City Gets Good Marks from Residents

Sept. 20, 2002

Phoenix continues to rank high among its residents.

According to the latest biannual Community Attitude Survey, 91 percent of its residents - better than nine out of 10 - said Phoenix is a good place to live and 66 percent of them consider its quality of life as excellent or good.

Additionally, 87 percent said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the performance of the city and the services it offers. Fire and paramedic services, library services, garbage collection, street flooding, wastewater treatment, uncontained trash collection, computer access, police protection, bus service and preserving mountain and desert areas received the highest marks from those who were polled.

"We have generally seen steady increases over the years," said Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza. "But what I find most gratifying are the consistently high marks we receive from our customers for the services we deliver -- from police and fire to trash collection and libraries. That goes to the very heart of what we do."

Among those who had personal contact with city government in the past year, 86 percent said they were promptly directed to the right person and 85 percent said they were treated in a professional manner.

"Three key findings came out of this research effort," said Bruce Hernandez, senior vice president, Behavior Research Center.

"First, the city of Phoenix continues to receive very high marks from residents for the services it provides. Second, the city receives highly positive readings in the vast majority of instances for delivering 28 specific municipal services. And third, nine out of 10 residents believe the city is a good place to live.

"These attitudes are held by all of the various socio-demographic population subgroups, and when taken in combination, these findings reflect a citizenry which is quite satisfied with the manner in which the city is run."

The high ratings came despite concerns that the city's growth rate is too high. More than seven of 10 residents or 74 percent said they believe the city is growing too fast. They also expressed concerns about air pollution and traffic congestion, listing them as the top two problems facing their neighborhoods.

The survey included 703 residents who were questioned by telephone in a random sample with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent. The city has been polling its residents since 1985.

For complete survey results, visit 2002 City of Phoenix Community Attitude Survey on the Internet.

Media Contact:

Toni Maccarone

602-495-5901