Citizen Survey

In summer 2012, the City conducted its fourth survey of residents and businesses to assess satisfaction with the quality of City services and to gather input about priorities for the community. The survey is part of an ongoing effort to continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the services the City provides. The ETC Institute, a firm with more than 25 years of experience, surveyed more than 400 residents and approximately 40 businesses, although every household and business had the opportunity to complete one.

Confidence and Precision.

The results of a random sample of 407 households have a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/-5%. In other words, if the survey was conducted 100 times, 95 times the results would be the same or within 5%.

Resident Survey Results

Overall Satisfaction. When rating City services overall, residents rated several areas very high.

  • 90% satisfied with the overall quality of police services
  • 90% satisfied with the overall quality of fire services
  • 88% satisfied with the maintenance of City streets/buildings/facilities
  • 85% satisfied with the overall quality of City parks and recreation facilities
There was a statistically significant increase in the level of satisfaction with the maintenance of City streets/buildings/facilities (88% in 2012 over 82% in 2010).

Rating of the City. Residents were asked about many aspects of life in Riverside and 94% said that Riverside was an excellent or good place to live. A statistically significant increase this year was seen in rating Riverside as a place to work (59% in 2012 vs. 47% in 2010).
Public Safety
  • 88% satisfied with the attitude and behavior of the Fire Department towards Citizens
  • 86% satisfied with the City’s overall efforts to prevent crime
  • 86% satisfied with the quality of emergency management
  • 84% satisfied with the visibility of police in retail areas
  • 83% satisfied with the attitude and behavior of the Police Department towards Citizens
There was a statistically significant increase in the level of satisfaction with the quality of emergency management (86% in 2012 vs. 80% in 2010).
City Maintenance
  • 91% satisfied with the overall cleanliness of streets/public areas
  • 91% satisfied with the maintenance of City buildings
  • 90% satisfied with the maintenance of major city streets
  • 89% satisfied with the maintenance of city entrance signage
  • 89% satisfied with snow removal on major City streets

There was a statistically significant increase in the level of satisfaction with the maintenance of water and waste water systems (83% in 2012 vs. 76% in 2010).
Parks and Recreation
  • 89% satisfied with the maintenance of City parks and parks equipment
  • 84% satisfied with the Healthy Citizens Initiative
  • 81% satisfied with the maintenance of walking and biking trails
  • 80% satisfied with the number of City parks
  • 80% satisfied with the number of walking and biking trails

There were two areas that showed a statistically significant increase in the level of resident satisfaction: programs for seniors (71% in 2012 vs. 63% in 2010) and the City’s adult athletic programs (68% in 2012 vs. 61% in 2010).
Code Enforcement
  • 73% satisfied with the enforcement of the clean up of liter and debris
  • 71% satisfied with the enforcement of sign regulations
  • 69% satisfied with the mowing or trimming of weeds
  • 66% satisfied with the residential property maintenance in neighborhoods

There was a statistically significant increase in the level of satisfaction with the enforcement of sign regulations (71% in 2012 vs. 64% in 2010)
Other Information
  • 90% of residents use the City newsletter as their primary source of information regarding City programs and services, and 89% are satisfied with the information provided within.
  • 74% of residents are supportive of connecting Riverside to a regional transportation system.
  • 60% of residents are supportive of the City’s firework industry.
  • 58% of residents are supportive of the City conducting a managed bow-hunt to reduce the deer population.
Importance/Satisfaction Rating. Two of the most important criteria for making decisions are (1) to target resources towards services of the highest importance to citizens; and (2) to target resources towards those services where citizens are the least satisfied. The Importance/Satisfaction Rating is an analysis of the data collected through the survey and combines these two criteria to develop a list of the top priorities for the City in the coming years.

The following are the top ranked items using the process for Riverside:

  • Enforcement of codes and ordinances
  • Overall quality of water/sewer utilities
  • Effectiveness of community planning and development
  • Overall flow of traffic and congestion management
  • Maintenance of City streets/buildings/facilities
  • Overall quality of police services
  • Overall quality of City parks and recreation facilities
  • Overall quality of City parks and recreation programs
  • Effectiveness of communication with the public
  • Overall quality of ambulance services
  • Quality of storm water runoff/storm water management
  • Overall quality of fire services
  • Overall quality of customer service from City employees

Metro Highs.  Riverside set new standards in the following areas compared to 41 other communities who participate in the same survey:

  • Quality of storm water runoff/storm water management (83%)
  • Value received for tax dollars/fees (84%)
  • Visibility of police in retail areas (84%)
  • Clean up of debris on private property (73%)
  • Quality of the City’s web page (73%)
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Supporting Documents4 documents

  • 2006 ETC Survey
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  • 2008 ETC Survey
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  • 2010 ETC Survey
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  • 2012 ETC Survey
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