those who can or choose to offer an opinion on District performance tend to have moderately positive perceptions, there is an opportunity to further increase satisfaction levels by simply letting residents know what the District is doing on particular fronts.  Few residents offer suggestions for services that the District should offer more of, less of or should stop altogether. However, when it comes to adding services that are currently not provided, garbage collection is clearly a priority. On an unprompted basis, 41% of residents say they would like the District to offer garbage collection. The challenge facing the District is how to fund this additional service should it decide to offer it. Residents are equally likely to suggest increased taxes or users fees, with fewer who mention reducing other services, but there is no clear consensus.  When it comes to offering District services after hours, the current need is in the minority. Only 9% of residents have ever encountered a situation where they needed to access services outside of regular business hours. If the District is to pursue offering services outside regular hours, the internet or telephone are the most preferred channels. Nobody’s Unpredictable Strategic Plan Survey Detailed Findings