City of Pensacola Announces Fourth Annual Community Survey Results
76% of City residents say that Pensacola is on the right track according to the Haas Center's fourth annual community survey. That is a 10% increase from last year's survey.
"The fact that three out of four residents say that we are on the right track is strong confirmation that the energy and resources that are being invested in Pensacola are in line with the direction that our community wants to go," said Mayor Hayward in announcing the results. "A city that can show that kind of unity is in a powerful position to attract additional investment and grow in a way that will benefit everyone. While it's great to know that so many people approve of what's happening in Pensacola, the survey also shows that we need to continue to make improvements to our infrastructure, and that's what we will continue to work on in 2018."
Other key findings in the report included:
- Overall, residents are highly satisfied with core City services
- Recreational facilities and opportunities also consistently earn high marks
- Some residents have concerns with parts of the infrastructure
- Residents continue to rank as their top priorities Police and Fire services
The Haas Center report flagged four "areas of concern": stormwater infrastructure, streets, street lights and sidewalks. The City has appropriated funding and begun work to address each of those areas. This year's survey shows that the $13.8 million the City is spending to resurface 1825 blocks of city streets has improved resident satisfaction with the condition of streets. Over the last year city staff developed prioritized lists of projects for sidewalk and street light improvements. Money to fund those improvements was budgeted from Local Option Sales Tax revenues and work will begin in 2018.
Responses to questions in this year's survey show that residents continue to be concerned about the City's stormwater infrastructure but that not many of them have experienced any damage from stormwater runoff in the last two years. That is likely due in part to the upgrades that the City has completed over the last years in response to citizen concerns. The City plans to continue to use money from its stormwater capital fund and actively pursue state and federal grant money to make additional improvements in 2018.
The International City/County Managers Association recommends citizen surveying as a way to get feedback from citizens who may not be able to attend council meetings or participate in public workshops. This fourth survey helps put in place a neutral benchmark that the City can use to rate its services in the future and determine how best to utilize its limited resources to prioritize and improve city services in order to keep Pensacola headed in the right direction.
The Haas Center administered the ten-question, multi-part survey across each of Pensacola’s seven city council districts over a six-week period that began in October 2017. In total, 532 people completed the survey. Those responses coincide with an approximate 4.22% margin of error (+/-) at a 95% confidence level. In other words, a sample of City of Pensacola residents will differ no more than +/-4.22% from a survey that included all City of Pensacola residents.
The complete report along with the survey instrument is available on the City's website: https://www.cityofpensacola.com/DocumentCenter/View/10313
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About the Haas Center
The Haas Center is a research and consulting unit of the University of West Florida that specializes in applied business research, survey research and economic development. For over twenty years, the Center has led a wide range of research projects, including studies on economic and fiscal impacts, workforce development, industry clusters, feasibility analyses, demographic profiles and custom analytics.
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