Survey shows citizens' opinions of Springfield

Two-thirds of Springfield citizens are satisfied with the quality of services the city provides, according to results of the 2008 Springfield Citizen Survey released Tuesday.

City Council heard a presentation on the survey results at its regular luncheon. The survey was conducted by ETC Institute, of Olathe, Kan., which sampled 830 residents by mail and phone in September and October. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

Some key survey findings:

• 78 percent said quality of life was good or very good; 17 percent said it was OK and 5 percent gave negative ratings;

• 73 percent positively rated Springfield as a place to raise to children, 20 percent gave average ratings and 7 percent gave negative ratings;

• 66 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of services provided by the city; 28 percent were neutral and 6 percent were dissatisfied;

• City services with the highest satisfaction scores were fire protection, police protection and customer service by city employees; services with the lowest satisfaction scores were traffic flow, storm-water management, and street and infrastructure maintenance;

• The three priorities residents said should receive the most attention in the next two years were traffic flow, maintenance of city streets and infrastructure, and quality of police protection;

• The three highest-priority neighborhood issues were identified as speeding in neighborhoods, unkempt lawns and drugs;

• The three highest-priority city planning issues were identified as keeping the crime rate low, ensuring availability of quality public health services and city leadership on energy conservation;

• 78 percent said they were aware of the shortfall in the city's Police and Fire Pension Plan; and

• 25 percent said they were very willing to support a 1-cent sales tax to avoid cuts in basic government services; 24 percent were willing; 23 percent weren't sure; 10 weren't willing; and 18 percent were not willing at all. The city is asking for the tax to bolster the Police and Fire pension on the Feb. 4 ballot.