TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the 2018 City of Long Beach Community Survey. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The FY 18 Adopted Budget included one-time funding to conduct a community survey to gauge resident satisfaction/public opinion and to collect data on City services. The firm of Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates (FM3) was engaged to administer the survey. A total of 2,130 interviews were conducted between May 19 and June 13, 2018. Efforts were made to ensure equal participation across all City Council Districts.
The final survey results were received late in the FY 2019 budget process, but staff time was diverted to other higher priority projects, which has delayed the final presentation of the results. As discussions regarding the FY 2020 budget are beginning, staff would like to present the results to the City Council to help inform the upcoming decision-making process.
Attached for your reference is a summary of the survey methodology and results. The major findings are as follows:
• Long Beach residents generally have a positive outlook towards the City -- 7 in 10 rate Long Beach as an excellent or good place to live, and, by more than a 2 to 1 margin (58 percent), they think the City of Long Beach is headed in the “right direction.”
• High importance and high satisfaction are aligned for public safety services.
• More than 6 in 10 residents identify online sources of information as their most frequent source of news and information about local issues.
• Two-thirds of residents report feeling safe in their neighborhoods and a majority views their neighborhood parks as safe.
• 6 in 10 residents classify their neighborhoods as excellent or good, and 46 percent rate their own communities as headed in the “right direction.”
• Positive qualities closely associated with Long Beach include “diverse,” “great location,” and “good place to live, play and work;” on the flip-side, two-thirds (66 percent) do not think “affordable” is an accurate description of the City.
• By a significant margin, housing-related issues (costs/ homelessness) are most frequently cited as the biggest problems facing the City of Long Beach today, and 7 in 10 consider “the cost of living” as an extremely or very serious problem.
• 6 in 10 residents trust Long Beach City government to plan for the future and invest in services for residents. 53 percent agree that City government is open and accountable, and 48 percent agree it listens to residents.
• 7 in 10 Long Beach residents believe the City has a “great” or “some” need for additional funding for services, and their priorities include protecting local water resources, reducing homelessness/affordable housing, public safety services, and repairing local roads.
• The three issues identified by residents as being the most serious are homelessness (84 percent), the cost of housing (75 percent), and the cost of living (69 percent).
• Two-thirds of residents view neighborhood fire stations as being in excellent or good condition, while only 3 in 10 (29 percent) consider streets and roads to be of a similar quality.
This matter was reviewed by Principal Deputy City Attorney Gary J. Anderson and Budget Management Officer Rhutu Amin Gharib on May 10, 2019.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action on this matter is not time sensitive.
FISCAL IMPACT
The requested action is expected to have a minimal impact on staff hours beyond the normal budget scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no fiscal or local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER