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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem # 15 Community Opinion Survey Summary Report - Exhibit A THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of ContentsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 iCity of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T ABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii List of Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Purpose of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Overview of Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Organization of Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 About True North. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Just the Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Quality of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 City Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Shopping & Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Funding Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Quality of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Overall Quality of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Question 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 What Should We Preserve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Question 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 What Should We Change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Question 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 City Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Overall Satisfaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Question 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Specific Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Question 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Question 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Performance Needs & Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Shopping & Economic Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Desire Additional Shopping & Dining Opportunities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Question 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Which Stores & Restaurants do you Want in Lake Elsinore? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Question 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Funding Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Question 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Communications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Overall Satisfaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Question 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Information Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Question 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 City Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Question 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Communication Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Question 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Background & Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Questionnaire Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Programming, Pre-Test & Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Sample, Recruiting & Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Table of ContentsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 iiCity of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margin of Error due to Sampling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Data Processing & Weighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Rounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Questionnaire & Toplines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 List of TablesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 iiiCity of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L IST OF TABLES Table 1 Needs & Priority Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Table 2 Spending Priorities by Years in Elsinore & Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Table 3 Spending Priorities by Frequency of Us, Child in Hsld & Overall Satisfaction . . . . . 25 Table 4 City-Resident Communication by Overall Satisfaction, Satisfaction With Communication & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Table 5 Demographics of Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 List of FiguresTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 ivCity of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L IST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Overall Rating of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Figure 2 Quality of Life by Years in Lake Elsinore & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 3 Quality of Life by Child in Hsld, Home Ownership Status, Employment Status & Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 4 Lake Elsinore a Place to Raise a Family by Years in Lake Elsinore & Age. . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 5 Lake Elsinore a Place to Raise a Family by Child in Hsld, Home Ownership Status, Employment Status & Gender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 6 A Place to Retire by Years in Lake Elsinore & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 7 A Place to Retire by Child in Hsld, Home Ownership Status, Employment Status & Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 8 A Place to Work by Years in Lake Elsinore & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 9 A Place to Work by Child in Hsld, Home Ownership Status, Employment Status & Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 10 Like Most About Lake Elsinore, Want to see Preserved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Figure 11 One Change to Improve City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Figure 12 Overall Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Figure 13 Overall Satisfaction by Years in Lake Elsinore & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figure 14 Overall Satisfaction by Employment Status, Home Ownership Status, Gender & Child in Hsld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figure 15 Overall Satisfaction by Frequency of Rec Use & Hsld Rec Use in Past 6 Months . . . 15 Figure 16 Importance of Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Figure 17 Satisfaction With Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Figure 18 Resident Services Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Figure 19 Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Figure 20 Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore by Years in Lake Elsinore, Home Ownership Status & Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Figure 21 Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore by Employment Status & Child in Hsld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Figure 22 Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore by Overall Satisfaction & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Figure 23 Additional Stores, Restaurants Desired in Lake Elsinore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Figure 24 Spending Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Figure 25 Satisfaction With City-Resident Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Figure 26 Satisfaction With City-Resident Communication by Overall Satisfaction, Age & Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Figure 27 Satisfaction With City-Resident Communication by Employment Status, Years in Lake Elsinore & Child in Hsld. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Figure 28 Satisfaction With City-Resident Communication by Frequency of Rec Use, Hsld Rec Use in Past 6 Months & Home Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Figure 29 City Information Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Figure 30 City Website Visit in Past 6 Months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Figure 31 City Website Visit in Past 6 Months by Years in Lake Elsinore, Home Ownership Status & Gender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Figure 32 City Website Visit in Past 6 Months by Employment & Child Hsld . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Figure 33 City Website Visit in Past 6 Months by Overall Satisfaction & Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Figure 34 Effectiveness of City-Resident Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Figure 35 Maximum Margin of Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 IntroductionTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 1City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I NTRODUCTION Nestled against the beautiful Ortega Mountains, the City of Lake Elsinore was founded in 1883, incorporated as a general law city in 1888, and is currently home to an estimated 61,006 resi- dents.1 With a historic downtown area, multiple parks and recreation amenities, and southern California’s largest natural freshwater lake, the City’s vision is to be the ultimate destination where residents and visitors can live, work, play, build futures, and fulfill dreams. As part of its commitment to provide high quality services and responsive local governance, the City of Lake Elsinore engages its residents on a daily basis and receives regular feedback on issue, policy, and performance matters. Although these informal feedback mechanisms are valu- able sources of information for the City in that they provide timely and accurate information about the opinions of specific residents, they do not necessarily provide an accurate picture of the community as a whole. Informal feedback mechanisms typically rely on the resident to initi- ate the feedback, which creates a self-selection bias. The City receives feedback from only those residents motivated enough to initiate the feedback process. Because these residents tend to be those who are either very pleased or very displeased regarding a particular topic, their collective opinions are not necessarily representative of the City’s resident population as a whole. PURPOSE OF STUDY The motivation for the current study was to design and employ a methodology that would avoid the self-selection bias noted above and provide the City with a statistically reliable understanding of its residents’ satisfaction, priorities, and concerns as they relate to services and facilities provided by the City. Ultimately, the survey results and analyses presented in this report will provide Council and staff with information that can be used to make sound, strategic decisions in a variety of areas, including service improvements and enhance- ments, measuring and tracking internal performance, budgeting, policy, and planning. To assist in this effort, the City selected True North Research to design the research plan and conduct the study. Broadly defined, the study was designed to: • Profile residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Lake Elsinore. • Identify aspects of the City that residents most want to preserve, as well as specific changes that would improve the quality of life in Lake Elsinore. • Measure residents’ overall satisfaction with the City’s efforts to provide municipal services, and their satisfaction with a variety of specific services. • Gather opinions on topics such as shopping, economic development, and spending priori- ties. • Profile the sources residents rely upon for information about Lake Elsinore news, events and programs, as well as their preferred means of communicating with the City. • Collect additional background and demographic data relevant to understanding residents’ perceptions, needs, and interests. 1. Source: California Department of Finance Population Estimate, January 2016. IntroductionTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 2City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGY A full description of the methodology used for this study is included later in this report (see Methodology on page 33). In brief, the survey used a combination of mailed invitations, emailed invitations, and phone calls to recruit participation in the survey from Lake Elsinore households. Households were assigned a unique passcode, ensur- ing that only Lake Elsinore households could participate in the survey, and that the survey could be completed only one time per passcode. During the data collection period, which lasted from September 7 to September 19, 2016, a total of 618 residents participated in the survey by tele- phone or online at a secure, password-protected website. ORGANIZATION OF REPORT This report is designed to meet the needs of readers who prefer a summary of the findings as well as those who are interested in the details of the results. For those who seek an overview of the findings, the sections titled Just the Facts and Conclusions are for you. They provide a summary of the most important factual findings of the survey in bul- let-point format and a discussion of their implications. For the interested reader, this section is followed by a more detailed question-by-question discussion of the results from the survey by topic area (see Table of Contents), as well as a description of the methodology employed for col- lecting and analyzing the data. And, for the truly ambitious reader, the questionnaire used for the interviews is contained at the back of this report, and a complete set of crosstabulations for the survey results is contained in Appendix A, which is bound separately. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS True North thanks Grant Yates, Nicole Dailey, and members of the subcommittee at the City of Lake Elsinore for their valuable input during the design stage of this study. Their collective experience, insight, and local knowledge improved the overall quality of the research presented here. DISCLAIMER The statements and conclusions in this report are those of the authors (Dr. Timothy McLarney and Richard Sarles) at True North Research, Inc. and not necessarily those of the City of Lake Elsinore. Any errors and omissions are the responsibility of the authors. ABOUT TRUE NORTH True North is a full-service survey research firm that is dedicated to providing public agencies with a clear understanding of the values, perceptions, priorities and concerns of their residents and customers. Through designing and implementing scientific sur- veys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as expert interpretation of the findings, True North helps its clients to move with confidence when making strategic decisions in a variety of areas—such as planning, policy evaluation, performance management, organizational devel- opment, establishing fiscal priorities, and developing effective public information campaigns. During their careers, Dr. McLarney (President) and Mr. Sarles (Principal Researcher) have designed and conducted over 900 survey research studies for public agencies, including more than 300 studies for California municipalities and special districts. Just the FactsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 3City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J UST THE FACTS The following is an outline of the main factual findings from the resident survey. For the reader’s convenience, we have organized the findings according to the section titles used in the body of this report. Thus, to learn more about a particular finding, simply turn to the appropriate report section. QUALITY OF LIFE • Residents provided the most positive ratings for Lake Elsinore as a place to live (63% excel- lent or good), the overall quality of life in the City (62%), and as a place to raise a family (58%). • The ratings of Lake Elsinore as a place to retire were somewhat softer (47%), whereas just 22% used excellent or good to describe Lake Elsinore as a place to work. • Among the specific suggestions that were offered when asked what aspects of the City of Lake Elsinore should be preserved in the future, protecting the Lake’s appearance/environ- mental health/cleanliness (32%) was the most common, followed by preserving parks and recreation areas (9%), maintaining the quiet, family oriented, friendly community in the city (9%), and preserving natural open spaces (7%). • When asked what changes the City could make to improve the quality of life in Lake Elsinore, the most common responses were to improve the environmental condition and cleanliness of the Lake (18%), improve infrastructure, streets and roads (17%), providing more shopping and dining opportunities locally (14%), improve public safety (10%), improve the local econ- omy and job market (9%), and address homelessness and poverty-related issues in the city (9%). CITY SERVICES • Approximately two-thirds of Lake Elsinore residents (65%) indicated they were either very (19%) or somewhat (46%) satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide municipal services. Approximately one-quarter (24%) were very or somewhat dissatisfied, whereas the remain- ing 11% were unsure or did not provide a response. • Among 15 specific service areas tested, Lake Elsinore residents rated public safety and pub- lic works services as the most important, which included maintaining a low crime rate (97% very or somewhat important), providing fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services (95%), maintaining local streets and roads (94%), providing police services (93%), and addressing issues that negatively impact the appearance of the community like graffiti, homelessness, and illegal dumping (90%). • When asked to rate their satisfaction with the same list of 15 municipal services, respon- dents were most satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services (90% very or somewhat satisfied), followed by provide parks, sports fields and recreational facilities (84%), special events such as the Fourth of July fire- works show and summer nights in the park (84%), and police services (78%). SHOPPING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • Nearly eight-in-ten residents (79%) stated that there are stores and restaurants they cur- rently patronize outside of the City that they would like to have available locally in Lake Elsinore. Just the FactsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 4City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • The most commonly desired businesses were family chain restaurants such as Applebee’s, Cheesecake Factory and Sizzlers (22%), followed by specialty organic food stores such as Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes and Sprouts (21%), and fast food restaurants including The Habit, Chick fil A, and Buffalo Wild Wings 20%). • At least 10% of respondents also mentioned grocery stores including Ralphs, WinCo, and Vons (12%), and large department stores such as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, and Target (11%) as the type of business they would most like to have locally available in Lake Elsinore. FUNDING PRIORITIES • When asked to prioritize among 14 projects and programs that could receive funding in the future, making improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches, and recreation ame- nities was assigned the highest priority (91% high or medium priority), followed closely by providing incentives to attract new employers and jobs (90%), and making infrastructure improvements to improve traffic flow (87%). COMMUNICATIONS • Overall, 56% of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the City’s efforts to communi- cate with residents through the media, the Internet, television, and other means, whereas 35% were dissatisfied and 9% were unsure or unwilling to answer the question. • The most frequently-cited sources for Lake Elsinore news, events and programming were Social Media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (31%), the Internet in general (28%), the City’s website (26%), and Press Enterprise (17%). • The majority of those surveyed (59%) stated they had visited the City’s website during 12 months prior to the interview. • Overall, respondents indicated that the City’s website was the most effective method for the City to communicate with them (86% very or somewhat effective), followed by a smart phone application (83%), direct mail (84%), e-mail (81%), and Facebook (74%). • At the other end of the spectrum, automated phone calls (37%), Twitter (38%), and Instagram (48%) were generally viewed by residents as less effective ways for the City to communicate with them. ConclusionsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 5City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C ONCLUSIONS As noted in the Introduction, this study was designed to provide the City of Lake Elsinore with a statistically reliable understanding of its residents’ satisfaction, priorities and needs as they relate to services and facilities provided by the City. As such, it can provide the City with informa- tion needed to make sound, strategic decisions in a variety of areas, including service improve- ments and enhancements, measuring and tracking internal performance, budgeting, and planning. Whereas subsequent sections of this report are devoted to conveying the detailed results of the survey, in this section we attempt to ‘see the forest through the trees’ and note how the collec- tive results of the survey answer some of the key questions that motivated the research. The fol- lowing conclusions are based on the True North’s interpretations of the results, as well as the firm’s experience conducting similar studies for municipalities throughout the State. How well is the City per- forming in meeting the needs of Lake Elsinore residents? Lake Elsinore residents are generally satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide municipal services and facilities, as well as the quality of life in the area. Approximately two-thirds of Lake Elsinore residents (65%) indicated they were satisfied with the City’s overall efforts to provide municipal ser- vices, whereas one-quarter (24%) were dissatisfied and the remaining 11% were unsure or did not provide a response. The majority of resi- dents were also satisfied when asked to comment on the City’s perfor- mance in providing 15 specific services, with the highest satisfaction scores assigned to the City’s efforts to provide fire protection, preven- tion and emergency medical services (90% very or somewhat satisfied), parks, sports fields and recreational facilities (84%), special events such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park (84%), and police services (78%). How do residents rate Lake Elsinore as a place to live, work, and raise a family? Residents expressed nuanced opinions about Lake Elsinore when asked to rate the city as a place to live, work, raise a family, and retire. As a place to live and raise a family, residents were quite positive—with the majority using excellent or good to describe Lake Elsinore as a place to live (63% excellent or good), the overall quality of life in the City (62%), and as a place to raise a family (58%). Residents expressed somewhat softer opinions (47%) regarding Lake Elsinore as a place to retire, while just one-in-five used excellent or good to describe Lake Elsinore as a place to work. Where should the City focus its efforts in the future? In addition to measuring the City’s current performance, a key goal of this study is to look forward and identify opportunities to adjust ser- vices, improve facilities, and/or refine communications strategies to best meet the community’s evolving needs and expectations. Although resi- dents are generally satisfied with the City’s performance, there is always ConclusionsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 6City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . room for improvement. Below we note some of the areas that present the best opportunities in this regard. Considering respondents’ verbatim answers regarding what they most want to preserve about Lake Elsinore in the future (see What Should We Preserve? on page 11), what the city government could do to make Lake Elsinore a better place to live (see What Should We Change? on page 12), the list of services and their respective priority status for future city attention (see Performance Needs & Priorities on page 18), and the man- ner in which residents prioritize among potential funding areas (see Funding Priorities on page 24), the themes of economic development, jobs creation, infrastructure and traffic improvements, and protection/ improvement of the Lake and city beaches stood out in the survey as being key areas of opportunity and interest for Lake Elsinore residents. With respect to economic development and jobs creation, residents strongly support providing incentives to attract new employers and jobs, attracting local higher education opportunities, increasing the availabil- ity of health and medical services locally, and revitalizing outdated com- mercial areas and the Historic Downtown area. Lake Elsinore residents also expressed a very big appetite for attracting new retail shopping and dining opportunities, with nearly eight-in-ten respondents stating that there are businesses and restaurants they currently patronize outside of the City that they would like to have available in Lake Elsinore.2 More so than in any other survey True North has conducted for a California municipality, Lake Elsinore residents’ recognize the need for—and are strong supporters of—economic development. In additional to local economy and jobs creation, the condition of the Lake was also top-of-mind for residents. Improving and protecting the Lake’s appearance, water quality, and general cleanliness was the top response when residents were asked what the City should seek to pre- serve in the future and/or change to make Lake Elsinore a better place to live. Making improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches, and recreational amenities was also the top-ranked priority among 14 spe- cific projects and improvements tested. How well is the City com- municating with Lake Elsinore residents? The public’s preferences for communication are growing increasingly diverse. Whereas older residents continue to rely heavily on newsletters and printed forms of communication, younger residents generally show great interest in digital forms of communication including social media, text, and smart phone apps. This pattern makes the challenge of city- resident communication more difficult than in the past, when the 2. For a list of the specific stores and restaurants desired, see Which Stores & Restaurants do you Want in Lake Elsinore? on page 23. ConclusionsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 7City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sources residents relied on for information were fewer and more consis- tent across subgroups. Based on the survey findings, city-resident communication is an opportu- nity area for Lake Elsinore. Although the majority of residents (56%) indi- cated they were satisfied with the City’s efforts to communicate with residents through the media, the Internet, television, and other means, more than one-third indicated they were dissatisfied and 9% were unsure or unwilling to answer the question. Looking to the future, there are a variety of communication methods that residents generally viewed as being effective ways for the City to com- municate with them (see Communication Preferences on page 30). Some of these methods the City appears to already be using effectively, includ- ing the City’s website and Social Media (Facebook in particular). Others— including direct mail newsletters and a Smart Phone application—would require additional investment on the part of the City, but were widely noted by residents as being an effective means for the City to communi- cate with them. Although there is cost-savings to be had from relying exclusively on elec- tronic communication channels, it is not a recommended practice, as research has shown that it will reduce readership and substantially lower residents’ overall satisfaction with an agency’s communication efforts. It also has a tendency to skew the City’s communication performance away from demographic subgroups that prefer traditional printed media. To the extent that the City can balance digital channels with traditional paper-based information sources like postcards and newsletters, it will optimize city-resident communication. Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 8City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q UALITY OF LIFE The opening series of questions in the survey was designed to assess residents’ top of mind per- ceptions about the quality of life in Lake Elsinore, what they would most like to preserve about the city, as well as ways to improve the quality of life in Lake Elsinore—now and in the future. OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE At the outset of the interview, respondents were asked to rate the City of Lake Elsinore on a number of key dimensions—including overall quality of life, as a place to raise a family, and as a place to work—using a five-point scale of excellent, good, fair, poor, or very poor. As shown in Figure 1 below, residents shared favorable opinions of Lake Elsinore on most of the aspects tested, with the most positive ratings provided for Lake Elsinore as a place to live (63% excellent or good), the overall quality of life in the City (62%), and as a place to raise a family (58%). The ratings of Lake Elsinore as a place to retire were somewhat softer (47%), whereas just 22% used excellent or good to describe Lake Elsinore as a place to work. Question 2 How would you rate: _____? Would you say it is excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor? FIGURE 1 OVERALL RATING OF LAKE ELSINORE For the interested reader, the following figures show how ratings of the overall quality of life in Lake Elsinore (figures 2 & 3), as well as the city as a place to raise a family (figures 4 & 5), to retire (figures 6 & 7), and to work (figures 8 & 9) varied by length of residence, age, presence of a child in the home, home ownership status, employment status, and gender. Although there was some variation across subgroups, the general consistency of the results is the most striking pattern in most figures. 6.3 12.5 15.3 12.2 15.7 15.8 34.5 42.6 49.8 47.5 22.2 28.6 28.7 28.2 28.0 3 12 5 2 0 15.4 30.4 12.2 7.6 6.7 3 4 7.0 13.5 0 102030405060708090100 Lake Elsinore as a place to work Lake Elsinore as a place to retire Lake Elsinore as a place to raise a family Overall quality of life in Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore as a place to live Q2d Q2c Q2b Q2e Q2a % Respondents Excellent Good Fair Poor Very poor Not sure Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 9City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 2 QUALITY OF LIFE BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & AGE FIGURE 3 QUALITY OF LIFE BY CHILD IN HSLD, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS, EMPLOYMENT STATUS & GENDER FIGURE 4 LAKE ELSINORE A PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & AGE 17.4 10.2 11.5 9.6 14.0 11.6 46.7 51.4 42.6 53.6 56.8 52.0 11.65.4 12.4 Excellent 14.8 47.1 56.2 52.0Good 47.8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Age (QD2)% Respondents 12.2 2.1 18.6 6.8 17.0 12.0 12.5 49.8 49.0 42.2 49.0 51.9 49.8 50.1 Excellent 10.3 13.9 12.6 11.5 Good 51.0 47.050.649.6 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Yes No Own Rent Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Male Female Child in Hsld (QD3) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Employment Status (QD7) Gender% Respondents 22.0 16.0 14.7 13.4 14.5 9.6 42.4 42.1 40.5 48.3 44.3 48.7 Excellent 20.7 14.0 5.9 15.3 Good 39.3 43.857.842.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Age (QD2)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 10City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 5 LAKE ELSINORE A PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY BY CHILD IN HSLD, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS, EMPLOYMENT STATUS & GENDER FIGURE 6 A PLACE TO RETIRE BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & AGE FIGURE 7 A PLACE TO RETIRE BY CHILD IN HSLD, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS, EMPLOYMENT STATUS & GENDER 16.4 6.5 23.1 11.1 17.1 16.1 15.5 41.1 52.6 29.9 48.9 46.1 43.4 44.0 11.517.413.5 Excellent 16.9 43.0 44.2 42.2 Good 44.6 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Yes No Own Rent Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Male Female Child in Hsld (QD3) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Employment Status (QD7) Gender% Respondents Who Provided Opinion13.6 11.8 12.5 13.5 11.8 18.9 34.2 34.3 40.6 29.2 40.8 44.7 7.6 15.714.6Excellent 16.1 33.8 29.0 37.7 Good 40.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Age (QD2)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion12.3 15.8 23.1 1.9 19.0 13.7 12.9 31.4 42.9 20.1 48.7 44.5 36.0 36.9 Excellent 10.3 16.0 15.3 8.2 Good 39.5 41.733.734.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Yes No Own Rent Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Male Female Child in Hsld (QD3) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Employment Status (QD7) Gender% Respondents Who Provided Opinion Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 11City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 8 A PLACE TO WORK BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & AGE FIGURE 9 A PLACE TO WORK BY CHILD IN HSLD, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS, EMPLOYMENT STATUS & GENDER WHAT SHOULD WE PRESERVE? The next question in this series asked residents to iden- tify what they value most about Lake Elsinore that should be preserved in the future. This ques- tion was posed in an open-ended manner, thereby allowing residents to mention any aspect or attribute that came to mind without being prompted by—or restricted to—a particular list of options. True North later reviewed the verbatim responses and grouped them into the categories shown in Figure 10 on the next page. Approximately one-in-five respondents (17%) were unsure or unable to offer a specific aspect of Lake Elsinore that the city government should make sure to preserve in the future. Among the specific suggestions that were offered, protecting the Lake’s appearance/environmental health/ cleanliness (32%) was the most common, followed by preserving parks and recreation areas (9%), maintaining the quiet, family oriented, friendly community in the city (9%), and preserving natu- ral open spaces (7%). 7.0 5.6 11.5 7.6 6.2 1.5 27.9 17.5 9.8 17.5 19.7 16.8 5.65.79.9Excellent 7.0 14.2 21.4 21.1Good 16.4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Age (QD2)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion8.0 15.1 0.0 0.0 2.5 6.8 7.5 16.0 16.2 24.7 17.3 29.3 16.2 19.5 Excellent 9.4 3.7 6.7 7.6 Good 19.8 13.718.8 15.8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Yes No Own Rent Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Male Female Child in Hsld (QD3) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Employment Status (QD7) Gender% Respondents Who Provided Opinion Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 12City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Question 3 What do you like most about Lake Elsinore that the city government should make sure to preserve in the future? FIGURE 10 LIKE MOST ABOUT LAKE ELSINORE, WANT TO SEE PRESERVED WHAT SHOULD WE CHANGE? In an open-ended manner similar to that described above for Question 3, all respondents were also asked to indicate the one thing that the city govern- ment could change to make Lake Elsinore a better place to live. True North reviewed the verba- tim responses to Question 4 and grouped them into the categories shown in Figure 11 on the next page. Overall, the most common responses to this question were to improve the environmental condi- tion and cleanliness of the Lake (18%), improve infrastructure, streets and roads (17%), providing more shopping and dining opportunities locally (14%), improve public safety (10%), improve the local economy and job market (9%), and address homelessness and poverty-related issues in the city (9%). 0.6 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.2 2.3 3.3 3.8 3.9 5.3 5.6 6.1 7.3 8.7 8.7 17.1 31.7 3.5 4.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Preserve the Storm stadium Affordable housing, home prices Good, effective government Low taxes, cost of living, balanced budget Low Traffic Police station, safety Location Low population / Not overcrowded City development/progression Events, activities, extreme sports Quality of schools, education Restaurants, shopping Preserve the Storm stadium Historical places, landmarks, churches Negative comments in general Small town feeling Open spaces / Preservation of land Family-oriented, quiet, friendly community Parks / Recreation areas Not sure, cannot think of anything specific Lake appearance, environmental preservation, cleanliness % Respondents Quality of LifeTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 13City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Question 4 If the city government could change one thing to make Lake Elsinore a better place to live, what change would you like to see? FIGURE 11 ONE CHANGE TO IMPROVE CITY 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.6 1.7 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.9 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.9 8.8 9.0 9.9 14.4 18.3 16.8 1.9 2.0 0 5 10 15 20 Address senior citizen needs Improve, enforce parking Improve public transportation Improve, enforce regulations, codes (building/house maintenance) Improve Council, leadership Improve budgeting, spending Provide affordable housing Improve downtown area Provide more entertainment, events Provide more rec facilities Reduce taxes, fees Do not change anything Limit growth, development Improve parks, trails Increase police presence, visibility Improve activities, programs for youth, families Reduce traffic congestion Beautify City, cleanliness, landscape Improve schools, education Not sure / Cannot think of anything specific Address homeless, poverty issues Improve economy, jobs Improve public safety Provide more shops/stores/restaurants Improve infrastructure, street, roads Improve lake environmental preservation, water cleanliness % Respondents City ServicesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 14City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C ITY SERVICES After measuring respondents’ perceptions about the quality of life in Lake Elsinore, what they like most about the City, and what they would like to see changed, the survey next turned to assessing their opinions about the City’s performance in providing municipal services. OVERALL SATISFACTION The first question in this series asked respondents to indicate if, overall, they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the job the City of Lake Elsinore is doing to pro- vide city services. Because this question does not reference a specific program, facility, or service and requested that the respondent consider the City’s performance in general, the findings of this question may be regarded as an overall performance rating for the City. As shown in Figure 12, approximately two-thirds of Lake Elsinore residents (65%) indicated they were either very (19%) or somewhat (46%) satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide municipal services. Approximately one-quarter (24%) were very or somewhat dissatisfied, whereas the remaining 11% were unsure or did not provide a response. Question 5 Next, I would like to ask a series of questions about services provided by the City of Lake Elsinore. Generally speaking, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the job the City of Lake Elsinore is doing to provide city services? FIGURE 12 OVERALL SATISFACTION Figures 13-15 on the next page display the percentage of respondents who were satisfied with the City’s performance by a variety of demographic subgroups. Among those with an opinion, satisfaction with the City’s performance was fairly consistent across subgroups, ranging between 65% and 82%. Prefer not to answer 0.8 Very dissatisfied 7.6 Somewhat satisfied 46.1 Very satisfied 19.3 Not sure 9.6 Somewhat dissatisfied 16.6 City ServicesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 15City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 13 OVERALL SATISFACTION BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & AGE FIGURE 14 OVERALL SATISFACTION BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS, GENDER & CHILD IN HSLD FIGURE 15 OVERALL SATISFACTION BY FREQUENCY OF REC USE & HSLD REC USE IN PAST 6 MONTHS 24.0 29.0 13.9 17.7 19.7 25.7 57.7 44.3 58.5 55.0 49.5 39.5 Very satisfied 28.8 17.5 14.2 19.6 Smwt satisfied 50.4 49.056.653.2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Age (QD2)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion21.7 21.2 21.6 28.0 16.3 19.2 23.2 47.7 52.1 50.0 48.6 54.4 56.2 46.9 10.6 25.631.3Very satisfied 22.1 44.8 50.2 57.9 Smwt satisfied 52.4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Own Rent Male Female Yes No Employment Status (QD7) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Gender Child in Hsld (QD3)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion18.8 22.6 18.8 50.4 53.1 50.4 22.025.3 15.1 Very satisfied 38.8 59.9 43.0 55.7 Smwt satisfied 42.8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 At least 1x per week 2-3x per month 1x per month Less than 1x per month Not in past six months Yes No Frequency of Rec Use (QD5) Hsld Rec Use in Past 6 Months (QD4)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion City ServicesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 16City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPECIFIC SERVICES Whereas Question 5 addressed the City’s overall performance, the next two questions asked respondents to rate the importance of specific services offered by the City, as well as their level of satisfaction with efforts to provide these services. For each service, respondents were first asked if they thought a service was extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not at all important. The order of the items was randomized for each respondent to avoid a systematic position bias. Figure 16 presents the services sorted by order of importance according to the percentage of respondents who rated a service as at least very important. Overall, Lake Elsinore residents rated public safety and public works services as the most important, which included maintaining a low crime rate (97% very or somewhat important), providing fire protection, prevention and emer- gency medical services (95%), maintaining local streets and roads (94%), providing police ser- vices (93%), and addressing issues that negatively impact the appearance of the community like graffiti, homelessness, and illegal dumping (90%). At the other end of the spectrum, providing special events such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park (58%), promoting Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination (58%), and providing a variety of recre- ational programs for all ages (71%) were viewed as less important. Question 6 For each of the services I read, please tell me whether the service is extremely important to you, very important, somewhat important, or not at all important. FIGURE 16 IMPORTANCE OF ISSUES 21.5 24.3 28.2 29.5 42.4 42.4 48.4 43.1 45.8 44.7 54.7 58.8 51.2 59.7 65.7 36.4 34.0 42.3 44.7 39.4 42.4 37.7 43.1 41.2 44.9 35.2 34.6 42.5 35.0 31.4 0 102030405060708090100 Providing special events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park Promoting Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination Providing a variety of recreation programs for all ages Providing parks, sports fields and recreation facilities Managing traffic congestion on city streets Promoting jobs development in the city Managing and maintaining the Lake and city beaches Promoting economic development to stimulate the local economy Preparing the City for emergencies Keeping public buildings, parks and facilities clean and attractive Addressing issues that negatively impact the appearance community, like graffiti, homelessness, illegal dumping Providing police services Maintaining local streets and roads Providing fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services Maintaining a low crime rate Q6m Q6n Q6i Q6h Q6e Q6k Q6l Q6j Q6c Q6f Q6o Q6a Q6g Q6d Q6b % Respondents Extremely important Very important City ServicesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 17City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Turning to the satisfaction component, Figure 17 sorts the same list of services according to the percentage of respondents who indicated they were either very or somewhat satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide the service. For comparison purposes between the services, only respon- dents who held an opinion (satisfied or dissatisfied) are included in the figure. Those who did not have an opinion were removed from this analysis. At the top of the list, respondents were most satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide fire pro- tection, prevention and emergency medical services (90% very or somewhat satisfied), followed by provide parks, sports fields and recreational facilities (84%), special events such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park (84%), and police services (78%). Respon- dents were generally less satisfied with the City’s efforts to promote jobs development in the city (47%), manage traffic congestion on city streets (49%), and maintain the Lake and city beaches (50%). Question 7 For the same list of services I just read, I'd like you to tell me how satisfied you are with the job the city is doing to provide the service. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the city's efforts to:_____ or do you not have an opinion? FIGURE 17 SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES 14.2 16.4 15.3 18.3 15.0 20.7 22.2 23.5 23.9 27.7 22.8 39.4 38.4 34.3 49.4 32.8 32.8 35.0 35.9 39.7 35.1 40.8 41.9 47.5 46.1 51.7 38.9 45.4 50.0 40.1 28.0 23.8 24.0 27.3 23.9 21.9 21.8 21.7 11.7 10.0 7.2 25.0 27.0 25.7 18.6 21.4 12.9 4.6 5.7 3.3 14.3 17.4 17.2 18.8 15.3 22.2 7.3 8.1 9.0 9.8 0 102030405060708090100 Promote jobs development in the city Manage traffic congestion on city streets Manage and maintain the Lake and city beaches Maintain local streets and roads Promote economic development to stimulate the local economy Address issues that negatively impact the appearance community, like graffiti, homelessness, illegal dumping Maintain a low crime rate Promote Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination Provide a variety of recreation programs for all ages Keep public buildings, parks and facilities clean and attractive Prepare the City for emergencies Providing police services Provide special events, such as the 4th of July fireworks show, summer nights in the park Provide parks, sports fields and recreation facilities Provide fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services % Respondents Who Provided Opinion Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Performance Needs & PrioritiesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 18City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P ERFORMANCE NEEDS & PRIORITIES With a measure of the importance of a service to residents as well as a measure of satisfaction with the City’s efforts to provide the service, True North is able to examine the relationship between these two dimensions and identify areas where the City has the greatest opportunities to improve resident satisfaction—and identify for which services the City is meeting, and even exceeding, the majority of residents’ needs. Rather than rely on averages to conduct this analysis, True North has developed an individual- ized approach to identifying priorities. This approach is built on the recognition that opinions will vary from resident to resident and that understanding this variation is required for assessing how well the City is meeting residents’ needs.3 Table 1 on the next page presents a grid based on the importance and satisfaction scales. The horizontal axis corresponds to the four impor- tance options, and the vertical scale corresponds to the four satisfaction options. The 16 cells within the grid are grouped into one of six categories based on how well the City is meeting, or not meeting, a resident’s needs for a particular service. The six groups are as follows: Exceeding Needs The City is exceeding a respondent’s needs if a respondent is satisfied and the level of expressed satisfaction is higher than the importance that the respondent assigned to the service. Meeting Needs, Moderately The City is moderately meeting a respondent’s needs if the respondent is satisfied and the level of satisfaction is commensurate with the level of importance assigned to the service. Meeting Needs, Marginally The City is marginally meeting a respondent’s needs if the respondent is satisfied with the City’s efforts to provide the service, but their level of satisfaction is lower than the level of importance assigned to the service. Not Meeting Needs, Marginally The City is marginally not meeting a respondent’s needs if the respon- dent is somewhat dissatisfied, but the service is also viewed as just somewhat or not at all important. Not Meeting Needs, Moderately The City is moderately not meeting a respondent’s needs if A) a respon- dent is very dissatisfied with the City’s efforts to provide the service, but the service is viewed somewhat or not at all important, or B) a respon- dent is somewhat dissatisfied and the service is very important. Not Meeting Needs, Severely The City is severely not meeting a respondent’s needs if A) a respondent is dissatisfied and the service is viewed as extremely important, or B) a respondent is very dissatisfied and the service is viewed as very impor- tant. 3. Any tool that relies on the opinions of the average respondent will provide a limited and occasionally dis- torted picture of how well an agency is performing. The simple fact is that a city is not comprised of average residents—it is comprised of unique individuals who vary substantially in their opinions of the City’s perfor- mance in different service areas. Thus, although the arithmetic average of these individuals’ opinions is a useful statistic, it does not capture the variation in opinions that occurs among residents, and it is this varia- tion that is critical for truly assessing how well the City is meeting the needs of its residents. Performance Needs & PrioritiesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 19City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TABLE 1 NEEDS & PRIORITY MATRIX Using this framework, True North categorized respondents individually for each of the 15 ser- vices tested in the study. Thus, for example, a respondent who indicated that managing traffic congestion on city streets was somewhat important and they were very satisfied with the City’s efforts in this service area would be categorized in the exceeding needs group for this service. The same respondent may be grouped in the marginally not meeting needs group for another service (e.g., promoting jobs development in the city) if they were somewhat dissatisfied with the City’s efforts to provide the service, but the service was viewed as only somewhat important. Figure 18 presents the 15 services tested, along with the percentage of respondents who were grouped into each of the six possible categories. For ease of interpretation, the color-coding in Figure 18 is consistent with that presented in Table 1. Thus, for example, in the service area of promoting jobs development in the city, the City is exceeding the needs of 2% of respondents, moderately meeting the needs of 16% of respondents, marginally meeting the needs of 29% of respondents, marginally not meeting the needs of 3% of respondents, moderately not meeting the needs of 16% of respondents, and severely not meeting the needs of 34% of respondents. FIGURE 18 RESIDENT SERVICES NEEDS Not at all important Somewhat important Very important Extremely important Very satisfied Exceeding needs Exceeding needs Meeting needs, moderately Meeting needs, moderately Somewhat satisfied Exceeding needs Meeting needs, moderately Meeting needs, marginally Meeting needs, marginally Somewhat dissatisfied Not meeting needs, marginally Not meeting needs, marginally Not meeting needs, moderately Not meeting needs, severely Very dissatisfied Not meeting needs, moderately Not meeting needs, moderately Not meeting needs, severely Not meeting needs, severely Importance Satisfaction2 10 15 3 4 2 5 12 0 4 2 2 3 6 2 50 36 44 39 25 31 36 30 24 21 20 19 17 19 16 38 38 25 37 46 41 30 24 39 31 33 34 31 24 29 2 3 5 8 7 10 10 5 8 11 11 9 10 16 15 18 15 16 31 35 32 33 36 39 34 0 5 4 8 0 2 5 0 2 2 1 1 3 6 6 3 8 7 5 16 0 102030405060708090100 Providing fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services Providing parks, sports fields and recreation facilities Providing special events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park Providing police services Preparing the City for emergencies Keeping public buildings, parks and facilities clean and attractive Providing a variety of recreation programs for all ages Promoting Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination Maintaining a low crime rate Addressing issues that negatively impact the appearance community, like graffiti, homelessness, illegal dumping Promoting economic development to stimulate the local economy Maintaining local streets and roads Managing and maintaining the Lake and city beaches Managing traffic congestion on city streets Promoting jobs development in the city % Respondents who Provided Opinion Exceeding needs Meeting needs moderately Meeting needs marginally Not meeting needs marginally Not meeting needs moderately Not meeting needs severely Performance Needs & PrioritiesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 20City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As shown in the figure, the City is meeting the needs of the majority of residents for 13 of the 15 services tested. Operating from the management philosophy that, all other things being equal, the City should focus on improving those services that have the highest percentage of residents for which the City is currently not meeting their needs, the services have been sorted by order of priority. Thus, promoting jobs development in the city is the top priority, followed by managing traffic congestion on city streets, managing and maintaining the Lake and city beaches, main- taining local streets and roads, and promoting economic development to stimulate the local economy. Shopping & Economic DevelopmentTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 21City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S HOPPING & ECONOMIC D EVELOPMENT A key challenge for all cities is to create sustainable economic development and redevelopment initiatives that will support the tax base required for current and future needs. Naturally, the suc- cess and sustainability of future retail economic initiatives depend in part on the shopping behaviors and preferences of Lake Elsinore residents. Businesses that meet these preferences will thrive, whereas those that do not will not succeed. Accordingly, the survey included two questions to profile residents’ appetite for new shopping and dining opportunities in Lake Elsinore. DESIRE ADDITIONAL SHOPPING & DINING OPPORTUNITIES? All residents were first asked to indicate whether, among the retail stores and restaurants their household currently patronizes outside the City, there are any they would like to have available in Lake Elsinore. Nearly eight-in-ten residents (79%) answered this question in the affirmative (see Figure 19), with interest exceeding the two-thirds threshold in every identified subgroup except two (see figures 20-22). When compared to their respective counterparts, interest in having new shopping and dining opportunities in Lake Elsinore was strongest among those who had lived in the City between 10 and 14 years, home owners, females, those employed part-time, those dissatisfied with the City’s overall performance, and residents between 35 and 44 years of age. Question 8 Next, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your shopping preferences. Thinking of the retail stores and restaurants that your household visits outside of the City, are there any that you would like to have in Lake Elsinore? FIGURE 19 DESIRE ADDITIONAL STORES, RESTAURANTS IN LAKE ELSINORE Not sure 3.8 Yes, desire additional stores, restaurants 79.0 Do not desire additional stores, restaurants 16.5 Prefer not to answer 0.6 Shopping & Economic DevelopmentTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 22City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 20 DESIRE ADDITIONAL STORES, RESTAURANTS IN LAKE ELSINORE BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS & GENDER FIGURE 21 DESIRE ADDITIONAL STORES, RESTAURANTS IN LAKE ELSINORE BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS & CHILD IN HSLD FIGURE 22 DESIRE ADDITIONAL STORES, RESTAURANTS IN LAKE ELSINORE BY OVERALL SATISFACTION & AGE 82.8 72.1 72.3 84.5 79.6 87.2 81.5 74.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more Own Rent Male Female Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Gender% Respondents Who Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore79.3 80.2 78.580.2 93.4 62.7 83.7 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Yes No Employment Status (QD7) Child in Hsld (QD3)% Respondents Who Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore88.5 81.4 78.6 79.778.1 66.5 84.5 78.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Satisfied Dissatisfied 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Overall Satisfaction (Q5) Age (QD2)% Respondents Who Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants in Lake Elsinore Shopping & Economic DevelopmentTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 23City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHICH STORES & RESTAURANTS DO YOU WANT IN LAKE ELSINORE? Those interested in new retail stores and restaurants were next asked to name the one or two stores or restaurants they were most interested in having located in Lake Elsinore. Question 9 was asked in an open-ended manner, allowing respondents to name any business that came to mind with- out being prompted by or restricted to a particular list of options. True North later reviewed the verbatim responses and grouped them into the categories shown in Figure 23. The most commonly desired business was a family chain restaurant such as Applebee’s, Cheese- cake Factory and Sizzlers (22%), followed by specialty organic food stores such as Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes and Sprouts (21%), and fast food restaurants including The Habit, Chick fil A, and Buffalo Wild Wings 20%). At least 10% of respondents also mentioned grocery stores includ- ing Ralphs, WinCo, and Vons (12%), and large department stores such as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, and Target (11%). Question 9 What are the names of one or two stores or restaurants you would most like to have located in Lake Elsinore? FIGURE 23 ADDITIONAL STORES, RESTAURANTS DESIRED IN LAKE ELSINORE 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.7 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.8 10.7 20.2 21.1 22.0 2.5 1.7 11.6 0 5 10 15 20 25 Breakfast, lunch restaurants (Denny’s, Broken Yolk, IHOP) Home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight) Movie Theater Ice cream places (Cold Stone, Farrell’s) Upper scale clothing stores (H & M, Polo, Gucci) Beauty supply stores (Ulta) Large wholesale stores (Costco, Sam’s) Home furniture stores (HomeGoods, IKEA, Bed, Bath & Beyond) Shopping, outlet malls Asian restaurants, markets Upper-scale department stores (Macy's, Nordstrom, JC Penny) Sporting goods, outdoor recreation stores (Brass Pro, Turner’s OutdoorsmanI) Seafood restaurants (Red Lobster, Long John Silver, Sushi) Mexican, Hispanic restaurants, markets (Miguel’s, El Torito, Rubio's) Clothing stores (Men’s Warehouse, Forever 21, Old Navy) Electronics, computer stores (Fry's, Best Buy, Apple Store) Arts and crafts stores (Jo-Ann , Michaels) Greater variety of restaurants in general Breweries, pubs (BJ’s, Karl Strauss) Discount stores (TJ's Maxx, Marshalls, Ross) Small bakeries, cafes, tea stores (Panera, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme) Upper-scale restaurants, steakhouses (Yard House, Ruth’s Chris, Wood Ranch) Italian restaurants (Buca di Beppo, Olive Garden) Large department stores (Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Target) Grocery stores (Ralphs, WinCo, Vons) Fast food restaurants (The Habit, Chick fil A, Buffalo Wild Wings) Specialty, organic foods stores (Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes, Sprouts) Family chain restaurants (Applebee’s, Cheesecake Factory, Sizzlers) % Respondents Who Desire Additional Stores, Restaurants Funding PrioritiesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 24City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F UNDING PRIORITIES It is often the case that residents’ desires for public facilities and programs exceed a city’s finan- cial resources. In such cases, a city must prioritize projects and programs based upon a variety of factors, including the preferences and needs of residents. Question 10 was designed to pro- vide Lake Elsinore with a reliable measure of how residents, as a whole, prioritize a variety of projects and programs to which the City could allocate future resources. The format of the ques- tion was straightforward: after informing respondents that the City does not have the financial resources to fund all of the service, programs, and projects that may be desired by residents, respondents were asked whether each project or program shown in Figure 24 should be a high, medium, or low priority for future city spending—or if the City should not spend money on the project at all. To encourage a sense of competition, respondents were instructed that not all of the projects and programs could be high priorities. Question 10 The City of Lake Elsinore has the financial resources to provide some of the ser- vices, programs and projects desired by residents. Because it can't fund every project, however, the City must set priorities. As I read each of the following items, please indicate whether you think the City should make the item a high priority, a medium priority, or a low priority for future city spending. If you feel the City should not spend any money on this item, just say so. Please keep in mind that not all of the items can be high priorities. FIGURE 24 SPENDING PRIORITIES The projects and programs are sorted in Figure 24 from high to low based on the percentage of respondents who indicated that an item was at least a medium priority for future city spending. Among the projects and programs tested, making improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water qual- ity, beaches, and recreation amenities was assigned the highest priority (91% high or medium priority), followed closely by providing incentives to attract new employers and jobs (90%), and 15.0 19.6 17.9 21.9 28.7 25.6 26.0 36.3 37.8 49.8 52.5 63.7 64.8 68.0 26.3 30.4 39.7 36.9 34.3 42.0 45.0 37.6 38.1 31.5 29.7 23.2 24.8 23.0 0 102030405060708090100 Build a new Civic Center Build a new Library Provide Arts and Cultural amenities Increase tourism Expand and improve the network of trails and bike lanes Offer more community events and recreational programs Improve and expand parks and recreational opportunities Revitalize Historic Downtown Revitalize outdated commercial areas of the City Increase availability of health and medical services locally Attract local higher education opportunities Make infrastructure improvements to improve traffic circulation Provide incentives to attract new employers and jobs Make improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches & rec amenities Q10f Q10j Q10gQ10bQ10nQ10dQ10eQ10c Q10k Q10i Q10hQ10mQ10l Q10a % Respondents High priority Medium priority Funding PrioritiesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 25City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . making infrastructure improvements to improve traffic flow (87%). For the interested reader, the following table show how the percentage of respondents who rated each project a high priority varied by length of residence, age, frequency of using the Lake, city beaches, or other recre- ational amenities along Lake Elsinore, presence of a child in the home, and overall satisfaction with the City’s performance in providing municipal services. TABLE 2 SPENDING PRIORITIES BY YEARS IN ELSINORE & AGE TABLE 3 SPENDING PRIORITIES BY FREQUENCY OF US, CHILD IN HSLD & OVERALL SATISFACTION Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Make improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches & rec amenities 66.2 63.7 78.4 69.2 69.4 68.8 71.3 61.8 68.7 68.3 Provide incentives to attract new employers and jobs 65.8 68.8 57.4 63.3 63.9 65.6 61.9 66.4 67.7 64.8 Make infrastructure improvements to improve traffic circulation 65.0 63.7 70.5 59.3 52.0 61.3 68.4 75.2 61.3 63.5 Attract local higher education opportunities 49.1 61.6 49.6 50.7 57.3 56.3 49.7 51.8 48.4 48.1 Increase availability of health and medical services locally 54.6 46.0 54.6 44.7 65.5 53.0 46.2 39.7 43.4 49.8 Revitalize outdated commercial areas of the City 42.5 42.5 40.2 26.7 27.9 37.8 38.9 40.8 45.3 38.1 Revitalize Historic Downtown 33.3 41.0 39.8 34.4 31.9 31.9 42.5 42.1 37.8 30.6 Expand and improve the network of trails and bike lanes 26.2 29.0 21.5 35.0 32.1 26.9 31.0 25.5 34.0 22.1 Improve and expand parks and recreational opportunities 24.1 24.6 23.4 30.6 26.6 24.3 30.2 24.3 24.3 26.1 Offer more community events and recreational programs 24.4 20.5 22.5 33.1 25.3 30.3 27.4 17.9 25.4 25.6 Increase tourism 24.1 21.5 21.1 19.9 13.4 23.5 17.2 21.0 37.9 25.4 Build a new Library 19.8 22.5 17.4 17.8 18.6 21.9 17.3 21.8 20.0 16.8 Provide Arts and Cultural amenities 16.4 18.2 19.6 19.0 21.3 16.9 18.8 15.3 16.5 19.7 Build a new Civic Center 18.0 13.7 14.7 12.6 9.3 13.5 17.4 20.5 12.0 18.6 Years in Lake Elsinore(Q1) Age (QD2) At least 1x per wk 2-3x per month 1x per month Less than 1x per month Not in past 6 months Yes No Satisfied Dissatisfied Make improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches & rec amenities 82.2 84.9 72.9 65.6 65.5 70.1 66.3 69.7 64.3 Provide incentives to attract new employers and jobs 71.9 56.3 69.5 65.6 64.7 63.7 66.0 66.0 67.9 Make infrastructure improvements to improve traffic circulation 76.9 62.8 34.8 65.8 66.5 64.6 64.2 63.8 66.3 Attract local higher education opportunities 53.8 69.4 59.5 55.8 48.1 55.2 50.4 54.6 54.1 Increase availability of health and medical services locally 63.9 53.7 57.0 52.7 45.9 51.8 49.3 51.8 46.8 Revitalize outdated commercial areas of the City 50.8 16.7 39.1 38.6 39.7 36.9 40.2 34.9 44.8 Revitalize Historic Downtown 40.7 40.4 38.6 41.4 32.4 40.9 32.9 36.3 41.0 Expand and improve the network of trails and bike lanes 56.0 33.3 33.7 27.4 25.2 31.2 26.2 31.6 25.3 Improve and expand parks and recreational opportunities 46.1 27.4 18.7 25.4 24.4 28.6 23.4 25.9 26.6 Offer more community events and recreational programs 41.9 12.6 33.6 29.8 22.1 29.8 21.8 24.7 29.4 Increase tourism 19.8 24.6 31.5 22.3 20.8 17.1 27.9 23.1 21.4 Build a new Library 12.8 25.1 34.0 20.7 17.3 24.6 15.2 22.7 14.9 Provide Arts and Cultural amenities 31.8 10.7 26.4 20.2 15.4 21.4 15.1 17.6 22.6 Build a new Civic Center 12.0 14.0 21.7 14.7 15.4 19.1 11.4 16.3 12.0 Overall Satisfaction (Q5)Frequency of Rec Use (QD5) Child in Hsld (QD3) CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 26City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C OMMUNICATIONS The importance of City communication with residents cannot be over-stated. Much of a city’s success is shaped by the quality of information that is exchanged in both directions, from the City to the community and from the community to the City. This study is just one example of Lake Elsinore’s efforts to enhance the information flow to the City to better understand the com- munity’s concerns, perceptions, and needs. In this section, we present the results of several communication-related questions. OVERALL SATISFACTION Question 11 of the survey asked residents to report their satis- faction with city-resident communication in the City of Lake Elsinore. Overall, 56% of respon- dents indicated they were satisfied with the City’s efforts to communicate with residents through the media, the Internet, television, and other means, whereas 35% were dissatisfied and 9% were unsure or unwilling to answer the question (Figure 25) Question 11 Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the City's efforts to communicate with residents through the media, the Internet, television, and other means? FIGURE 25 SATISFACTION WITH CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION Figures 26-28 show how satisfaction with the City’s efforts to communicate with residents among those with an opinion varied across a host of demographic subgroups. The percent- age of respondents who expressed satisfac- tion with the City’s communication efforts was reasonably consistent across subgroups, although there is a clear correlation between satisfaction with the City’s overall perfor- mance in providing services and satisfaction with the City’s communication efforts. FIGURE 26 SATISFACTION WITH CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION BY OVERALL SATISFACTION, AGE & GENDER Somewhat dissatisfied 20.5 Not sure 8.3 Very satisfied 19.0 Somewhat satisfied 36.9 Very dissatisfied 14.9 Prefer not to answer 0.5 17.4 15.4 18.2 19.8 18.6 22.7 46.5 40.2 42.9 46.3 42.2 38.8 27.823.5 3.1 Very satisfied 28.2 33.4 39.8 31.4 Smwt satisfied 43.8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Satisfied Dissatisfied 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Male Female Overall Satisfaction (Q5) Age (QD2) Gender% Respondents Who Provided Opinion CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 27City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 27 SATISFACTION WITH CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS, YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE & CHILD IN HSLD FIGURE 28 SATISFACTION WITH CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION BY FREQUENCY OF REC USE, HSLD REC USE IN PAST 6 MONTHS & HOME OWNERSHIP INFORMATION SOURCES To help the City identify the most effective means of communi- cating with residents, it is helpful to understand what information sources they currently rely on for this type of information. In an open-ended manner, residents were asked to list the informa- tion sources they typically use to find out about Lake Elsinore news, information, and program- ming. Because respondents were allowed to provide up to three sources, the percentages shown in Figure 29 represent the percentage of residents who mentioned a particular source, and thus sum to more than 100. 23.2 22.0 21.1 14.4 22.1 23.2 17.6 37.1 44.2 40.6 43.5 34.5 41.3 39.8 26.024.620.2 Very satisfied 19.3 41.1 38.3 42.7 Smwt satisfied 39.9 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more Yes No Employment Status (QD7) Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Child in Hsld (QD3)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion19.7 20.8 19.7 21.1 18.5 38.7 42.1 38.7 40.2 40.7 20.8 11.115.8 Very satisfied 40.7 41.4 48.9 42.4 Smwt satisfied 25.8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 At least 1x per week 2-3x per month 1x per month Less than 1x per month Not in past six months Yes No Own Rent Frequency of Rec Use (QD5) Hsld Rec Use in Past 6 Months (QD4) Home Ownership Status (QD6)% Respondents Who Provided Opinion CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 28City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The most frequently-cited sources for Lake Elsinore news, events and programming were Social Media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (31%), the Internet in general (28%), the City’s website (26%), and Press Enterprise (17%). Question 12 What information sources do you use to find out about City of Lake Elsinore news, events and programs? FIGURE 29 CITY INFORMATION SOURCES CITY WEBSITE All respondents were next asked whether they had visited the City of Lake Elsinore’s website in the past 12 months. As shown in Figure 30 on the next page, the majority of those surveyed (59%) stated they had visited the website during this period. When compared to their respective counterparts, those who had lived in Lake Elsinore between 5 and 9 years, homemakers, and those between 25 and 64 years of age were the most likely to report having visited the City’s website in the 12 months prior to the interview (see figures 31-33). 0.8 1.2 2.6 2.6 3.8 3.9 4.7 4.7 5.6 6.7 7.6 10.2 10.5 11.0 17.2 26.2 27.8 31.1 7.8 5.8 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Alert LE/Click Fix Mobile App Radio City Council meetings/members Local community group or organization Home owners Association Electronic billboards along I-15 Street banners Other source Do Not Receive Information about City Email notices from City City Newsletter/Activity Guide Flyers, brochures or posters Direct mail Television Patch/online Friends/Family/Associates Press Enterprise/Daily newspaper City website Internet (not City’s site) Social Media like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram % Respondents CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 29City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Question 13 In the past 12 months, have you visited the City's website? FIGURE 30 CITY WEBSITE VISIT IN PAST 6 MONTHS FIGURE 31 CITY WEBSITE VISIT IN PAST 6 MONTHS BY YEARS IN LAKE ELSINORE, HOME OWNERSHIP STATUS & GENDER Not sure 2.3 Visited website 58.9 Did not visit website 38.4 Prefer not to answer 0.4 60.9 60.4 58.0 59.561.5 46.0 66.6 56.3 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 or more Own Rent Male Female Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Home Ownership Status (QD6) Gender% Respondents That VisitedCity Website in Past 12 Months CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 30City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 32 CITY WEBSITE VISIT IN PAST 6 MONTHS BY EMPLOYMENT & CHILD HSLD FIGURE 33 CITY WEBSITE VISIT IN PAST 6 MONTHS BY OVERALL SATISFACTION & AGE COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES The final communication-related question presented residents with the methods shown to the left of Figure 34 on the next page and asked whether each would be an effective way for the City to communicate with them. Overall, respondents indi- cated that the City’s website was the most effective method (86% very or somewhat effective), followed by a smart phone application (83%), direct mail (84%), e-mail (81%), and Facebook (74%). At the other end of the spectrum, automated phone calls (37%), Twitter (38%), and Instagram (48%) were generally viewed by residents as less effective ways for the City to communicate with them. Table 4 shows how communication preferences varied by overall satisfaction with the City’s performance providing municipal services, satisfaction with the City’s current communica- tion efforts, and age. 51.1 64.0 56.0 60.6 65.1 57.1 72.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Full time Part time Student Homemaker Retired Yes No Employment Status (QD7) Child in Hsld (QD3)% Respondents That VisitedCity Website in Past 12 Months66.1 62.5 62.3 52.5 62.1 44.0 64.3 59.9 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Satisfied Dissatisfied 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Overall Satisfaction (Q5) Age (QD2)% Respondents That VisitedCity Website in Past 12 Months CommunicationsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 31City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Question 14 As I read the following ways that the City can communicate with residents, I'd like to know if you think they would be a very effective, somewhat effective, or not at all effective way for the City to communicate with you. FIGURE 34 EFFECTIVENESS OF CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION TABLE 4 CITY-RESIDENT COMMUNICATION BY OVERALL SATISFACTION, SATISFACTION WITH COMMUNICATION & AGE 12.3 15.7 24.1 24.4 22.2 35.3 34.8 48.9 48.0 51.6 61.5 43.0 24.2 22.3 23.6 35.3 39.1 29.4 36.8 25.3 33.3 32.2 21.6 43.3 0 102030405060708090100 Automated phone calls Twitter Instagram Advertisements in local papers Town hall style meetings Text messages Electronic Newsletters Facebook E-mail Materials mailed directly to your house Smart Phone application City website Q14i Q14c Q14e Q14j Q14l Q14k Q14b Q14d Q14a Q14h Q14f Q14g % Respondents Very Effective Somewhat Effective Satisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older Smart Phone application 62.7 61.5 61.0 63.8 65.5 71.4 69.8 58.1 58.1 37.1 Materials mailed directly to your house 51.7 57.2 49.4 57.7 51.9 48.8 48.2 52.5 52.5 62.0 Facebook 51.4 47.6 51.7 49.9 58.8 65.5 48.9 42.8 42.8 24.4 E-mail 49.4 48.8 52.0 41.8 38.5 58.0 51.8 45.3 45.3 46.7 City website 45.5 42.9 50.8 34.0 38.6 39.5 46.7 45.4 45.4 45.1 Text messages 37.9 32.6 42.1 26.2 42.8 42.9 41.1 25.6 25.6 16.8 Electronic Newsletters 36.0 33.2 37.9 32.0 23.9 43.7 33.8 36.4 36.4 30.1 Advertisements in local papers 24.3 26.5 25.1 25.7 34.7 16.8 19.5 18.6 18.6 38.3 Instagram 26.8 21.0 27.9 21.3 37.4 42.0 20.1 11.5 11.5 7.5 Town hall style meetings 22.2 28.0 25.2 18.9 21.3 17.7 18.0 24.3 24.3 30.2 Twitter 16.1 14.4 18.3 11.7 20.0 26.8 10.7 12.7 12.7 4.7 Automated phone calls 12.4 12.4 14.3 10.1 9.4 13.5 13.0 12.9 12.9 12.7 Age (QD2)Satisfaction With Communication (Q11)Overall Satisfaction (Q5) Background & DemographicsTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 32City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B ACKGROUND & DEMOGRAPHICS TABLE 5 DEMOGRAPHICS OF SAMPLE Table 5 presents the key demographic and back- ground information that was collected during the survey. Because of the probability-based sampling methodology used in this study, the results shown in the table are representative of adult residents in the City of Lake Elsinore. The primary motivation for col- lecting the background and demographic informa- tion was to provide a better insight into how the results of the substantive questions of the survey vary by demographic characteristics (see Appendix A for more details). Total Respondents 618 Years in Lake Elsinore (Q1) Less than 5 35.5 5 to 9 23.8 10 to 14 12.6 15 or more 28.1 Prefer not to answer 0.1 Age (QD2) 18 to 24 16.9 25 to 34 23.2 35 to 44 21.2 45 to 54 16.6 55 to 64 12.2 65 or older 9.5 Prefer not to answer 0.3 Child in Hsld (QD3) Yes 50.1 No 47.1 Prefer not to answer 2.9 Hsld Rec Use in Past 6 Months (QD4) Yes 50.9 No 47.5 Prefer not to answer 1.6 Frequency of Rec Use (QD5) At least 1x per week 4.7 2-3x per month 6.5 1x per month 5.4 Less than 1x per month 32.9 Not in past six months 47.5 Prefer not to answer 2.9 Home Ownership Status (QD6) Own 69.3 Rent 26.7 Prefer not to answer 4.0 Employment Status (QD7) Full time 55.1 Part time 7.9 Student 7.3 Homemaker 9.4 Retired 13.5 Prefer not to answer 6.7 Gender Male 44.5 Female 54.7 MethodologyTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 33City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M ETHODOLOGY The following sections outline the methodology used in the study, as well as the motivation for using certain techniques. QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT Dr. McLarney of True North Research worked closely with the City of Lake Elsinore to develop a questionnaire that covered the topics of interest and avoided many possible sources of systematic measurement error, including position-order effects, wording effects, response-category effects, scaling effects, and priming. Several ques- tions included multiple individual items. Because asking items in a set order can lead to a sys- tematic position bias in responses, the items were asked in a random order for each respondent. Some questions asked in this study were presented only to a subset of respondents. For exam- ple, only respondents who desired additional stores or restaurants (Question 8) were asked to name the one or two stores or restaurants they would most like to have located in Lake Elsinore (Question 9). The questionnaire included with this report (see Questionnaire & Toplines on page 36) identifies the skip patterns used during the interview to ensure that each respondent received the appropriate questions. PROGRAMMING, PRE-TEST & TRANSLATION Prior to fielding the survey, the ques- tionnaire was CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) programmed to assist interview- ers when conducting the telephone interviews. The CATI program automatically navigates the skip patterns, randomizes the appropriate question items, and alerts interviewers to certain types of keypunching mistakes should they happen during the interview. The survey was also programmed into a passcode-protected online survey application to allow online participation for sampled residents. The integrity of the questionnaire was pre-tested internally by True North and by dialing into random homes in the City of Lake Elsinore prior to formally beginning the survey. The final questionnaire was also professionally translated into Spanish to allow for data collection in English and Spanish. SAMPLE, RECRUITING & DATA COLLECTION A comprehensive database of Lake Elsinore households was utilized to develop a random sample for this study, ensuring that all households in Lake Elsinore had the opportunity to participate in the survey. Households were recruited to participate in the survey through multiple recruiting methods. Using a combination of mailed and emailed invitations, households were initially invited to participate in the survey online at a secure, passcode-protected website designed and hosted by True North. Each house- hold was assigned a unique passcode to ensure that only Lake Elsinore residents who received an invitation could access the online survey site. Following a seven day period of online data col- lection, True North began placing telephone calls to land lines and cell phone numbers of house- holds throughout the City that had yet to participate in the online survey as a result of the emailed or mailed invitation. Telephone interviews averaged 20 minutes in length and were conducted during weekday eve- nings (5:30PM to 9PM) and on weekends (10AM to 5PM). It is standard practice not to call during the day on weekdays because most working adults are unavailable and thus calling during those hours would bias the sample. A total of 618 completed surveys were gathered online and by tele- phone between September 7 to September 19, 2016. MethodologyTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 34City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARGIN OF ERROR DUE TO SAMPLING The results of the survey can be used to esti- mate the opinions of all adult residents of the City. Because not every adult resident of the City participated in the survey, however, the results have what is known as a statistical margin of error due to sampling. The margin of error refers to the difference between what was found in the survey of 618 adult residents for a particular question and what would have been found if all of the estimated 37,892 adult residents4 had been interviewed. Figure 35 provides a plot of the maximum margin of error in this study. The maximum margin of error for a dichotomous percentage result occurs when the answers are evenly split such that 50% provide one response and 50% provide the alternative response. For this survey, the maxi- mum margin of error is ± 3.91% for questions answered by all 618 respondents. FIGURE 35 MAXIMUM MARGIN OF ERROR Within this report, figures and tables show how responses to certain questions varied by demo- graphic characteristics such as length of residence and age of the respondent. Figure 35 is thus useful for understanding how the maximum margin of error for a percentage estimate will grow as the number of individuals asked a question (or in a particular subgroup) shrinks. Because the margin of error grows exponentially as the sample size decreases, the reader should use caution when generalizing and interpreting the results for small subgroups. DATA PROCESSING & WEIGHTING Data processing consisted of checking the data for errors or inconsistencies, coding and recoding responses, categorizing verbatim responses, and preparing frequency analyses and cross-tabulations. The final data were weighted to balance the sample by age according to Census estimates. 4. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 American Community Survey Estimate. 618 Respondents ± 3.91% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 Sample Size (Number of Respondents)Margin of Error MethodologyTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 35City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROUNDING Numbers that end in 0.5 or higher are rounded up to the nearest whole num- ber, whereas numbers that end in 0.4 or lower are rounded down to the nearest whole number. These same rounding rules are also applied, when needed, to arrive at numbers that include a decimal place in constructing figures and charts. Occasionally, these rounding rules lead to small discrepancies in the first decimal place when comparing tables and pie charts for a given question. Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 36City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q UESTIONNAIRE & TOPLINES Copyright © 2016 True North Research, Inc. Page 1 City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey Final Toplines September 2016 Section 1: Introduction to Study Hi, my name is _____ and I’m calling on behalf of TNR, an independent public opinion research company. We’re conducting a survey about important issues in Lake Elsinore (EL-sih- nor) and we would like to get your opinions. If needed: This is a survey about important issues in your community. I’m NOT trying to sell anything and I won’t ask for a donation. If needed: The survey should take about 14 minutes to complete. If needed: If now is not a convenient time, can you let me know a better time so I can call back? If the person says they are an elected official or is somehow associated with the survey, politely explain that this survey is designed to the measure the opinions of those not closely associated with the survey, thank them for their time, and terminate the interview. Section 2: Quality of Life First, I’d like to ask you a few questions about what it is like to live in the City of Lake Elsinore. Q1 How long have you lived in the City of Lake Elsinore? 1 Less than 1 year 6% 2 1 to 4 years 29% 3 5 to 9 years 24% 4 10 to 14 years 13% 5 15 years or longer 28% 6 Do not live in Lake Elsinore 0% 99 Prefer not to answer 0% Q2 How would you rate: _____? Would you say it is excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor? Randomize A-D, always ask E last Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Not sure Prefer not to answer A Lake Elsinore as a place to live 16% 47% 28% 5% 3% 1% 0% B Lake Elsinore as a place to raise a family 15% 42% 29% 8% 4% 2% 1% C Lake Elsinore as a place to retire 12% 34% 28% 12% 7% 5% 1% D Lake Elsinore as a place to work 6% 16% 22% 30% 13% 12% 2% E The overall quality of life in Lake Elsinore 12% 50% 28% 7% 3% 0% 0% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 37City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 2 Q3 What do you like most about Lake Elsinore that the city government should make sure to preserve in the future? Verbatim responses recorded and later grouped into categories shown below. Lake appearance, environmental preservation, cleanliness 32% Not sure, cannot think of anything specific 17% Parks / Recreation areas 9% Family-oriented, quiet, friendly community 9% Open spaces / Preservation of land 7% Small town feeling 6% Negative comments in general 6% Historical places, landmarks, churches 5% Quality of schools, education 4% Preserve down town area 4% Restaurants, shopping 4% Events, activities, extreme sports 3% City development/progression 3% Location 2% Low population / Not overcrowded 2% Police station, safety 2% Low taxes, cost of living, balanced budget 1% Preserve the Storm stadium 1% Good, effective government 1% Affordable housing, home prices 1% Low Traffic 1% Q4 If the city government could change one thing to make Lake Elsinore a better place to live, what change would you like to see? Verbatim responses recorded and later grouped into categories shown below. Improve lake environmental preservation, water cleanliness 18% Improve infrastructure, street, roads 17% Provide more shops/stores/restaurants 14% Improve public safety 10% Improve economy, jobs 9% Address homeless, poverty issues 9% Not sure / Cannot think of anything specific 7% Improve schools, education 5% Reduce traffic congestion 5% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 38City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 3 Beautify City, cleanliness, landscape 5% Improve activities, programs for youth, families 4% Increase police presence, visibility 3% Reduce taxes, fees 2% Improve downtown area 2% Provide more entertainment, events 2% Limit growth, development 2% Provide more rec facilities 2% Improve parks, trails 2% Do not change anything 2% Address senior citizen needs 1% Improve budgeting, spending 1% Provide affordable housing 1% Improve public transportation 1% Improve Council, leadership 1% Improve, enforce parking 1% Improve, enforce regulations, codes (building/house maintenance) 1% Section 4: City Services Next, I would like to ask a series of questions about services provided by the City of Lake Elsinore. Q5 Generally speaking, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the job the City of Lake Elsinore is doing to provide city services? Get answer, then ask: Would that be very (satisfied/dissatisfied) or somewhat (satisfied/dissatisfied)? 1 Very satisfied 19% 2 Somewhat satisfied 46% 3 Somewhat dissatisfied 17% 4 Very dissatisfied 8% 98 Not sure 10% 99 Prefer not to answer 1% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 39City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 4 Q6 For each of the services I read, please tell me whether the service is extremely important to you, very important, somewhat important, or not at all important. Make sure respondent understands the 4 point scale. Randomize Extremely Important Very Important Somewhat Important Not at all Important Not sure Prefer not to answer A Providing police services 59% 35% 4% 1% 1% 0% B Maintaining a low crime rate 66% 31% 2% 0% 0% 0% C Preparing the City for emergencies 46% 41% 11% 1% 0% 0% D Providing fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services 60% 35% 5% 0% 1% 0% E Managing traffic congestion on city streets 42% 39% 16% 2% 0% 0% F Keeping public buildings, parks and facilities clean and attractive 45% 45% 10% 0% 0% 0% G Maintaining local streets and roads 51% 42% 5% 1% 0% 0% H Providing parks, sports fields and recreation facilities 29% 45% 23% 3% 0% 0% I Providing a variety of recreation programs for all ages 28% 42% 26% 3% 0% 0% J Promoting economic development to stimulate the local economy 43% 43% 11% 2% 0% 0% K Promoting jobs development in the city 42% 42% 12% 2% 0% 0% L 48% 38% 11% 3% 0% 0% M Providing special events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park 21% 36% 33% 8% 1% 0% N Promoting Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination 24% 34% 30% 11% 1% 0% O Addressing issues that negatively impact the appearance of the community, like graffiti, homelessness and illegal dumping 55% 35% 8% 2% 0% 0% Q7 For the same list of services I just read, I’d like you to tell me how satisfied you are with the job the city is doing to provide the service. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the city’s efforts to:_____ or do you not have an opinion? Get answer. If ‘satisfied’ or ‘dissatisfied’, then ask: Would that be very (satisfied/dissatisfied) or somewhat (satisfied/dissatisfied)? Randomize Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Not sure Prefer not to answer A Provide police services 37% 37% 14% 7% 5% 1% B Maintain a low crime rate 21% 39% 21% 15% 3% 0% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 40City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 5 C Prepare the City for emergencies 19% 42% 14% 7% 18% 1% D Provide fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services 46% 37% 7% 3% 6% 1% E Manage traffic congestion on city streets 16% 31% 23% 26% 4% 0% F Keep public buildings, parks and facilities clean and attractive 26% 44% 16% 9% 4% 0% G Maintain local streets and roads 18% 35% 27% 18% 2% 0% H Provide parks, sports fields and recreation facilities 33% 48% 10% 5% 4% 1% I Provide a variety of recreation programs for all ages 21% 41% 16% 9% 13% 0% J Promote economic development to stimulate the local economy 13% 35% 21% 19% 11% 0% K Promote jobs development in the city 12% 28% 24% 22% 13% 0% L Manage and maintain the Lake and city beaches 14% 32% 22% 24% 7% 1% M Provide special events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks show and summer nights in the park 35% 42% 11% 4% 7% 1% N Promote Lake Elsinore as a recreational destination 20% 36% 19% 11% 13% 1% O Address issues that negatively impact the appearance of the community, like graffiti, homelessness and illegal dumping 20% 34% 21% 21% 4% 0% Section 5: Shopping & Economic Development Next, I’d like to ask you a few questions about your shopping preferences. Q8 Thinking of the retail stores and restaurants that your household visits outside of the City, are there any that you would like to have in Lake Elsinore? 1 Yes 79% Ask Q9 2 No 17% Skip to Q10 98 Not Sure 4% Skip to Q10 99 Prefer not to answer 1% Skip to Q10 Q9 What are the names of one or two stores or restaurants you would most like to have located in Lake Elsinore? Verbatim responses recorded and later grouped into categories shown below. Family chain restaurants (Applebee’s, Cheesecake Factory, Sizzlers) 22% Specialty, organic foods stores (Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes, Sprouts) 21% Fast food restaurants (The Habit, Chick fil A, Buffalo Wild Wings) 20% Grocery stores (Ralphs, WinCo, Vons) 12% Large department stores (Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Target) 11% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 41City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 6 Italian restaurants (Buca di Beppo, Olive Garden) 7% Discount stores (TJ's Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Kmart) 6% Small bakeries, cafes, tea stores (Panera, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme) 6% Upper-scale restaurants, steakhouses (Yard House, Ruth’s Chris, Wood Ranch) 6% Breweries, pubs (BJ’s, Karl Strauss) 5% Greater variety of restaurants in general 5% Arts and crafts stores (Jo-Ann , Michaels) 4% Electronics, computer stores (Fry's, Best Buy, Apple Store) 4% Clothing stores (Men’s Warehouse, Forever 21, Old Navy) 3% Mexican, Hispanic restaurants, markets (Miguel’s, El Torito, Rubio's) 3% Asian restaurants, markets 2% Home furniture stores (HomeGoods, IKEA, Bed, Bath & Beyond) 2% Large wholesale stores (Costco, Sam’s) 2% Seafood restaurants (Red Lobster, Long John Silver, Sushi) 2% Shopping, outlet malls 2% Sporting goods, outdoor recreation stores (Brass Pro, Turner’s Outdoorsman, REI) 2% Upper-scale department stores (Macy's, Nordstrom, JC Penny) 2% Beauty supply stores (Ulta) 2% Breakfast, lunch restaurants (Denny’s, Broken Yolk, IHOP) 1% Home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight) 1% Ice cream places (Cold Stone, Farrell’s) 1% Movie Theater 1% Upper scale clothing stores (H & M, Polo, Gucci) 1% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 42City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 7 Section 6: Funding Priorities The City of Lake Elsinore has the financial resources to provide some of the services, programs and projects desired by residents. Because it can’t fund every project, however, the City must set priorities. Q10 As I read each of the following items, please indicate whether you think the City should make the item a high priority, a medium priority, or a low priority for future city spending. If you feel the City should not spend any money on this item, just say so. Please keep in mind that not all of the items can be high priorities. Here is the (first/next) one:_____ Should this item be a high, medium or low priority for the City – or should the City not spend any money on this item? Randomize High Priority Medium Priority Low Priority Should not spend money Not sure Prefer not to answer A Make improvements to Lake Elsinore’s water quality, beaches, and recreational amenities 68% 23% 7% 1% 1% 0% B Increase tourism 22% 37% 28% 11% 2% 0% C Revitalize Historic Downtown 36% 38% 18% 7% 1% 0% D Offer more community events and recreational programs 26% 42% 25% 6% 1% 0% E Improve and expand parks and recreational opportunities 26% 45% 23% 5% 1% 0% F Build a new Civic Center 15% 26% 39% 16% 3% 1% G Provide Arts and Cultural amenities 18% 40% 30% 11% 2% 0% H Attract local higher education opportunities 53% 30% 12% 5% 1% 0% I Increase availability of health and medical services locally 50% 32% 14% 4% 1% 0% J Build a new Library 20% 30% 36% 13% 1% 0% K Revitalize outdated commercial areas of the City 38% 38% 18% 4% 2% 0% L Provide incentives to attract new employers and jobs 65% 25% 7% 2% 1% 0% M Make infrastructure improvements to improve traffic circulation 64% 23% 11% 2% 1% 0% N Expand and improve the network of trails and bike lanes 29% 34% 28% 8% 1% 0% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 43City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 8 Section 7: Communications Q11 Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the City’s efforts to communicate with residents through the media, the Internet, television, and other means? Get answer, then ask: Would that be very (satisfied/dissatisfied) or somewhat (satisfied/dissatisfied)? 1 Very satisfied 19% 2 Somewhat satisfied 37% 3 Somewhat dissatisfied 20% 4 Very dissatisfied 15% 98 Not sure 8% 99 Prefer not to answer 0% Q12 What information sources do you use to find out about City of Lake Elsinore news, events and programs? Don’t read list. Record up to first 3 responses. 1 City Newsletter/Activity Guide 7% 2 City website 26% 3 City Council meetings/members 3% 4 Press Enterprise/Daily newspaper 17% 5 Patch/online 10% 6 Radio 1% 7 Television 10% 8 Internet (not City’s site) 28% 9 Social Media like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram 31% 10 Direct mail 8% 11 Flyers, brochures or posters 8% 12 Email notices from City 6% 13 Street banners 5% 14 Local community group or organization 3% 15 Home owners Association 4% 16 Electronic billboards along I-15 4% 17 Alert LE/Click Fix Mobile App 1% 18 Friends/Family/Associates 11% 19 Other 5% 20 Do Not Receive Information about City 6% 98 Not sure 2% 99 Prefer not to answer 0% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 44City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 9 Q13 In the past 12 months, have you visited the City’s website? 1 Yes 59% 2 No 38% 98 Not sure 2% 99 Prefer not to answer 0% Q14 As I read the following ways that the City can communicate with residents, I’d like to know if you think they would be a very effective, somewhat effective, or not at all effective way for the City to communicate with you. Randomize Very Somewhat Not at all Not sure / Prefer not to answer A E-mail 48% 33% 17% 2% B Electronic Newsletters 35% 37% 26% 3% C Twitter 16% 22% 57% 5% D Facebook 49% 25% 23% 3% E Instagram 24% 24% 47% 5% F A Smart Phone application that would allow you to communicate with the City, report issues, and receive updates 62% 22% 14% 3% G City website 43% 43% 12% 2% H Materials mailed directly to your house 52% 32% 15% 1% I Automated phone calls 12% 24% 61% 3% J Advertisements in local papers 24% 35% 38% 2% K Text messages 35% 29% 32% 3% L Town hall style meetings 22% 39% 35% 3% Section 8: Background & Demographics Thank you so much for your participation. I have just a few background questions for statistical purposes. D1 What is your gender? (record by voice if telephone interview) 1 Male 45% 2 Female 55% 99 Prefer not to answer 1% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 45City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 10 D2 In what year were you born? Year recoded into age categories shown below. 18 to 24 17% 25 to 34 23% 35 to 44 21% 45 to 54 17% 55 to 64 12% 65 or older 10% Prefer not to answer 0% D3 Do you have one or more children under the age of 18 living in your household? 1 Yes 50% 2 No 47% 99 Prefer not to answer 3% D4 In the past six months, have you or other members of your household used the Lake, city beaches, or other recreational amenities along Lake Elsinore? 1 Yes 51% Ask D5 2 No 48% Skip to D6 99 Prefer not to answer 2% Skip to D6 D5 How often do you or other members of your household use the Lake? At least once per week, 2 to 3 times per month, once per month, once every two or three months, or less often than once every three months? 1 At least once per week 9% 2 2 to 3 times per month 13% 3 Once per month 11% 4 Once every two or three months 22% 5 Less often than once every three months 43% 98 Not sure 0% 99 Prefer not to answer 2% D6 Do you own or rent your residence in Lake Elsinore? 1 Own 69% 2 Rent 27% 99 Prefer not to answer 4% Questionnaire & ToplinesTrue North Research, Inc. © 2016 46City of Lake Elsinore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Lake Elsinore Community Survey September 2016 True North Research, Inc. © 2016 Page 11 D7 Which of the following best describes your employment status? Would you say you are employed full-time, part-time, a student, a homemaker, retired, or are you in-between jobs right now? 1 Employed full-time 55% 2 Employed part-time 8% 3 Student 7% 4 Homemaker 9% 5 Retired 14% 6 In-between jobs 4% 98 Not sure 0% 99 Prefer not to answer 3% Thanks so much for participating in this important survey! This survey was conducted for the City of Lake Elsinore.