City Services Satisfaction Survey 2013 City Services Satisfaction Survey | Page 9

two-box ratings are zoning service, building permits, code enforcement, and graffiti removal. Streets in Arlington continue to be generally perceived as an area where there is much room for improvement, with top-two box ratings ranging from 44% to 67%. Some of the most needed areas for improvement (at or below 50% top-two box) include road work/street repair services (both quality and speed), condition of sidewalks, traffic signal timing, and management of traffic on the major thoroughfares during peak times. Perceptions Of City’s Communication Efforts The city’s communications with citizens continue to receive generally positive reactions, with some desire for improvements. The majority of citizens report they use various information sources, including Internet (72%), TV (56%), and newspaper (47%), to keep up with Arlington. Although not surprising, it’s notable that more than half of citizens (58%) cited city- affiliated sites or web pages, including the City of Arlington (COA) website, the COA Facebook pages, the COA news site, etc. as their information sources about the city. Among the city’s communication channels, the city website continues to be rated highest at a top-two-box rating of 77%, followed by city TV channels (68%), and the council webcast (63%). About two-thirds of Arlington residents feel that they would get answers they need when they visit or call a city facility, and that city employees either provide the answer or find someone who can. Also, consistent with last year, only about half agree that they would get the same answer when they ask the same question from different city employees. This continues to suggest more improvements are needed for unequivocal communications with citizens. There appear to be a few areas that the city could build more awareness or publicity of among citizens, based on relatively low awareness of the city’s efforts as below: o Slightly over one in three residents (36%) report being aware that they can submit a question, complaint, comment, or suggestion for the city through the Action Center. o Only 16% are aware of resources available through the Housing Authority for those facing foreclosure. Decision Analyst, Inc. 9