The URL can be used to link to this page

2022-023 Community Benchmark SurveyApril 1, 2022 Report No. 2022-023 INFORMAL STAFF REPORT TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT: 2022 Community Benchmark Survey EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Beginning in April 2022, the City will conduct a community benchmark survey to gauge community measures of success and livability. Both phases of the survey will conclude in early June 2022 with the final report being available in late June. DISCUSSION: The 2022 Community Benchmark Survey is a tool used by the City of Denton to gauge key measures of success and livability in the community, particularly those relating to quality of life, safety, community characteristics, satisfaction with municipal services and operations, and information on how the public interacts with its municipal government. Most cities of Denton’s size and complexity use community benchmark surveys in some form or fashion. Community benchmark surveys differ from other surveys in that they are: • Comprehensive – these surveys are not topic-specific and are designed to understand public sentiment in many areas. • Longitudinal – these surveys use consistency in questions to capture trends over time. • Infrequent – Due to their scope, cities do not usually use surveys more frequently than on an every-other-year basis. • Comparable – many similar or identical questions are utilized by cities across the nation, allowing for comparisons between similarly-situated cities. Importantly, while online surveys suffer from a self-selection bias, community benchmark surveys will use random sampling to ensure statistically valid results. This is important as benchmark surveys are often used to accurately assess the effectiveness of a local government, form the basis of high-level goals and priorities, and impact resource allocation and funding decisions. Background Within the past 10 years, the City of Denton has engaged in three community benchmark surveys. These occurred in 2015, 2017, and 2018. The City intended to conduct a survey in 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow for the effective deployment of a survey and could have greatly skewed its results. During the development of the FY 2021-22 budget, the City Council approved a supplemental budget request to conduct a community benchmark survey in 2022. For the 2022 survey, the City selected the same survey provider as the 2018 survey, Polco (formerly, the National Research Center, Inc.). Use of this vendor will allow the City to not only utilize the same methods and questions as we did in 2018 (greatly assisting in our desire to April 1, 2022 Report No. 2022-023 observe progress since our last survey), but it would also allow the City to utilize Polco’s vast database of survey responses from other cities to draw comparisons against communities similar to Denton. After the 2022 survey, the City will reprocure this service and seek a long-term contract with a benchmark survey provider. Survey Format The 2022 Community Benchmark Survey will be deployed in two phases: In Phase 1 of the survey, a random sample (i.e., statistically valid) of ______ residential addresses will have the first opportunity to complete the survey. The residents at these addresses will be notified of the survey via a mailed postcard informing them that the benchmark survey will be mailed to them for completion. Each of these residences will have the opportunity to complete the survey by hand and mail the completed form back to Polco or us a unique code to complete the survey online. These surveys will be sent for completion beginning April 25 and surveys must be returned or completed online by June 6. In Phase 2 of the survey, a general “open-response” version of the survey will be made available for community members to complete. While the survey will be identical to the mailed version, the participants are not a random sample, and the results are not statistically valid. This will allow any resident of the City of Denton to participate in the survey and have their voice heard. To help increase the validity of these responses, Polco will compare identifying information (if provided by the respondent) with available voter information to flag survey responses that cannot be verified to be from residents of the City of Denton. The “open-response” survey will launch on May 23 and conclude on June 6. In both phases, a Spanish-language version of the survey will be available. After the June 6 close of the survey period, Polco will analyze the results and provide a report in late June. Staff anticipates having preliminary results available for discussion at the June 25, 2022, City Council retreat. Communication/Promotion Staff is developing an outreach campaign for both phases that will be applied across multiple platforms. The goal is to inform the public about the two different opportunities and have a call to action to complete the survey. Generally, the outreach will include: Phase 1 (Mailed Survey): Mailed postcard, press release, social media posts, and website information Phase 2 (Online Open-Response): Website information, social media posts, flyers/posters in municipal buildings, press release, and a newspaper advertisement Throughout both phases of the survey, staff will communicate with the vendor to determine whether additional outreach and promotion is necessary. April 1, 2022 Report No. 2022-023 CONCLUSION: n/a ATTACHMENTS: 2018 Survey Reports STAFF CONTACT: Ryan Adams Chief of Staff REQUESTOR: Staff Initiated PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS: City Manager’s Office Customer Service and Public Affairs 2955 Valmont Road Suite 300 777 North Capitol Street NE Suite 500 Boulder, Colorado 80301 Washington, DC 20002 n-r-c.com • 303-444-7863 icma.org • 800-745-8780 Denton, TX Community Livability Report 2018 The National Citizen Survey™ © 2001-2018 National Research Center, Inc. The NCS™ is presented by NRC in collaboration with ICMA. NRC is a charter member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative, providing clear disclosure of our sound and ethical survey research practices. Contents About .............................................................................................. 1 Quality of Life in Denton .................................................................. 2 Community Characteristics ............................................................... 3 Governance ..................................................................................... 5 Participation .................................................................................... 7 Special Topics .................................................................................. 9 Conclusions ................................................................................... 13 1 About The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS) report is about the “livability” of Denton. The phrase “livable community” is used here to evoke a place that is not simply habitable, but that is desirable. It is not only where people do live, but where they want to live. Great communities are partnerships of the government, private sector, community-based organizations and residents, all geographically connected. The NCS captures residents’ opinions within the three pillars of a community (Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation) across eight central facets of community (Safety, Mobility, Natural Environment, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement). The Community Livability Report provides the opinions of a representative sample of 216 residents of the City of Denton. The margin of error around any reported percentage is 7% for all respondents. The full description of methods used to garner these opinions can be found in the Technical Appendices provided under separate cover. Communities are partnerships among... Residents Community-based organizations Government Private sector 2 Quality of Life in Denton About 8 in 10 residents rated the quality of life in Denton as excellent or good. This was similar to ratings given in other communities across the nation (see Appendix B of the Technical Appendices provided under separate cover). Shown below are the eight facets of community. The color of each community facet summarizes how residents rated it across the three sections of the survey that represent the pillars of a community – Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation. When most ratings across the three pillars were higher than the benchmark, the color for that facet is the darkest shade; when most ratings were lower than the benchmark, the color is the lightest shade. A mix of ratings (higher and lower than the benchmark) results in a color between the extremes. In addition to a summary of ratings, the image below includes one or more stars to indicate which community facets were the most important focus areas for the community. Residents identified Safety, Mobility and Economy as priorities for the Denton community in the coming two years. These facets, as well as all other facets of community livability, received ratings that were positive and similar to the national benchmarks. This overview of the key aspects of community quality provides a quick summary of where residents see exceptionally strong performance and where performance offers the greatest opportunity for improvement. Linking quality to importance offers community members and leaders a view into the characteristics of the community that matter most and that seem to be working best. Details that support these findings are contained in the remainder of this Livability Report, starting with the ratings for Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation and ending with results for Denton’s unique questions. Education and Enrichment Community Engagement Mobility Natural Environment Recreation and Wellness Built Environment Safety Economy Legend Higher than national benchmark Similar to national benchmark Lower than national benchmark Most important Excellent 27% Good 55% Fair 14% Poor 3% Overall Quality of Life 3 Community Characteristics What makes a community livable, attractive and a place where people want to be? Overall quality of community life represents the natural ambience, services and amenities that make for an attractive community. How residents rate their overall quality of life is an indicator of the overall health of a community. In the case of Denton, 86% rated the city as an excellent or good place to live. Respondents’ ratings of Denton as a place to live were similar to ratings in other communities across the nation. In addition to rating the city as a place to live, respondents rated several aspects of community quality including Denton as a place to raise children and to retire, their neighborhood as a place to live, the overall image or reputation of Denton and its overall appearance. At least 7 in 10 residents gave positive reviews to the overall image and overall appearance of the city, their neighborhood as a place to live and Denton as a place to raise children, while 6 in 10 were pleased with the city as a place to retire. All of these ratings were similar to the national benchmarks. Delving deeper into Community Characteristics, survey respondents rated over 40 features of the community within the eight facets of Community Livability. Generally, most items were given positive ratings by a majority of respondents and these ratings were similar to or higher than those seen elsewhere. Resident evaluations of aspects of Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement were particularly strong; nearly all of these items received above-average ratings. Respondents were also pleased with aspects of Built Environment, Economy and Recreation and Wellness, and ratings for overall quality of new development, vibrant downtown/commercial area, overall quality of business and service establishments and availability of affordable quality mental health care and food were higher than those given in other communities across the nation. Ratings within the facet of Mobility were more mixed. About half of residents or more gave positive scores to the overall ease of travel, availability of paths and walking trails, ease of walking and ease of travel by bicycle (which were similar to the national benchmarks) and ease of travel by public transportation (which was higher). However, about 4 in 10 residents or less gave favorable marks to ease of travel by car, public parking and traffic flow and these ratings were lower than those awarded in other communities across the nation. It is noteworthy that ratings for several Mobility- related items, including traffic flow, ease of walking and ease of public transportation) increased over time. (Due to differences in methodology, trends should be interpreted cautiously; for more information see the Trends over Time report under separate cover.) 76% 81% 79% 58% 75% Overall image Neighborhood Place to raise children Place to retire Overall appearance Higher Similar Lower Comparison to national benchmark Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good) Excellent 37% Good 50% Fair 7% Poor 7% Place to Live The National Citizen Survey™ 4 Figure 1: Aspects of Community Characteristics 83% 89% 81% 83% 83% 86% 91% 87% 81% 64% 78% 78% 72% 51% 64% 44% 63% 72% 75% 66% 70% 67% 71% 65% 55% 63% 48% 68% 73% 61% 43% 59% 71% 64% 47% 63% 53% 59% 88% 94% 77% 62% 26% 32% 44% Opportunities to volunteer Opportunities to participate in community matters Openness and acceptance Neighborliness Social events and activities COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Child care/preschool K-12 education Adult education Cultural/arts/music activities Religious or spiritual events and activities Education and enrichment opportunities EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT Fitness opportunities Recreational opportunities Food Health care Preventive health services Mental health care Health and wellness RECREATION AND WELLNESS Place to work Place to visit Employment opportunities Shopping opportunities Cost of living Business and services Vibrant downtown/commercial area Overall economic health ECONOMY Public places Housing options Affordable quality housing New development in Denton Overall built environment BUILT ENVIRONMENT Air quality Cleanliness Overall natural environment NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Traffic flow Public parking Travel by car Travel by public transportation Travel by bicycle Ease of walking Paths and walking trails Overall ease of travel MOBILITY Safe downtown/commercial area Safe in neighborhood Overall feeling of safety SAFETY Higher Similar Lower Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good, very/somewhat safe) Comparison to national benchmark 5 Governance How well does the government of Denton meet the needs and expectations of its residents? The overall quality of the services provided by Denton as well as the manner in which these services are provided is a key component of how residents rate their quality of life. In Denton, about 8 in 10 residents gave positive ratings to the overall quality of City services and 4 in 10 were pleased with the services provided by the Federal Government; both of these ratings were similar to those given elsewhere. Survey respondents also rated various aspects of Denton’s leadership and governance. At least half of residents gave favorable marks to all aspects of government performance and all were similar to the national benchmarks except for the job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement, which was above average and improved over time. Further, ratings for several other aspects improved since 2017, including the overall direction of the City, overall confidence in City government, government acting in the best interest of Denton, being honest and treating all residents fairly. Respondents evaluated over 30 individual services and amenities available in Denton. Ratings for almost all items were positive and similar to the national benchmarks, with the exception of Mobility-related services: while the rating for bus or transit services was above average and improved since 2017, evaluations for street repair, snow removal and traffic signal timing were lower than the national benchmarks. Ratings improved over time for several other City services, including sidewalk maintenance; land use, planning and zoning; economic development; and health services. 62% 50% 64% 51% 58% 57% 59% 73% 42% Value of services for taxes paid Overall direction Welcoming citizen involvement Confidence in City government Acting in the best interest of Denton Being honest Treating all residents fairly Customer service Services provided by the Federal Government Higher Similar Lower Comparison to national benchmark Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good) Excellent 22% Good 61% Fair 12% Poor 5% Overall Quality of City Services The National Citizen Survey™ 6 Figure 2: Aspects of Governance 60% 78% 77% 95% 76% 68% 72% 85% 63% 59% 47% 55% 73% 80% 81% 65% 51% 50% 74% 83% 85% 92% 40% 45% 48% 60% 72% 75% 72% 61% 96% 92% 75% 33% 45% 19% Public information COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Special events Public libraries EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT Health services Recreation centers Recreation programs City parks RECREATION AND WELLNESS Economic development ECONOMY Cable television Code enforcement Land use, planning and zoning Utility billing Electric service Sewer services Storm drainage BUILT ENVIRONMENT Open space Natural areas preservation Drinking water Yard waste pick-up Recycling Garbage collection NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Bus or transit services Traffic signal timing Sidewalk maintenance Snow removal Street lighting Street cleaning Street repair Traffic enforcement MOBILITY Emergency preparedness Animal control Fire prevention Crime prevention Ambulance/EMS Fire Police SAFETY Higher Similar Lower Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good) Comparison to national benchmark 7 Participation Are the residents of Denton connected to the community and each other? An engaged community harnesses its most valuable resource, its residents. The connections and trust among residents, government, businesses and other organizations help to create a sense of community, a shared sense of membership, belonging and history. About three-quarters of Denton residents gave excellent or good ratings to the sense of community in the city and planned to remain in Denton for the next five years, while 9 in 10 would recommend living in the city to someone who asked. These ratings were similar to those given in other communities across the nation. The survey included over 30 activities and behaviors for which respondents indicated how often they participated in or performed each, if at all. Levels of Participation tended to vary widely across the different facets, making the benchmark comparisons useful for interpreting the results. Generally, participation rates tended to be similar to those observed in other communities. Denton residents were more likely than those who lived elsewhere to work in the city, but less likely to have stocked supplies for an emergency, not observed a code violation, used Denton recreation centers or public libraries, exhibited healthy behaviors, read or watched local news or voted in local elections. Compared to prior years, many rates of Participation declined in 2018, particularly within the facets of Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement. However, it is important to note that the changes in these ratings over time may be attributable to a change in survey methodology from 2017 to 2018 (see the Trends over Time report for more information). 89% 76% 52% Recommend Denton Remain in Denton Contacted Denton employees Higher Similar Lower Percent rating positively (e.g., very/somewhat likely, yes) Comparison to national benchmark Excellent 24% Good 49% Fair 22% Poor 5% Sense of Community The National Citizen Survey™ 8 Figure 3: Aspects of Participation 59% 16% 20% 75% 89% 31% 37% 13% 20% 52% 41% 52% 79% 36% 99% 61% 82% 66% 88% 55% 50% 30% 89% 86% 60% 67% 53% 72% 70% 41% 41% 22% Voted in local elections Read or watched local news Watched a local public meeting Attended a local public meeting Done a favor for a neighbor Talked to or visited with neighbors Participated in a club Volunteered Contacted Denton elected officials Campaigned for an issue, cause or candidate COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Attended a City-sponsored event Participated in religious or spiritual activities Used Denton public libraries EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT In very good to excellent health Participated in moderate or vigorous physical activity Ate 5 portions of fruits and vegetables Visited a City park Used Denton recreation centers RECREATION AND WELLNESS Work in Denton Economy will have positive impact on income Purchased goods or services in Denton ECONOMY NOT under housing cost stress Did NOT observe a code violation BUILT ENVIRONMENT Recycled at home Made home more energy efficient Conserved water NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Walked or biked instead of driving Carpooled instead of driving alone Used public transportation instead of driving MOBILITY Was NOT the victim of a crime Did NOT report a crime Stocked supplies for an emergency SAFETY Higher Similar Lower Percent rating positively (e.g., yes, more than once a month, always/sometimes) Comparison to national benchmark 9 Special Topics The City of Denton included four questions of special interest on The NCS. Topic areas included City information sources, customer service provided by the City and voter participation. Residents were asked to rate various aspects of City information sources. About two-thirds of residents or more gave favorable marks to the relevance of topics in the Resident Update newsletter, the quality of the City website, the availability of City information and the quality of the City’s video production and cable TV channel. Residents were least likely to positively rate City efforts to engage residents on social media sites; about half gave this an excellent or good rating. Figure 4: City of Denton Communications Please rate the following aspects of City of Denton communications: 13% 20% 26% 24% 21% 18% 21% 21% 34% 37% 34% 39% 44% 49% 47% 50% 35% 28% 26% 30% 32% 23% 26% 25% 18% 16% 13% 7% 3% 9% 6% 4% City efforts to engage citizens onsocial media sites City efforts to keep citizens informed about local issues City efforts to educate citizens aboutenvironmental and sustainable practices The usefulness of information in theCitizen Connection (utility billnewsletter) The quality of the City’s video production and cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) The availability of information about City programs and services The quality of the City’s website (www.cityofdenton.com) The relevance of topics in theResident Update newsletter Excellent Good Fair Poor The National Citizen Survey™ 10 Thinking about sources of information about the City, more than 8 in 10 residents indicated that they used the City website and word of mouth/friends as major or minor sources of information, while about 7 in 10 considered the Denton Record-Chronicle, CodeRed emergency notifications, the Citizen Connection, public buildings and the Resident Update newsletter to be information sources. Residents were least likely to utilize a City cable television channel, the City YouTube channel or their homeowner/neighborhood association as sources of City information. Figure 5: Sources of City Information Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: 10% 10% 14% 26% 17% 21% 21% 24% 26% 28% 25% 31% 46% 31% 47% 58% 18% 24% 21% 20% 32% 33% 34% 33% 36% 39% 44% 37% 24% 40% 40% 29% 71% 66% 65% 55% 51% 47% 45% 43% 38% 32% 32% 32% 30% 29% 14% 13% Your homeowner/neighborhood association City YouTube channel City cable television channel (Charter194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) City Council Public meetings City staff Other local news source City Facebook or Twitter feed City email news updates and alerts Resident Update newsletter Public buildings (brochures, posters,signage) Citizen Connection (utility billnewsletter) CodeRed emergency notifications Denton Record-Chronicle Word of mouth/friends City website(www.cityofdenton.com) Major source Minor source Not a source The National Citizen Survey™ 11 About one-third of residents indicated that their most preferred method of customer service interaction with the City was in-person or face-to-face and 2 in 10 preferred telephone or email interaction. One in ten or fewer preferred an internet app, mail/fax, social media or a mobile phone app for City customer service interaction. Figure 6: Preferred Customer Service Interaction Please indicate which of the following is your preferred method of customer service interaction with the City of Denton Employees: (Please select only one.) When asked to rate their impression of their most recent customer service interaction with a Denton employee, residents were most likely to give positive ratings to the timely resolution of their request, the courtesy and helpfulness of City staff and the competence and knowledge of staff (8 in 10 excellent or good). Figure 7: Customer Service Performance Thinking about your most recent experience with the City of Denton, please rate your impression of the following categories of customer service performance. 0% 2% 3% 5% 10% 20% 24% 36% Other Mobile phone application Social media (i e , Facebook, Twitter, etc ) Mail/fax Internet application E-mail Telephone In-person/face-to-face 23% 27% 27% 33% 35% 34% 42% 43% 47% 48% 48% 48% 23% 23% 19% 14% 13% 11% 12% 7% 7% 5% 5% 6% The length of time you waited (waiting on hold, waiting in line,etc.) to submit a request The availability of City staff(hours of operation) The ease of locating contact information The competence and knowledgeof City staff The courtesy and helpfulness of City staff The timely resolution of yourrequest Excellent Good Fair Poor The National Citizen Survey™ 12 Thinking about their participation in the previous election, about 7 in 10 residents indicated that they had not voted, while 3 in 10 had. Of those who had not voted, about one-third of residents indicated that they had not been aware of the election and 1 in 10 were not registered to vote. Very few residents had not voted because the voting location was inconvenient. About 6 in 10 residents had not voted for some other reason. Figure 8: Voter Participation Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton? Figure 9: Reasons for Not Voting Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton? Why not? (Mark all that apply.) Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. Yes 31% No 69% 58% 4% 16% 35% Other Voting location inconvenient Not registered to vote Not aware of election 13 Conclusions Denton residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life. About 8 in 10 residents gave positive ratings to the overall quality of life in Denton and the city as a place to live. At least three-quarters of residents also were pleased with the overall image and overall appearance of the city, their neighborhood as a place to live and the city as a place to raise children, and 6 in 10 felt Denton as a place to retire was excellent or good. While most of these evaluations were stable from 2017 to 2018, the rating for overall appearance increased. Residents remain loyal to the community, with more than 7 in 10 residents planning to remain in Denton for the next five years and 9 in 10 recommending living in Denton to someone who asked. These ratings all were similar to those given in other communities across the nation. Safety ratings are strong and Safety is a priority for the community. Denton residents indicated that Safety was an important focus area for the City and ratings within this facet tended to be positive. Nine in 10 residents reported feeling safe in their neighborhood and in Denton’s downtown and gave excellent or good ratings to fire and ambulance/EMS services. At least 7 in 10 residents gave favorable marks to police services, fire prevention, animal control and emergency preparedness; these ratings were all similar to the national average. However, only 22% of respondents had stocked supplies for an emergency, a level which decreased from 2015 to 2018 and was lower than levels reported in other communities. Economy is an important area of focus for the City. Residents indicated that Economy would be an important area for the City to focus on in the next two years and ratings within this facet tended to be positive. Nearly 8 in 10 residents were pleased with Denton’s vibrant downtown/commercial area and the overall quality of business and service establishments (both of which were higher than the benchmark), and other Economy-related items such as the overall economic health of the city, shopping and employment opportunities and Denton as a place to visit and to work received ratings similar to those given in other communities across the nation. Denton residents were more likely to work within the city than those who lived elsewhere. Mobility is also a resident priority. Residents also indicated that they would like to see the City address aspects of Mobility in the coming years. When evaluating ratings within this facet, there were some bright spots: at least half of residents gave positive marks to the overall ease of travel, paths and walking trails, ease of walking and ease of travel by public transportation (which was higher than the national benchmark and an improvement since the previous survey iteration). Further, the ratings for bus or transit services was higher than average, and resident sentiment toward traffic flow, ease of travel by bicycle and by walking, and paths and walking trails improved from 2017 to 2018. However, ratings for the ease of travel by car, public parking, traffic flow, street repair, snow removal and traffic signal timing were lower than the national benchmark comparisons. 2955 Valmont Road Suite 300 777 North Capitol Street NE Suite 500 Boulder, Colorado 80301 Washington, DC 20002 n-r-c.com • 303-444-7863 icma.org • 800-745-8780 Denton, TX Technical Appendices 2018 The National Citizen Survey™ The National Citizen Survey™ © 2001-2018 National Research Center, Inc. The NCS™ is presented by NRC in collaboration with ICMA. NRC is a charter member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative, providing clear disclosure of our sound and ethical survey research practices. Contents Appendix A: Complete Survey Responses .......................................... 1 Appendix B: Benchmark Comparisons ............................................. 21 Appendix C: Detailed Survey Methods ............................................. 34 Appendix D: Survey Materials ......................................................... 39 The National Citizen Survey™ 1 Appendix A: Complete Survey Responses Responses excluding “don’t know” The following pages contain a complete set of responses to each question on the survey, excluding the “don’t know” responses. The percent of respondents giving a particular response is shown followed by the number of respondents (denoted with “N=”). Table 1: Question 1 Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Denton as a place to live 37% N=78 50% N=105 7% N=15 7% N=14 100% N=212 Your neighborhood as a place to live 34% N=71 47% N=99 14% N=29 5% N=9 100% N=208 Denton as a place to raise children 35% N=63 44% N=79 12% N=22 9% N=15 100% N=179 Denton as a place to work 32% N=55 39% N=68 20% N=34 9% N=16 100% N=172 Denton as a place to visit 36% N=75 29% N=61 24% N=49 11% N=23 100% N=207 Denton as a place to retire 29% N=47 29% N=47 25% N=41 18% N=29 100% N=165 The overall quality of life in Denton 27% N=56 55% N=113 14% N=29 3% N=6 100% N=204 Table 2: Question 2 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall feeling of safety in Denton 27% N=56 51% N=106 19% N=40 4% N=8 100% N=210 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 22% N=45 37% N=78 25% N=54 16% N=33 100% N=210 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 19% N=40 43% N=90 32% N=66 7% N=14 100% N=210 Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 14% N=30 45% N=93 32% N=67 8% N=17 100% N=208 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 23% N=42 44% N=79 31% N=56 2% N=3 100% N=179 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 45% N=88 43% N=83 12% N=24 1% N=1 100% N=196 Overall economic health of Denton 17% N=32 51% N=95 26% N=49 5% N=10 100% N=185 Sense of community 24% N=50 49% N=99 22% N=46 5% N=9 100% N=204 Overall image or reputation of Denton 26% N=51 51% N=102 23% N=45 1% N=2 100% N=200 Table 3: Question 3 Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Recommend living in Denton to someone who asks 52% N=109 37% N=78 5% N=10 7% N=14 100% N=212 Remain in Denton for the next five years 44% N=90 32% N=64 15% N=30 10% N=19 100% N=204 Table 4: Question 4 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Very safe Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe Total In your neighborhood during the day 71% N=151 23% N=50 2% N=4 3% N=7 1% N=1 100% N=213 In Denton's downtown/commercial area during the day 51% N=106 37% N=78 8% N=16 4% N=8 0% N=1 100% N=209 The National Citizen Survey™ 2 Table 5: Question 5 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Traffic flow on major streets 3% N=7 23% N=48 45% N=96 29% N=61 100% N=212 Ease of public parking 9% N=19 23% N=48 37% N=77 31% N=65 100% N=209 Ease of travel by car in Denton 10% N=21 34% N=72 36% N=74 20% N=42 100% N=208 Ease of travel by public transportation in Denton 17% N=18 34% N=35 34% N=36 15% N=16 100% N=105 Ease of travel by bicycle in Denton 15% N=19 32% N=40 35% N=44 17% N=22 100% N=125 Ease of walking in Denton 23% N=42 41% N=75 25% N=46 12% N=22 100% N=185 Availability of paths and walking trails 19% N=34 35% N=64 31% N=57 15% N=27 100% N=183 Air quality 19% N=38 52% N=102 17% N=33 13% N=25 100% N=197 Cleanliness of Denton 21% N=45 43% N=90 27% N=58 9% N=18 100% N=211 Overall appearance of Denton 16% N=35 58% N=124 19% N=41 6% N=12 100% N=212 Public places where people want to spend time 29% N=59 44% N=91 24% N=49 4% N=7 100% N=206 Variety of housing options 20% N=39 41% N=80 28% N=54 12% N=23 100% N=196 Availability of affordable quality housing 9% N=16 35% N=65 37% N=69 19% N=36 100% N=186 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 26% N=49 46% N=85 23% N=42 5% N=10 100% N=186 Recreational opportunities 31% N=54 44% N=78 23% N=40 2% N=4 100% N=176 Availability of affordable quality food 37% N=77 44% N=92 18% N=38 1% N=2 100% N=209 Availability of affordable quality health care 19% N=31 48% N=80 30% N=51 3% N=6 100% N=167 Availability of preventive health services 24% N=42 46% N=79 26% N=44 4% N=7 100% N=171 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 16% N=19 47% N=56 23% N=27 13% N=16 100% N=119 Table 6: Question 6 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 17% N=11 27% N=18 46% N=31 10% N=6 100% N=66 K-12 education 21% N=21 42% N=41 36% N=35 1% N=1 100% N=98 Adult educational opportunities 37% N=58 46% N=73 10% N=15 7% N=12 100% N=158 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 48% N=88 38% N=69 11% N=20 3% N=6 100% N=182 Opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities 46% N=65 45% N=64 8% N=11 2% N=2 100% N=142 Employment opportunities 15% N=24 41% N=67 28% N=47 16% N=27 100% N=164 Shopping opportunities 21% N=43 42% N=87 32% N=66 6% N=12 100% N=207 Cost of living in Denton 13% N=26 35% N=72 41% N=84 11% N=23 100% N=205 Overall quality of business and service establishments in Denton 23% N=47 55% N=111 21% N=42 2% N=3 100% N=203 Vibrant downtown/commercial area 38% N=76 40% N=82 20% N=41 2% N=5 100% N=203 Overall quality of new development in Denton 21% N=37 52% N=93 20% N=36 8% N=14 100% N=180 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 33% N=62 50% N=95 16% N=30 1% N=3 100% N=189 Opportunities to volunteer 40% N=62 43% N=66 16% N=24 1% N=1 100% N=154 Opportunities to participate in community matters 34% N=48 56% N=79 10% N=14 0% N=1 100% N=142 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 34% N=63 46% N=85 15% N=27 4% N=8 100% N=183 Neighborliness of residents in Denton 22% N=44 41% N=81 29% N=56 8% N=15 100% N=196 The National Citizen Survey™ 3 Table 7: Question 7 Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Made efforts to conserve water 12% N=26 88% N=185 100% N=210 Made efforts to make your home more energy efficient 34% N=71 66% N=140 100% N=210 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Denton (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 41% N=87 59% N=123 100% N=210 Household member was a victim of a crime in Denton 89% N=185 11% N=23 100% N=208 Reported a crime to the police in Denton 86% N=182 14% N=29 100% N=211 Stocked supplies in preparation for an emergency 78% N=163 22% N=45 100% N=208 Campaigned or advocated for an issue, cause or candidate 80% N=167 20% N=42 100% N=210 Contacted the City of Denton (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 48% N=102 52% N=109 100% N=210 Contacted Denton elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 87% N=183 13% N=28 100% N=210 Table 8: Question 8 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members done each of the following in Denton? 2 times a week or more 2-4 times a month Once a month or less Not at all Total Used Denton recreation centers or their services 7% N=15 10% N=21 23% N=49 59% N=124 100% N=210 Visited a neighborhood park or City park 12% N=25 34% N=72 33% N=69 21% N=43 100% N=209 Used Denton public libraries or their services 8% N=16 20% N=41 25% N=53 47% N=99 100% N=210 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Denton 16% N=34 16% N=33 9% N=19 59% N=124 100% N=211 Attended a City-sponsored event 1% N=2 5% N=9 46% N=95 48% N=98 100% N=204 Used bus, rail, subway or other public transportation instead of driving 5% N=10 2% N=5 23% N=47 70% N=148 100% N=211 Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 14% N=30 14% N=29 22% N=46 50% N=105 100% N=210 Walked or biked instead of driving 19% N=40 10% N=22 25% N=53 45% N=94 100% N=208 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Denton 10% N=22 11% N=24 16% N=33 63% N=131 100% N=210 Participated in a club 9% N=20 7% N=15 14% N=29 69% N=146 100% N=210 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 28% N=59 29% N=61 32% N=67 11% N=24 100% N=211 Done a favor for a neighbor 16% N=34 24% N=50 35% N=74 25% N=53 100% N=211 Table 9: Question 9 Thinking about local public meetings (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.), in the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members attended or watched a local public meeting? 2 times a week or more 2-4 times a month Once a month or less Not at all Total Attended a local public meeting 0% N=0 1% N=2 19% N=40 80% N=168 100% N=210 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 1% N=1 7% N=14 9% N=18 84% N=176 100% N=209 Table 10: Question 10 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Police services 30% N=51 44% N=74 19% N=32 6% N=11 100% N=167 Fire services 48% N=67 44% N=61 7% N=10 1% N=1 100% N=140 Ambulance or emergency medical services 47% N=57 49% N=59 3% N=4 1% N=1 100% N=120 Crime prevention 20% N=30 41% N=62 27% N=40 13% N=19 100% N=151 Fire prevention and education 20% N=21 52% N=55 27% N=29 1% N=1 100% N=105 Traffic enforcement 17% N=33 43% N=81 26% N=49 14% N=25 100% N=188 The National Citizen Survey™ 4 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Street repair 8% N=15 11% N=22 21% N=42 60% N=120 100% N=200 Street cleaning 16% N=31 32% N=63 32% N=62 21% N=41 100% N=197 Street lighting 10% N=20 35% N=70 38% N=77 18% N=36 100% N=203 Snow removal 9% N=7 36% N=30 39% N=32 16% N=13 100% N=81 Sidewalk maintenance 10% N=17 30% N=49 33% N=54 27% N=45 100% N=164 Traffic signal timing 6% N=12 27% N=52 35% N=68 32% N=63 100% N=195 Bus or transit services 27% N=23 33% N=29 32% N=28 8% N=7 100% N=88 Garbage collection 42% N=80 50% N=95 7% N=13 1% N=2 100% N=189 Recycling 40% N=78 45% N=88 6% N=12 9% N=17 100% N=195 Yard waste pick-up 32% N=45 50% N=70 12% N=17 5% N=7 100% N=140 Storm drainage 16% N=28 49% N=83 27% N=46 9% N=15 100% N=171 Drinking water 37% N=70 37% N=71 16% N=31 10% N=19 100% N=191 Sewer services 26% N=45 54% N=92 17% N=29 2% N=4 100% N=170 Electric service 33% N=66 47% N=92 17% N=34 3% N=6 100% N=197 Utility billing 30% N=59 44% N=87 19% N=38 8% N=15 100% N=199 City parks 44% N=78 41% N=73 13% N=23 2% N=3 100% N=177 Recreation programs or classes 26% N=27 47% N=50 26% N=28 2% N=2 100% N=108 Recreation centers or facilities 30% N=38 37% N=47 25% N=31 7% N=9 100% N=124 Land use, planning and zoning 16% N=21 39% N=52 24% N=32 21% N=28 100% N=132 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 14% N=20 33% N=48 32% N=46 21% N=30 100% N=144 Animal control 22% N=32 53% N=77 21% N=31 4% N=6 100% N=145 Economic development 12% N=18 52% N=79 35% N=53 2% N=2 100% N=152 Health services 25% N=36 51% N=72 21% N=30 3% N=4 100% N=142 Public library services 49% N=77 46% N=74 4% N=7 0% N=1 100% N=158 Public information services 28% N=38 50% N=69 17% N=24 4% N=6 100% N=137 Cable television 19% N=21 40% N=44 23% N=26 17% N=19 100% N=110 Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 14% N=15 58% N=66 24% N=27 4% N=5 100% N=113 Preservation of natural areas such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts 19% N=28 32% N=47 37% N=56 12% N=19 100% N=151 Denton open space 18% N=29 33% N=51 33% N=52 16% N=25 100% N=156 City-sponsored special events 28% N=38 50% N=68 21% N=29 2% N=3 100% N=138 Overall customer service by Denton employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 24% N=40 49% N=80 20% N=33 7% N=11 100% N=164 Table 11: Question 11 Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The City of Denton 22% N=45 61% N=125 12% N=24 5% N=11 100% N=204 The Federal Government 8% N=14 34% N=62 31% N=55 27% N=49 100% N=180 The State Government 13% N=23 26% N=46 41% N=74 20% N=35 100% N=179 The National Citizen Survey™ 5 Table 12: Question 12 Please rate the following categories of Denton government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Denton 15% N=24 35% N=57 36% N=58 14% N=23 100% N=162 The overall direction that Denton is taking 24% N=46 40% N=76 30% N=57 6% N=11 100% N=190 The job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement 29% N=43 33% N=49 28% N=41 10% N=15 100% N=148 Overall confidence in Denton government 11% N=19 39% N=65 35% N=58 14% N=23 100% N=164 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 19% N=33 39% N=68 30% N=53 12% N=21 100% N=176 Being honest 18% N=26 39% N=57 31% N=44 12% N=18 100% N=145 Treating all residents fairly 13% N=20 46% N=67 31% N=46 9% N=14 100% N=147 Table 13: Question 13 Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Denton community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years: Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Total Overall feeling of safety in Denton 59% N=124 34% N=71 7% N=15 0% N=0 100% N=210 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 43% N=90 49% N=102 8% N=17 1% N=2 100% N=210 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 42% N=88 43% N=90 15% N=31 0% N=1 100% N=210 Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 31% N=65 49% N=104 19% N=41 0% N=0 100% N=210 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 35% N=73 46% N=97 18% N=37 1% N=2 100% N=209 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 36% N=76 45% N=95 17% N=37 1% N=2 100% N=210 Overall economic health of Denton 48% N=101 47% N=98 4% N=8 2% N=3 100% N=209 Sense of community 36% N=75 43% N=90 20% N=42 1% N=2 100% N=209 Table 14: Question 14 Please rate the following aspects of City of Denton communications: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The availability of information about City programs and services 18% N=31 49% N=84 23% N=39 9% N=16 100% N=170 City efforts to keep citizens informed about local issues 20% N=35 37% N=65 28% N=50 16% N=27 100% N=176 City efforts to educate citizens about environmental and sustainable practices 26% N=44 34% N=58 26% N=44 13% N=22 100% N=167 The quality of the City’s website (www.cityofdenton.com) 21% N=32 47% N=73 26% N=41 6% N=9 100% N=156 The quality of the City’s video production and cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) 21% N=12 44% N=24 32% N=17 3% N=2 100% N=55 The relevance of topics in the Resident Update newsletter 21% N=23 50% N=54 25% N=27 4% N=5 100% N=109 The usefulness of information in the Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) 24% N=34 39% N=55 30% N=42 7% N=10 100% N=142 City efforts to engage citizens on social media sites 13% N=14 34% N=36 35% N=37 18% N=19 100% N=107 Table 15: Question 15 Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: Major source Minor source Not a source Total City website (www.cityofdenton.com) 58% N=114 29% N=58 13% N=26 100% N=198 Resident Update newsletter 28% N=56 39% N=77 32% N=64 100% N=198 Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) 31% N=64 37% N=74 32% N=65 100% N=203 City cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) 14% N=29 21% N=42 65% N=132 100% N=203 City Facebook or Twitter feed 24% N=49 33% N=66 43% N=85 100% N=199 City YouTube channel 10% N=20 24% N=47 66% N=129 100% N=196 The National Citizen Survey™ 6 Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: Major source Minor source Not a source Total City email news updates and alerts 26% N=52 36% N=71 38% N=75 100% N=198 CodeRed emergency notifications 46% N=90 24% N=48 30% N=60 100% N=197 Denton Record-Chronicle 31% N=62 40% N=79 29% N=59 100% N=200 Other local news source 21% N=41 34% N=67 45% N=90 100% N=198 Your homeowner/neighborhood association 10% N=20 18% N=37 71% N=142 100% N=198 Public meetings 17% N=33 32% N=64 51% N=102 100% N=199 Public buildings (brochures, posters, signage) 25% N=49 44% N=87 32% N=63 100% N=199 City staff 21% N=41 33% N=65 47% N=93 100% N=199 City Council 26% N=51 20% N=38 55% N=107 100% N=197 Word of mouth/friends 47% N=93 40% N=79 14% N=27 100% N=198 Table 16: Question 16 Please indicate which of the following is your preferred method of customer service interaction with the City of Denton Employees: (Please select only one.) Percent Number In-person/face-to-face 36% N=73 Telephone 24% N=50 E-mail 20% N=41 Mail/fax 5% N=10 Internet application 10% N=20 Mobile phone application 2% N=4 Social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 3% N=6 Other 0% N=0 Total 100% N=203 Table 17: Question 17 Thinking about your most recent experience with the City of Denton, please rate your impression of the following categories of customer service performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The ease of locating contact information 27% N=50 47% N=88 19% N=36 7% N=13 100% N=186 The availability of City staff (hours of operation) 27% N=47 43% N=75 23% N=39 7% N=12 100% N=174 The length of time you waited (waiting on hold, waiting in line, etc.) to submit a request 23% N=40 42% N=72 23% N=39 12% N=20 100% N=171 The courtesy and helpfulness of City staff 35% N=64 48% N=88 13% N=24 5% N=9 100% N=184 The competence and knowledge of City staff 33% N=60 48% N=87 14% N=25 5% N=8 100% N=181 The timely resolution of your request 34% N=61 48% N=86 11% N=20 6% N=11 100% N=178 Table 18: Question 18a Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton: Percent Number Yes 31% N=63 No 69% N=143 Total 100% N=205 The National Citizen Survey™ 7 Table 19: Question 18b Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton? Why not? (Mark all that apply.) Percent Number Not aware of election 35% N=51 Not registered to vote 16% N=23 Voting location inconvenient 4% N=5 Other 58% N=85 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. Table 20: Question D1 How often, if at all, do you do each of the following, considering all of the times you could? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always Total Recycle at home 14% N=29 4% N=8 5% N=11 14% N=31 63% N=133 100% N=212 Purchase goods or services from a business located in Denton 1% N=2 0% N=0 14% N=29 54% N=115 31% N=65 100% N=212 Eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day 5% N=11 24% N=52 37% N=79 25% N=53 8% N=17 100% N=211 Participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity 2% N=5 26% N=53 35% N=73 26% N=53 11% N=23 100% N=208 Read or watch local news (via television, paper, computer, etc.) 12% N=26 21% N=44 23% N=48 21% N=45 23% N=48 100% N=212 Vote in local elections 23% N=48 17% N=36 20% N=41 18% N=39 22% N=47 100% N=210 Table 21: Question D2 Would you say that in general your health is: Percent Number Excellent 14% N=30 Very good 37% N=79 Good 42% N=90 Fair 5% N=10 Poor 1% N=2 Total 100% N=211 Table 22: Question D3 What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent Number Very positive 9% N=19 Somewhat positive 27% N=57 Neutral 51% N=106 Somewhat negative 11% N=24 Very negative 1% N=3 Total 100% N=208 Table 23: Question D4 What is your employment status? Percent Number Working full time for pay 57% N=120 Working part time for pay 17% N=36 Unemployed, looking for paid work 5% N=10 Unemployed, not looking for paid work 5% N=10 Fully retired 16% N=35 Total 100% N=211 The National Citizen Survey™ 8 Table 24: Question D5 Do you work inside the boundaries of Denton? Percent Number Yes, outside the home 49% N=96 Yes, from home 10% N=20 No 41% N=81 Total 100% N=197 Table 25: Question D6 How many years have you lived in Denton? Percent Number Less than 2 years 20% N=41 2 to 5 years 31% N=64 6 to 10 years 9% N=19 11 to 20 years 18% N=38 More than 20 years 22% N=46 Total 100% N=209 Table 26: Question D7 Which best describes the building you live in? Percent Number One family house detached from any other houses 58% N=121 Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium) 40% N=84 Mobile home 1% N=2 Other 1% N=2 Total 100% N=209 Table 27: Question D8 Is this house, apartment or mobile home... Percent Number Rented 53% N=111 Owned 47% N=98 Total 100% N=209 Table 28: Question D9 About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners' association (HOA) fees)? Percent Number Less than $300 per month 1% N=2 $300 to $599 per month 11% N=23 $600 to $999 per month 29% N=60 $1,000 to $1,499 per month 26% N=53 $1,500 to $2,499 per month 23% N=48 $2,500 or more per month 10% N=20 Total 100% N=206 The National Citizen Survey™ 9 Table 29: Question D10 Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent Number No 75% N=159 Yes 25% N=52 Total 100% N=211 Table 30: Question D11 Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent Number No 80% N=168 Yes 20% N=42 Total 100% N=211 Table 31: Question D12 How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number Less than $25,000 14% N=27 $25,000 to $49,999 26% N=50 $50,000 to $99,999 34% N=67 $100,000 to $149,999 17% N=33 $150,000 or more 10% N=19 Total 100% N=196 Table 32: Question D13 Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent Number No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 82% N=170 Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 18% N=38 Total 100% N=208 Table 33: Question D14 What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent Number American Indian or Alaskan Native 3% N=7 Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 7% N=14 Black or African American 2% N=5 White 85% N=176 Other 11% N=23 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. The National Citizen Survey™ 10 Table 34: Question D15 In which category is your age? Percent Number 18 to 24 years 17% N=36 25 to 34 years 30% N=63 35 to 44 years 14% N=30 45 to 54 years 14% N=29 55 to 64 years 7% N=15 65 to 74 years 7% N=14 75 years or older 10% N=21 Total 100% N=208 Table 35: Question D16 What is your sex? Percent Number Female 53% N=109 Male 47% N=95 Total 100% N=204 Table 36: Question D17 Do you consider a cell phone or landline your primary telephone number? Percent Number Cell 85% N=173 Land line 8% N=17 Both 7% N=14 Total 100% N=205 The National Citizen Survey™ 11 Responses including “don’t know” The following pages contain a complete set of responses to each question on the survey, including the “don’t know” responses. The percent of respondents giving a particular response is shown followed by the number of respondents (denoted with “N=”). Table 37: Question 1 Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Denton as a place to live 37% N=78 49% N=105 7% N=15 7% N=14 0% N=0 100% N=212 Your neighborhood as a place to live 33% N=71 46% N=99 14% N=29 4% N=9 2% N=5 100% N=213 Denton as a place to raise children 30% N=63 37% N=79 10% N=22 7% N=15 15% N=32 100% N=211 Denton as a place to work 26% N=55 33% N=68 16% N=34 7% N=16 17% N=36 100% N=208 Denton as a place to visit 36% N=75 29% N=61 23% N=49 11% N=23 1% N=3 100% N=210 Denton as a place to retire 23% N=47 23% N=47 20% N=41 14% N=29 21% N=45 100% N=209 The overall quality of life in Denton 27% N=56 54% N=113 14% N=29 3% N=6 1% N=3 100% N=207 Table 38: Question 2 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Overall feeling of safety in Denton 26% N=56 50% N=106 19% N=40 4% N=8 1% N=3 100% N=213 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 21% N=45 37% N=78 25% N=54 16% N=33 1% N=2 100% N=212 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 19% N=40 43% N=90 31% N=66 6% N=14 1% N=1 100% N=211 Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 14% N=30 44% N=93 32% N=67 8% N=17 2% N=4 100% N=212 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 20% N=42 38% N=79 27% N=56 2% N=3 14% N=29 100% N=208 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 41% N=88 40% N=83 11% N=24 1% N=1 7% N=15 100% N=211 Overall economic health of Denton 15% N=32 45% N=95 23% N=49 5% N=10 13% N=26 100% N=211 Sense of community 24% N=50 47% N=99 22% N=46 4% N=9 3% N=7 100% N=211 Overall image or reputation of Denton 24% N=51 48% N=102 21% N=45 1% N=2 5% N=11 100% N=211 Table 39: Question 3 Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Recommend living in Denton to someone who asks 52% N=109 37% N=78 5% N=10 7% N=14 0% N=0 100% N=212 Remain in Denton for the next five years 43% N=90 31% N=64 14% N=30 9% N=19 3% N=7 100% N=211 Table 40: Question 4 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Very safe Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe Don't know Total In your neighborhood during the day 71% N=151 23% N=50 2% N=4 3% N=7 1% N=1 0% N=0 100% N=213 In Denton's downtown/commercial area during the day 50% N=106 37% N=78 8% N=16 4% N=8 0% N=1 1% N=2 100% N=211 Table 41: Question 5 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Traffic flow on major streets 3% N=7 23% N=48 45% N=96 29% N=61 0% N=0 100% N=212 Ease of public parking 9% N=19 23% N=48 36% N=77 30% N=65 2% N=4 100% N=213 Ease of travel by car in Denton 10% N=21 34% N=72 35% N=74 20% N=42 0% N=0 100% N=209 The National Citizen Survey™ 12 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Ease of travel by public transportation in Denton 8% N=18 17% N=35 17% N=36 8% N=16 50% N=106 100% N=210 Ease of travel by bicycle in Denton 9% N=19 19% N=40 21% N=44 11% N=22 40% N=82 100% N=207 Ease of walking in Denton 20% N=42 36% N=75 22% N=46 10% N=22 12% N=26 100% N=211 Availability of paths and walking trails 16% N=34 30% N=64 27% N=57 13% N=27 13% N=28 100% N=211 Air quality 18% N=38 48% N=102 15% N=33 12% N=25 7% N=14 100% N=211 Cleanliness of Denton 21% N=45 42% N=90 27% N=58 9% N=18 1% N=2 100% N=213 Overall appearance of Denton 16% N=35 58% N=124 19% N=41 6% N=12 0% N=0 100% N=212 Public places where people want to spend time 28% N=59 43% N=91 23% N=49 3% N=7 3% N=6 100% N=212 Variety of housing options 19% N=39 38% N=80 26% N=54 11% N=23 6% N=12 100% N=208 Availability of affordable quality housing 8% N=16 31% N=65 33% N=69 17% N=36 11% N=24 100% N=210 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 23% N=49 40% N=85 20% N=42 5% N=10 12% N=24 100% N=211 Recreational opportunities 26% N=54 37% N=78 19% N=40 2% N=4 16% N=34 100% N=210 Availability of affordable quality food 37% N=77 44% N=92 18% N=38 1% N=2 0% N=1 100% N=210 Availability of affordable quality health care 15% N=31 38% N=80 24% N=51 3% N=6 21% N=43 100% N=210 Availability of preventive health services 20% N=42 38% N=79 21% N=44 3% N=7 18% N=39 100% N=210 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 9% N=19 27% N=56 13% N=27 7% N=16 44% N=92 100% N=211 Table 42: Question 6 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 5% N=11 9% N=18 15% N=31 3% N=6 68% N=141 100% N=208 K-12 education 10% N=21 20% N=41 17% N=35 0% N=1 53% N=109 100% N=208 Adult educational opportunities 28% N=58 35% N=73 7% N=15 6% N=12 24% N=50 100% N=209 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 43% N=88 34% N=69 10% N=20 3% N=6 11% N=23 100% N=205 Opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities 31% N=65 31% N=64 5% N=11 1% N=2 32% N=67 100% N=209 Employment opportunities 11% N=24 32% N=67 22% N=47 13% N=27 21% N=44 100% N=208 Shopping opportunities 21% N=43 41% N=87 31% N=66 6% N=12 1% N=2 100% N=210 Cost of living in Denton 13% N=26 34% N=72 41% N=84 11% N=23 2% N=3 100% N=208 Overall quality of business and service establishments in Denton 22% N=47 53% N=111 20% N=42 2% N=3 3% N=6 100% N=209 Vibrant downtown/commercial area 37% N=76 39% N=82 19% N=41 2% N=5 3% N=6 100% N=209 Overall quality of new development in Denton 18% N=37 45% N=93 17% N=36 7% N=14 14% N=29 100% N=208 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 30% N=62 45% N=95 15% N=30 1% N=3 9% N=19 100% N=208 Opportunities to volunteer 29% N=62 32% N=66 12% N=24 0% N=1 27% N=56 100% N=209 Opportunities to participate in community matters 23% N=48 38% N=79 7% N=14 0% N=1 32% N=66 100% N=207 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 31% N=63 41% N=85 13% N=27 4% N=8 11% N=22 100% N=205 Neighborliness of residents in Denton 21% N=44 39% N=81 27% N=56 7% N=15 6% N=12 100% N=208 Table 43: Question 7 Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Made efforts to conserve water 12% N=26 88% N=185 100% N=210 Made efforts to make your home more energy efficient 34% N=71 66% N=140 100% N=210 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Denton (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 41% N=87 59% N=123 100% N=210 The National Citizen Survey™ 13 Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Household member was a victim of a crime in Denton 89% N=185 11% N=23 100% N=208 Reported a crime to the police in Denton 86% N=182 14% N=29 100% N=211 Stocked supplies in preparation for an emergency 78% N=163 22% N=45 100% N=208 Campaigned or advocated for an issue, cause or candidate 80% N=167 20% N=42 100% N=210 Contacted the City of Denton (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 48% N=102 52% N=109 100% N=210 Contacted Denton elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 87% N=183 13% N=28 100% N=210 Table 44: Question 8 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members done each of the following in Denton? 2 times a week or more 2-4 times a month Once a month or less Not at all Total Used Denton recreation centers or their services 7% N=15 10% N=21 23% N=49 59% N=124 100% N=210 Visited a neighborhood park or City park 12% N=25 34% N=72 33% N=69 21% N=43 100% N=209 Used Denton public libraries or their services 8% N=16 20% N=41 25% N=53 47% N=99 100% N=210 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Denton 16% N=34 16% N=33 9% N=19 59% N=124 100% N=211 Attended a City-sponsored event 1% N=2 5% N=9 46% N=95 48% N=98 100% N=204 Used bus, rail, subway or other public transportation instead of driving 5% N=10 2% N=5 23% N=47 70% N=148 100% N=211 Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 14% N=30 14% N=29 22% N=46 50% N=105 100% N=210 Walked or biked instead of driving 19% N=40 10% N=22 25% N=53 45% N=94 100% N=208 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Denton 10% N=22 11% N=24 16% N=33 63% N=131 100% N=210 Participated in a club 9% N=20 7% N=15 14% N=29 69% N=146 100% N=210 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 28% N=59 29% N=61 32% N=67 11% N=24 100% N=211 Done a favor for a neighbor 16% N=34 24% N=50 35% N=74 25% N=53 100% N=211 Table 45: Question 9 Thinking about local public meetings (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.), in the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members attended or watched a local public meeting? 2 times a week or more 2-4 times a month Once a month or less Not at all Total Attended a local public meeting 0% N=0 1% N=2 19% N=40 80% N=168 100% N=210 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 1% N=1 7% N=14 9% N=18 84% N=176 100% N=209 Table 46: Question 10 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Police services 24% N=51 35% N=74 15% N=32 5% N=11 20% N=42 100% N=209 Fire services 32% N=67 29% N=61 5% N=10 0% N=1 33% N=68 100% N=208 Ambulance or emergency medical services 28% N=57 28% N=59 2% N=4 1% N=1 42% N=87 100% N=207 Crime prevention 14% N=30 30% N=62 19% N=40 9% N=19 28% N=57 100% N=208 Fire prevention and education 10% N=21 26% N=55 14% N=29 0% N=1 50% N=103 100% N=209 Traffic enforcement 16% N=33 39% N=81 24% N=49 12% N=25 10% N=21 100% N=209 Street repair 7% N=15 11% N=22 20% N=42 57% N=120 5% N=9 100% N=210 Street cleaning 15% N=31 30% N=63 30% N=62 19% N=41 6% N=12 100% N=209 Street lighting 10% N=20 34% N=70 37% N=77 17% N=36 2% N=4 100% N=208 Snow removal 3% N=7 14% N=30 15% N=32 6% N=13 61% N=127 100% N=208 The National Citizen Survey™ 14 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Sidewalk maintenance 8% N=17 24% N=49 26% N=54 22% N=45 20% N=41 100% N=205 Traffic signal timing 6% N=12 26% N=52 34% N=68 31% N=63 4% N=8 100% N=203 Bus or transit services 11% N=23 14% N=29 14% N=28 4% N=7 57% N=118 100% N=206 Garbage collection 38% N=80 45% N=95 6% N=13 1% N=2 10% N=20 100% N=209 Recycling 37% N=78 42% N=88 6% N=12 8% N=17 7% N=15 100% N=210 Yard waste pick-up 22% N=45 34% N=70 8% N=17 3% N=7 33% N=69 100% N=209 Storm drainage 13% N=28 40% N=83 22% N=46 7% N=15 18% N=39 100% N=210 Drinking water 33% N=70 34% N=71 15% N=31 9% N=19 9% N=19 100% N=210 Sewer services 21% N=45 44% N=92 14% N=29 2% N=4 19% N=40 100% N=210 Electric service 31% N=66 44% N=92 16% N=34 3% N=6 6% N=13 100% N=210 Utility billing 28% N=59 42% N=87 18% N=38 7% N=15 5% N=11 100% N=210 City parks 37% N=78 35% N=73 11% N=23 1% N=3 16% N=33 100% N=210 Recreation programs or classes 13% N=27 24% N=50 13% N=28 1% N=2 48% N=101 100% N=208 Recreation centers or facilities 18% N=38 22% N=47 15% N=31 4% N=9 40% N=83 100% N=207 Land use, planning and zoning 10% N=21 25% N=52 15% N=32 13% N=28 37% N=76 100% N=209 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 10% N=20 23% N=48 22% N=46 14% N=30 31% N=65 100% N=209 Animal control 15% N=32 37% N=77 15% N=31 3% N=6 31% N=64 100% N=209 Economic development 8% N=18 38% N=79 25% N=53 1% N=2 27% N=57 100% N=209 Health services 17% N=36 35% N=72 14% N=30 2% N=4 32% N=66 100% N=208 Public library services 37% N=77 35% N=74 3% N=7 0% N=1 24% N=51 100% N=210 Public information services 18% N=38 33% N=69 11% N=24 3% N=6 34% N=71 100% N=208 Cable television 10% N=21 21% N=44 12% N=26 9% N=19 47% N=99 100% N=209 Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 7% N=15 32% N=66 13% N=27 2% N=5 46% N=95 100% N=208 Preservation of natural areas such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts 14% N=28 23% N=47 27% N=56 9% N=19 27% N=55 100% N=206 Denton open space 14% N=29 25% N=51 25% N=52 12% N=25 24% N=50 100% N=207 City-sponsored special events 19% N=38 33% N=68 14% N=29 1% N=3 33% N=68 100% N=206 Overall customer service by Denton employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 20% N=40 40% N=80 17% N=33 6% N=11 18% N=36 100% N=200 Table 47: Question 11 Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The City of Denton 21% N=45 59% N=125 11% N=24 5% N=11 3% N=7 100% N=211 The Federal Government 7% N=14 29% N=62 26% N=55 23% N=49 15% N=31 100% N=211 The State Government 11% N=23 22% N=46 35% N=74 17% N=35 15% N=32 100% N=211 Table 48: Question 12 Please rate the following categories of Denton government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Denton 11% N=24 27% N=57 28% N=58 11% N=23 23% N=47 100% N=210 The overall direction that Denton is taking 22% N=46 36% N=76 27% N=57 5% N=11 9% N=20 100% N=210 The job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement 21% N=43 24% N=49 20% N=41 7% N=15 28% N=57 100% N=206 Overall confidence in Denton government 9% N=19 31% N=65 27% N=58 11% N=23 22% N=46 100% N=210 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 16% N=33 33% N=68 25% N=53 10% N=21 16% N=34 100% N=210 The National Citizen Survey™ 15 Please rate the following categories of Denton government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Being honest 12% N=26 27% N=57 21% N=44 8% N=18 30% N=64 100% N=209 Treating all residents fairly 9% N=20 32% N=67 22% N=46 7% N=14 30% N=63 100% N=210 Table 49: Question 13 Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Denton community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years: Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Total Overall feeling of safety in Denton 59% N=124 34% N=71 7% N=15 0% N=0 100% N=210 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 43% N=90 49% N=102 8% N=17 1% N=2 100% N=210 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 42% N=88 43% N=90 15% N=31 0% N=1 100% N=210 Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 31% N=65 49% N=104 19% N=41 0% N=0 100% N=210 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 35% N=73 46% N=97 18% N=37 1% N=2 100% N=209 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 36% N=76 45% N=95 17% N=37 1% N=2 100% N=210 Overall economic health of Denton 48% N=101 47% N=98 4% N=8 2% N=3 100% N=209 Sense of community 36% N=75 43% N=90 20% N=42 1% N=2 100% N=209 Table 50: Question 14 Please rate the following aspects of City of Denton communications: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The availability of information about City programs and services 15% N=31 40% N=84 19% N=39 8% N=16 19% N=39 100% N=209 City efforts to keep citizens informed about local issues 17% N=35 31% N=65 24% N=50 13% N=27 16% N=32 100% N=209 City efforts to educate citizens about environmental and sustainable practices 21% N=44 28% N=58 21% N=44 11% N=22 20% N=41 100% N=208 The quality of the City’s website (www.cityofdenton.com) 15% N=32 35% N=73 20% N=41 4% N=9 25% N=53 100% N=209 The quality of the City’s video production and cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) 6% N=12 12% N=24 8% N=17 1% N=2 73% N=153 100% N=209 The relevance of topics in the Resident Update newsletter 11% N=23 26% N=54 13% N=27 2% N=5 47% N=97 100% N=207 The usefulness of information in the Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) 16% N=34 26% N=55 20% N=42 5% N=10 32% N=67 100% N=209 City efforts to engage citizens on social media sites 7% N=14 17% N=36 18% N=37 9% N=19 49% N=101 100% N=208 Table 51: Question 15 Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: Major source Minor source Not a source Total City website (www.cityofdenton.com) 58% N=114 29% N=58 13% N=26 100% N=198 Resident Update newsletter 28% N=56 39% N=77 32% N=64 100% N=198 Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) 31% N=64 37% N=74 32% N=65 100% N=203 City cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) 14% N=29 21% N=42 65% N=132 100% N=203 City Facebook or Twitter feed 24% N=49 33% N=66 43% N=85 100% N=199 City YouTube channel 10% N=20 24% N=47 66% N=129 100% N=196 City email news updates and alerts 26% N=52 36% N=71 38% N=75 100% N=198 CodeRed emergency notifications 46% N=90 24% N=48 30% N=60 100% N=197 Denton Record-Chronicle 31% N=62 40% N=79 29% N=59 100% N=200 Other local news source 21% N=41 34% N=67 45% N=90 100% N=198 Your homeowner/neighborhood association 10% N=20 18% N=37 71% N=142 100% N=198 Public meetings 17% N=33 32% N=64 51% N=102 100% N=199 The National Citizen Survey™ 16 Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: Major source Minor source Not a source Total Public buildings (brochures, posters, signage) 25% N=49 44% N=87 32% N=63 100% N=199 City staff 21% N=41 33% N=65 47% N=93 100% N=199 City Council 26% N=51 20% N=38 55% N=107 100% N=197 Word of mouth/friends 47% N=93 40% N=79 14% N=27 100% N=198 Table 52: Question 16 Please indicate which of the following is your preferred method of customer service interaction with the City of Denton Employees: (Please select only one.) Percent Number In-person/face-to-face 36% N=73 Telephone 24% N=50 E-mail 20% N=41 Mail/fax 5% N=10 Internet application 10% N=20 Mobile phone application 2% N=4 Social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 3% N=6 Other 0% N=0 Total 100% N=203 Table 53: Question 17 Thinking about your most recent experience with the City of Denton, please rate your impression of the following categories of customer service performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The ease of locating contact information 24% N=50 42% N=88 17% N=36 6% N=13 10% N=21 100% N=207 The availability of City staff (hours of operation) 23% N=47 36% N=75 19% N=39 6% N=12 16% N=32 100% N=206 The length of time you waited (waiting on hold, waiting in line, etc.) to submit a request 19% N=40 35% N=72 19% N=39 10% N=20 18% N=36 100% N=207 The courtesy and helpfulness of City staff 31% N=64 42% N=88 11% N=24 4% N=9 11% N=24 100% N=207 The competence and knowledge of City staff 29% N=60 42% N=87 12% N=25 4% N=8 13% N=26 100% N=207 The timely resolution of your request 29% N=61 42% N=86 10% N=20 6% N=11 14% N=29 100% N=207 Table 54: Question 18a Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton: Percent Number Yes 31% N=63 No 69% N=143 Total 100% N=205 Table 55: Question 18b Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton? Why not? (Mark all that apply.) Percent Number Not aware of election 35% N=51 Not registered to vote 16% N=23 Voting location inconvenient 4% N=5 Other 58% N=85 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. The National Citizen Survey™ 17 Table 56: Question D1 How often, if at all, do you do each of the following, considering all of the times you could? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always Total Recycle at home 14% N=29 4% N=8 5% N=11 14% N=31 63% N=133 100% N=212 Purchase goods or services from a business located in Denton 1% N=2 0% N=0 14% N=29 54% N=115 31% N=65 100% N=212 Eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day 5% N=11 24% N=52 37% N=79 25% N=53 8% N=17 100% N=211 Participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity 2% N=5 26% N=53 35% N=73 26% N=53 11% N=23 100% N=208 Read or watch local news (via television, paper, computer, etc.) 12% N=26 21% N=44 23% N=48 21% N=45 23% N=48 100% N=212 Vote in local elections 23% N=48 17% N=36 20% N=41 18% N=39 22% N=47 100% N=210 Table 57: Question D2 Would you say that in general your health is: Percent Number Excellent 14% N=30 Very good 37% N=79 Good 42% N=90 Fair 5% N=10 Poor 1% N=2 Total 100% N=211 Table 58: Question D3 What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent Number Very positive 9% N=19 Somewhat positive 27% N=57 Neutral 51% N=106 Somewhat negative 11% N=24 Very negative 1% N=3 Total 100% N=208 Table 59: Question D4 What is your employment status? Percent Number Working full time for pay 57% N=120 Working part time for pay 17% N=36 Unemployed, looking for paid work 5% N=10 Unemployed, not looking for paid work 5% N=10 Fully retired 16% N=35 Total 100% N=211 Table 60: Question D5 Do you work inside the boundaries of Denton? Percent Number Yes, outside the home 49% N=96 Yes, from home 10% N=20 No 41% N=81 Total 100% N=197 The National Citizen Survey™ 18 Table 61: Question D6 How many years have you lived in Denton? Percent Number Less than 2 years 20% N=41 2 to 5 years 31% N=64 6 to 10 years 9% N=19 11 to 20 years 18% N=38 More than 20 years 22% N=46 Total 100% N=209 Table 62: Question D7 Which best describes the building you live in? Percent Number One family house detached from any other houses 58% N=121 Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium) 40% N=84 Mobile home 1% N=2 Other 1% N=2 Total 100% N=209 Table 63: Question D8 Is this house, apartment or mobile home... Percent Number Rented 53% N=111 Owned 47% N=98 Total 100% N=209 Table 64: Question D9 About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners' association (HOA) fees)? Percent Number Less than $300 per month 1% N=2 $300 to $599 per month 11% N=23 $600 to $999 per month 29% N=60 $1,000 to $1,499 per month 26% N=53 $1,500 to $2,499 per month 23% N=48 $2,500 or more per month 10% N=20 Total 100% N=206 Table 65: Question D10 Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent Number No 75% N=159 Yes 25% N=52 Total 100% N=211 The National Citizen Survey™ 19 Table 66: Question D11 Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent Number No 80% N=168 Yes 20% N=42 Total 100% N=211 Table 67: Question D12 How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number Less than $25,000 14% N=27 $25,000 to $49,999 26% N=50 $50,000 to $99,999 34% N=67 $100,000 to $149,999 17% N=33 $150,000 or more 10% N=19 Total 100% N=196 Table 68: Question D13 Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent Number No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 82% N=170 Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 18% N=38 Total 100% N=208 Table 69: Question D14 What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent Number American Indian or Alaskan Native 3% N=7 Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 7% N=14 Black or African American 2% N=5 White 85% N=176 Other 11% N=23 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. Table 70: Question D15 In which category is your age? Percent Number 18 to 24 years 17% N=36 25 to 34 years 30% N=63 35 to 44 years 14% N=30 45 to 54 years 14% N=29 55 to 64 years 7% N=15 65 to 74 years 7% N=14 75 years or older 10% N=21 Total 100% N=208 The National Citizen Survey™ 20 Table 71: Question D16 What is your sex? Percent Number Female 53% N=109 Male 47% N=95 Total 100% N=204 Table 72: Question D17 Do you consider a cell phone or landline your primary telephone number? Percent Number Cell 85% N=173 Land line 8% N=17 Both 7% N=14 Total 100% N=205 The National Citizen Survey™ 21 Appendix B: Benchmark Comparisons Comparison Data NRC’s database of comparative resident opinion is comprised of resident perspectives gathered in surveys from over 500 communities whose residents evaluated the same kinds of topics on The National Citizen Survey™. The comparison evaluations are from the most recent survey completed in each community; most communities conduct surveys every year or in alternating years. NRC adds the latest results quickly upon survey completion, keeping the benchmark data fresh and relevant. The communities in the database represent a wide geographic and population range. The City of Denton chose to have comparisons made to the entire database and a subset of similar jurisdictions from the database (communities with populations 100,000 – 150,000). Interpreting the Results Ratings are compared when there are at least five communities in which a similar question was asked. Where comparisons are available, four columns are provided in the table. The first column is Denton’s “percent positive.” The percent positive is the combination of the top two most positive response options (i.e., “excellent” and “good,” “very safe” and “somewhat safe,” etc.), or, in the case of resident behaviors/participation, the percent positive represents the proportion of respondents indicating “yes” or participating in an activity at least once a month. The second column is the rank assigned to Denton’s rating among communities where a similar question was asked. The third column is the number of communities that asked a similar question. The final column shows the comparison of Denton’s rating to the benchmark. In that final column, Denton’s results are noted as being “higher” than the benchmark, “lower” than the benchmark or “similar” to the benchmark, meaning that the average rating given by Denton residents is statistically similar to or different (greater or lesser) than the benchmark. Being rated as “higher” or “lower” than the benchmark means that Denton’s average rating for a particular item was more than 10 points different than the benchmark. If a rating was “much higher” or “much lower,” then Denton’s average rating was more than 20 points different when compared to the benchmark. Benchmark Database Characteristics Region Percent New England 3% Middle Atlantic 5% East North Central 15% West North Central 13% South Atlantic 22% East South Central 3% West South Central 7% Mountain 16% Pacific 16% Population Percent Less than 10,000 10% 10,000 to 24,999 22% 25,000 to 49,999 23% 50,000 to 99,999 22% 100,000 or more 23% The National Citizen Survey™ 22 National Benchmark Comparisons Table 73: Community Characteristics General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark The overall quality of life in Denton 83% 224 445 Similar Overall image or reputation of Denton 76% 148 342 Similar Denton as a place to live 86% 224 382 Similar Your neighborhood as a place to live 81% 180 305 Similar Denton as a place to raise children 79% 214 371 Similar Denton as a place to retire 58% 216 346 Similar Overall appearance of Denton 75% 200 349 Similar Table 74: Community Characteristics by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Overall feeling of safety in Denton 77% 220 341 Similar In your neighborhood during the day 94% 175 348 Similar In Denton's downtown/commercial area during the day 88% 189 308 Similar Mobility Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 59% 217 258 Similar Availability of paths and walking trails 53% 222 310 Similar Ease of walking in Denton 63% 151 298 Similar Ease of travel by bicycle in Denton 47% 170 298 Similar Ease of travel by public transportation in Denton 51% 38 217 Higher Ease of travel by car in Denton 44% 262 298 Lower Ease of public parking 32% 184 216 Lower Traffic flow on major streets 26% 283 334 Lower Natural Environment Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 62% 230 270 Lower Cleanliness of Denton 64% 195 278 Similar Air quality 71% 193 241 Similar Built Environment Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 59% 138 247 Similar Overall quality of new development in Denton 72% 37 285 Higher Availability of affordable quality housing 43% 125 296 Similar Variety of housing options 61% 93 273 Similar Public places where people want to spend time 73% 69 240 Similar Economy Overall economic health of Denton 68% 116 253 Similar Vibrant downtown/commercial area 78% 18 230 Much higher Overall quality of business and service establishments in Denton 78% 30 266 Higher Cost of living in Denton 48% 83 250 Similar Shopping opportunities 63% 105 289 Similar Employment opportunities 55% 70 302 Similar Denton as a place to visit 65% 109 267 Similar Denton as a place to work 71% 100 351 Similar Recreation and Wellness Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 67% 129 248 Similar Availability of affordable quality mental health care 64% 37 218 Higher Availability of preventive health services 70% 73 232 Similar Availability of affordable quality health care 66% 96 253 Similar Availability of affordable quality food 81% 12 238 Higher Recreational opportunities 75% 76 289 Similar Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 72% 105 238 Similar The National Citizen Survey™ 23 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Education and Enrichment Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 87% 27 250 Higher Opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities 91% 6 199 Higher Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 86% 9 288 Much higher Adult educational opportunities 83% 11 227 Higher K-12 education 63% 159 264 Similar Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 44% 127 248 Similar Community Engagement Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 83% 14 257 Higher Neighborliness of Denton 64% 101 242 Similar Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 81% 12 286 Higher Opportunities to participate in community matters 89% 2 269 Higher Opportunities to volunteer 83% 17 257 Higher Table 75: Governance General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Services provided by the City of Denton 83% 157 420 Similar Overall customer service by Denton employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 73% 215 372 Similar Value of services for the taxes paid to Denton 50% 191 396 Similar Overall direction that Denton is taking 64% 62 309 Similar Job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement 62% 30 315 Higher Overall confidence in Denton government 51% 135 253 Similar Generally acting in the best interest of the community 58% 94 253 Similar Being honest 57% 113 245 Similar Treating all residents fairly 59% 109 250 Similar Services provided by the Federal Government 42% 142 245 Similar Table 76: Governance by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Police services 75% 292 454 Similar Fire services 92% 160 379 Similar Ambulance or emergency medical services 96% 108 341 Similar Crime prevention 61% 237 355 Similar Fire prevention and education 72% 201 277 Similar Animal control 75% 58 335 Similar Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 72% 106 272 Similar Mobility Traffic enforcement 60% 224 364 Similar Street repair 19% 358 381 Much lower Street cleaning 48% 255 317 Similar Street lighting 45% 268 321 Similar Snow removal 45% 241 281 Lower Sidewalk maintenance 40% 255 315 Similar Traffic signal timing 33% 249 258 Lower Bus or transit services 60% 47 224 Higher Natural Environment Garbage collection 92% 45 348 Similar Recycling 85% 112 352 Similar Yard waste pick-up 83% 92 263 Similar The National Citizen Survey™ 24 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Drinking water 74% 101 308 Similar Preservation of natural areas such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts 50% 163 250 Similar Denton open space 51% 166 227 Similar Built Environment Storm drainage 65% 178 345 Similar Sewer services 81% 117 314 Similar Electric service 80% 44 176 Similar Utility billing 73% 56 220 Similar Land use, planning and zoning 55% 106 294 Similar Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 47% 196 380 Similar Cable television 59% 61 198 Similar Economy Economic development 63% 72 278 Similar Recreation and Wellness City parks 85% 89 318 Similar Recreation programs or classes 72% 123 318 Similar Recreation centers or facilities 68% 120 271 Similar Health services 76% 58 215 Similar Education and Enrichment City-sponsored special events 77% 51 272 Similar Public library services 95% 44 332 Similar Community Engagement Public information services 78% 44 281 Similar Table 77: Participation General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Sense of community 73% 75 305 Similar Recommend living in Denton to someone who asks 89% 134 281 Similar Remain in Denton for the next five years 76% 239 273 Similar Contacted Denton (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 52% 73 315 Similar Table 78: Participation by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Stocked supplies in preparation for an emergency 22% 194 218 Lower Did NOT report a crime to the police 86% 42 245 Similar Household member was NOT a victim of a crime 89% 142 266 Similar Mobility Used bus, rail, subway or other public transportation instead of driving 30% 67 198 Similar Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 50% 54 232 Similar Walked or biked instead of driving 55% 134 241 Similar Natural Environment Made efforts to conserve water 88% 57 227 Similar Made efforts to make your home more energy efficient 66% 221 228 Similar Recycle at home 82% 186 252 Similar Built Environment Did NOT observe a code violation or other hazard in Denton 41% 193 234 Lower NOT experiencing housing costs stress 61% 205 251 Similar Economy Purchase goods or services from a business located in Denton 99% 15 238 Similar Economy will have positive impact on income 36% 67 252 Similar The National Citizen Survey™ 25 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Work inside boundaries of Denton 59% 46 239 Higher Recreation and Wellness Used Denton recreation centers or their services 41% 227 234 Lower Visited a neighborhood park or City park 79% 209 263 Similar Eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day 70% 226 230 Lower Participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity 72% 230 234 Lower In very good to excellent health 52% 184 234 Similar Education and Enrichment Used Denton public libraries or their services 53% 206 239 Lower Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Denton 41% 118 197 Similar Attended City-sponsored event 52% 150 241 Similar Community Engagement Campaigned or advocated for an issue, cause or candidate 20% 146 222 Similar Contacted Denton elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 13% 191 237 Similar Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Denton 37% 136 258 Similar Participated in a club 31% 72 237 Similar Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 89% 172 236 Similar Done a favor for a neighbor 75% 197 231 Similar Attended a local public meeting 20% 138 257 Similar Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 16% 182 224 Similar Read or watch local news (via television, paper, computer, etc.) 67% 235 239 Lower Vote in local elections 60% 250 252 Much lower Communities included in national comparisons The communities included in Denton’s comparisons are listed on the following pages along with their population according to the 2010 Census. Adams County, CO .................................................. 441,603 Airway Heights city, WA ............................................. 6,114 Albany city, OR ........................................................ 50,158 Albemarle County, VA............................................... 98,970 Albert Lea city, MN ................................................... 18,016 Alexandria city, VA .................................................. 139,966 Algonquin village, IL ................................................. 30,046 Aliso Viejo city, CA ................................................... 47,823 American Canyon city, CA ......................................... 19,454 Ames city, IA ........................................................... 58,965 Ankeny city, IA ........................................................ 45,582 Ann Arbor city, MI ................................................... 113,934 Apache Junction city, AZ........................................... 35,840 Arapahoe County, CO .............................................. 572,003 Arkansas City city, AR.................................................... 366 Arlington city, TX .................................................... 365,438 Arvada city, CO ....................................................... 106,433 Asheville city, NC ..................................................... 83,393 Ashland city, OR ...................................................... 20,078 Ashland town, MA .................................................... 16,593 Ashland town, VA ....................................................... 7,225 Aspen city, CO ........................................................... 6,658 Athens-Clarke County, GA ....................................... 115,452 Auburn city, AL ........................................................ 53,380 Augusta CCD, GA .................................................... 134,777 Aurora city, CO ....................................................... 325,078 Austin city, TX ........................................................ 790,390 Avon town, CO .......................................................... 6,447 Avon town, IN ......................................................... 12,446 Avondale city, AZ ..................................................... 76,238 Azusa city, CA .......................................................... 46,361 Bainbridge Island city, WA ........................................ 23,025 Baltimore city, MD ................................................... 620,961 Bartonville town, TX ................................................... 1,469 Battle Creek city, MI ................................................. 52,347 Bay City city, MI ....................................................... 34,932 Bay Village city, OH .................................................. 15,651 Baytown city, TX ...................................................... 71,802 Bedford city, TX ....................................................... 46,979 Bedford town, MA .................................................... 13,320 Bellevue city, WA .................................................... 122,363 Bellingham city, WA ................................................. 80,885 Benbrook city, TX ..................................................... 21,234 Bend city, OR........................................................... 76,639 Bethlehem township, PA ........................................... 23,730 Bettendorf city, IA .................................................... 33,217 Billings city, MT ....................................................... 104,170 Bloomington city, IN ................................................ 80,405 The National Citizen Survey™ 26 Bloomington city, MN ............................................... 82,893 Blue Springs city, MO ............................................... 52,575 Boise City city, ID ................................................... 205,671 Bonner Springs city, KS .............................................. 7,314 Boone County, KY ................................................... 118,811 Boulder city, CO ....................................................... 97,385 Bowling Green city, KY ............................................. 58,067 Bozeman city, MT .................................................... 37,280 Brentwood city, MO .................................................... 8,055 Brentwood city, TN .................................................. 37,060 Brighton city, CO ...................................................... 33,352 Brighton city, MI ........................................................ 7,444 Bristol city, TN ......................................................... 26,702 Broken Arrow city, OK .............................................. 98,850 Brookline CDP, MA ................................................... 58,732 Brooklyn Center city, MN .......................................... 30,104 Brooklyn city, OH ..................................................... 11,169 Broomfield city, CO .................................................. 55,889 Brownsburg town, IN ............................................... 21,285 Buffalo Grove village, IL ........................................... 41,496 Burlingame city, CA .................................................. 28,806 Cabarrus County, NC ............................................... 178,011 Cambridge city, MA ................................................. 105,162 Canandaigua city, NY ............................................... 10,545 Cannon Beach city, OR ............................................... 1,690 Cañon City city, CO .................................................. 16,400 Canton city, SD .......................................................... 3,057 Cape Coral city, FL .................................................. 154,305 Carlisle borough, PA ................................................. 18,682 Carlsbad city, CA ..................................................... 105,328 Carroll city, IA .......................................................... 10,103 Cartersville city, GA .................................................. 19,731 Cary town, NC ........................................................ 135,234 Castine town, ME ....................................................... 1,366 Castle Rock town, CO ............................................... 48,231 Cedar Hill city, TX .................................................... 45,028 Cedar Rapids city, IA ............................................... 126,326 Celina city, TX ............................................................ 6,028 Centennial city, CO.................................................. 100,377 Chandler city, AZ .................................................... 236,123 Chandler city, TX ....................................................... 2,734 Chanhassen city, MN ................................................ 22,952 Chapel Hill town, NC ................................................ 57,233 Chardon city, OH ....................................................... 5,148 Charles County, MD ................................................ 146,551 Charlotte city, NC .................................................... 731,424 Charlotte County, FL ............................................... 159,978 Charlottesville city, VA .............................................. 43,475 Chattanooga city, TN............................................... 167,674 Chautauqua town, NY ................................................ 4,464 Chesterfield County, VA ........................................... 316,236 Clackamas County, OR ............................................ 375,992 Clarendon Hills village, IL ........................................... 8,427 Clayton city, MO ...................................................... 15,939 Clearwater city, FL .................................................. 107,685 Cleveland Heights city, OH ....................................... 46,121 Clinton city, SC .......................................................... 8,490 Clive city, IA ............................................................ 15,447 Clovis city, CA .......................................................... 95,631 College Park city, MD ............................................... 30,413 College Station city, TX ............................................ 93,857 Colleyville city, TX .................................................... 22,807 Columbia city, MO ................................................... 108,500 Columbia city, SC .................................................... 129,272 Columbia Falls city, MT ............................................... 4,688 Commerce City city, CO ............................................ 45,913 Concord city, CA ..................................................... 122,067 Concord town, MA.................................................... 17,668 Conshohocken borough, PA ........................................ 7,833 Coolidge city, AZ ...................................................... 11,825 Coon Rapids city, MN ............................................... 61,476 Copperas Cove city, TX............................................. 32,032 Coral Springs city, FL............................................... 121,096 Coronado city, CA .................................................... 18,912 Corvallis city, OR ...................................................... 54,462 Cottonwood Heights city, UT .................................... 33,433 Creve Coeur city, MO ............................................... 17,833 Cupertino city, CA .................................................... 58,302 Dacono city, CO ......................................................... 4,152 Dakota County, MN ................................................. 398,552 Dallas city, OR ......................................................... 14,583 Dallas city, TX ...................................................... 1,197,816 Danville city, KY ....................................................... 16,218 Dardenne Prairie city, MO ......................................... 11,494 Darien city, IL .......................................................... 22,086 Davenport city, FL ...................................................... 2,888 Davidson town, NC................................................... 10,944 Dayton city, OH ...................................................... 141,527 Dayton town, WY .......................................................... 757 Dearborn city, MI ..................................................... 98,153 Decatur city, GA ....................................................... 19,335 Del Mar city, CA ......................................................... 4,161 DeLand city, FL ........................................................ 27,031 Delaware city, OH .................................................... 34,753 Denison city, TX ....................................................... 22,682 Denton city, TX ....................................................... 113,383 Denver city, CO....................................................... 600,158 Des Moines city, IA ................................................. 203,433 Des Peres city, MO ..................................................... 8,373 Destin city, FL .......................................................... 12,305 Dover city, NH ......................................................... 29,987 Dublin city, CA ......................................................... 46,036 Dublin city, OH ........................................................ 41,751 Duluth city, MN ........................................................ 86,265 Durham city, NC ..................................................... 228,330 Durham County, NC ................................................ 267,587 Dyer town, IN .......................................................... 16,390 Eagan city, MN ........................................................ 64,206 Eagle Mountain city, UT ............................................ 21,415 Eagle town, CO .......................................................... 6,508 Eau Claire city, WI ................................................... 65,883 Eden Prairie city, MN ................................................ 60,797 Eden town, VT ........................................................... 1,323 Edgerton city, KS ....................................................... 1,671 Edgewater city, CO .................................................... 5,170 Edina city, MN ......................................................... 47,941 Edmond city, OK ...................................................... 81,405 Edmonds city, WA .................................................... 39,709 El Cerrito city, CA ..................................................... 23,549 El Dorado County, CA .............................................. 181,058 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) city, CA ................... 29,793 Elk Grove city, CA ................................................... 153,015 Elko New Market city, MN ........................................... 4,110 Elmhurst city, IL....................................................... 44,121 Englewood city, CO .................................................. 30,255 Erie town, CO .......................................................... 18,135 Escambia County, FL ............................................... 297,619 Estes Park town, CO ................................................... 5,858 Euclid city, OH ......................................................... 48,920 Fairview town, TX ...................................................... 7,248 Farmers Branch city, TX ........................................... 28,616 Farmersville city, TX ................................................... 3,301 Farmington Hills city, MI ........................................... 79,740 Farmington town, CT ............................................... 25,340 Fayetteville city, NC................................................. 200,564 Fernandina Beach city, FL ......................................... 11,487 Flagstaff city, AZ ...................................................... 65,870 Flower Mound town, TX ............................................ 64,669 Forest Grove city, OR ............................................... 21,083 Fort Collins city, CO ................................................. 143,986 The National Citizen Survey™ 27 Franklin city, TN ....................................................... 62,487 Frederick town, CO .................................................... 8,679 Fremont city, CA ..................................................... 214,089 Friendswood city, TX ................................................ 35,805 Fruita city, CO .......................................................... 12,646 Gahanna city, OH ..................................................... 33,248 Gaithersburg city, MD ............................................... 59,933 Galveston city, TX .................................................... 47,743 Gardner city, KS ....................................................... 19,123 Georgetown city, TX ................................................. 47,400 Germantown city, TN ............................................... 38,844 Gilbert town, AZ ...................................................... 208,453 Gillette city, WY ....................................................... 29,087 Glen Ellyn village, IL ................................................. 27,450 Glendora city, CA ..................................................... 50,073 Glenview village, IL .................................................. 44,692 Golden city, CO ........................................................ 18,867 Golden Valley city, MN .............................................. 20,371 Goodyear city, AZ .................................................... 65,275 Grafton village, WI ................................................... 11,459 Grand Blanc city, MI ................................................... 8,276 Grants Pass city, OR ................................................. 34,533 Grass Valley city, CA ................................................ 12,860 Greeley city, CO ....................................................... 92,889 Greenville city, NC .................................................... 84,554 Greenwich town, CT ................................................. 61,171 Greenwood Village city, CO ....................................... 13,925 Greer city, SC .......................................................... 25,515 Gunnison County, CO ............................................... 15,324 Haltom City city, TX ................................................. 42,409 Hamilton city, OH ..................................................... 62,477 Hamilton town, MA .................................................... 7,764 Hampton city, VA .................................................... 137,436 Hanover County, VA ................................................. 99,863 Harrisburg city, SD ..................................................... 4,089 Harrisonburg city, VA ............................................... 48,914 Harrisonville city, MO ............................................... 10,019 Hastings city, MN ..................................................... 22,172 Hayward city, CA .................................................... 144,186 Henderson city, NV ................................................. 257,729 Herndon town, VA .................................................... 23,292 High Point city, NC .................................................. 104,371 Highland Park city, IL ............................................... 29,763 Highlands Ranch CDP, CO ........................................ 96,713 Homer Glen village, IL .............................................. 24,220 Honolulu County, HI ................................................ 953,207 Hooksett town, NH ................................................... 13,451 Hopkins city, MN ...................................................... 17,591 Hopkinton town, MA ................................................. 14,925 Hoquiam city, WA ...................................................... 8,726 Horry County, SC .................................................... 269,291 Howard village, WI ................................................... 17,399 Hudson town, CO ....................................................... 2,356 Huntley village, IL .................................................... 24,291 Hurst city, TX ........................................................... 37,337 Hutchinson city, MN ................................................. 14,178 Hutto city, TX .......................................................... 14,698 Independence city, MO............................................ 116,830 Indianola city, IA ..................................................... 14,782 Indio city, CA ........................................................... 76,036 Iowa City city, IA ..................................................... 67,862 Irving city, TX ......................................................... 216,290 Issaquah city, WA .................................................... 30,434 Jackson city, MO ...................................................... 13,758 Jackson County, MI ................................................. 160,248 James City County, VA ............................................. 67,009 Jefferson County, NY ............................................... 116,229 Jefferson Parish, LA ................................................ 432,552 Johnson City city, TN................................................ 63,152 Johnston city, IA ...................................................... 17,278 Jupiter town, FL ....................................................... 55,156 Kalamazoo city, MI ................................................... 74,262 Kansas City city, KS ................................................. 145,786 Kansas City city, MO ................................................ 459,787 Keizer city, OR ......................................................... 36,478 Kenmore city, WA .................................................... 20,460 Kennedale city, TX ..................................................... 6,763 Kent city, WA ........................................................... 92,411 Kerrville city, TX ....................................................... 22,347 Kettering city, OH .................................................... 56,163 Key West city, FL ..................................................... 24,649 King City city, CA ..................................................... 12,874 Kirkland city, WA ...................................................... 48,787 Kirkwood city, MO .................................................... 27,540 Knoxville city, IA ........................................................ 7,313 La Plata town, MD ...................................................... 8,753 La Vista city, NE ....................................................... 15,758 Laguna Niguel city, CA ............................................. 62,979 Lake Forest city, IL .................................................. 19,375 Lake in the Hills village, IL ........................................ 28,965 Lake Stevens city, WA .............................................. 28,069 Lake Worth city, FL .................................................. 34,910 Lake Zurich village, IL .............................................. 19,631 Lakeville city, MN ..................................................... 55,954 Lakewood city, CO .................................................. 142,980 Lakewood city, WA ................................................... 58,163 Lancaster County, SC ............................................... 76,652 Lane County, OR ..................................................... 351,715 Lansing city, MI ...................................................... 114,297 Laramie city, WY ...................................................... 30,816 Larimer County, CO ................................................. 299,630 Las Cruces city, NM .................................................. 97,618 Las Vegas city, NM ................................................... 13,753 Lawrence city, KS..................................................... 87,643 Lawrenceville city, GA .............................................. 28,546 Lee's Summit city, MO .............................................. 91,364 Lehi city, UT ............................................................ 47,407 Lenexa city, KS ........................................................ 48,190 Lewisville city, TX ..................................................... 95,290 Lewisville town, NC .................................................. 12,639 Libertyville village, IL................................................ 20,315 Lincolnwood village, IL ............................................. 12,590 Lindsborg city, KS ...................................................... 3,458 Little Chute village, WI ............................................. 10,449 Littleton city, CO ...................................................... 41,737 Livermore city, CA .................................................... 80,968 Lombard village, IL .................................................. 43,165 Lone Tree city, CO ................................................... 10,218 Long Grove village, IL ................................................ 8,043 Longmont city, CO ................................................... 86,270 Longview city, TX ..................................................... 80,455 Lonsdale city, MN ....................................................... 3,674 Los Alamos County, NM ............................................ 17,950 Los Altos Hills town, CA .............................................. 7,922 Louisville city, CO ..................................................... 18,376 Lower Merion township, PA ...................................... 57,825 Lynchburg city, VA ................................................... 75,568 Lynnwood city, WA .................................................. 35,836 Macomb County, MI ................................................ 840,978 Manassas city, VA .................................................... 37,821 Manhattan Beach city, CA ......................................... 35,135 Manhattan city, KS ................................................... 52,281 Mankato city, MN ..................................................... 39,309 Maple Grove city, MN ............................................... 61,567 Maplewood city, MN ................................................. 38,018 Maricopa County, AZ ............................................ 3,817,117 Marion city, IA ......................................................... 34,768 Mariposa County, CA ................................................ 18,251 Marshfield city, WI ................................................... 19,118 Martinez city, CA ...................................................... 35,824 The National Citizen Survey™ 28 Marysville city, WA ................................................... 60,020 Matthews town, NC .................................................. 27,198 Maui County, HI ...................................................... 154,834 McAllen city, TX ...................................................... 129,877 McKinney city, TX.................................................... 131,117 McMinnville city, OR ................................................. 32,187 Menlo Park city, CA .................................................. 32,026 Menomonee Falls village, WI .................................... 35,626 Mercer Island city, WA ............................................. 22,699 Meridian charter township, MI .................................. 39,688 Meridian city, ID ...................................................... 75,092 Merriam city, KS....................................................... 11,003 Mesa city, AZ .......................................................... 439,041 Mesa County, CO .................................................... 146,723 Miami Beach city, FL ................................................ 87,779 Miami city, FL ......................................................... 399,457 Middleton city, WI .................................................... 17,442 Midland city, MI ....................................................... 41,863 Milford city, DE .......................................................... 9,559 Milton city, GA ......................................................... 32,661 Minneapolis city, MN ............................................... 382,578 Minnetrista city, MN ................................................... 6,384 Missouri City city, TX ................................................ 67,358 Modesto city, CA ..................................................... 201,165 Monroe city, MI........................................................ 20,733 Monterey city, CA ..................................................... 27,810 Montgomery city, MN ................................................. 2,956 Montgomery County, MD ......................................... 971,777 Monticello city, UT ..................................................... 1,972 Montrose city, CO .................................................... 19,132 Monument town, CO .................................................. 5,530 Moraga town, CA ..................................................... 16,016 Morristown city, TN .................................................. 29,137 Morrisville town, NC ................................................. 18,576 Morro Bay city, CA ................................................... 10,234 Mountain Village town, CO .......................................... 1,320 Mountlake Terrace city, WA ...................................... 19,909 Murphy city, TX ....................................................... 17,708 Naperville city, IL .................................................... 141,853 Napoleon city, OH ...................................................... 8,749 Nederland city, TX ................................................... 17,547 Needham CDP, MA ................................................... 28,886 Nevada City city, CA ................................................... 3,068 Nevada County, CA .................................................. 98,764 New Braunfels city, TX ............................................. 57,740 New Brighton city, MN .............................................. 21,456 New Hope city, MN .................................................. 20,339 New Orleans city, LA ............................................... 343,829 New Smyrna Beach city, FL ...................................... 22,464 New Ulm city, MN .................................................... 13,522 Newberg city, OR ..................................................... 22,068 Newport city, RI ....................................................... 24,672 Newport News city, VA ............................................ 180,719 Newton city, IA ........................................................ 15,254 Noblesville city, IN ................................................... 51,969 Norcross city, GA ....................................................... 9,116 Norfolk city, NE ........................................................ 24,210 Norfolk city, VA ....................................................... 242,803 North Mankato city, MN ............................................ 13,394 North Port city, FL .................................................... 57,357 North Richland Hills city, TX ...................................... 63,343 North Yarmouth town, ME .......................................... 3,565 Novato city, CA ........................................................ 51,904 Novi city, MI ............................................................ 55,224 O'Fallon city, IL ........................................................ 28,281 O'Fallon city, MO ...................................................... 79,329 Oak Park village, IL .................................................. 51,878 Oakland city, CA ..................................................... 390,724 Oakley city, CA ........................................................ 35,432 Oklahoma City city, OK ............................................ 579,999 Olathe city, KS ........................................................ 125,872 Old Town city, ME ...................................................... 7,840 Olmsted County, MN ............................................... 144,248 Olympia city, WA ..................................................... 46,478 Orange village, OH ..................................................... 3,323 Orland Park village, IL .............................................. 56,767 Orleans Parish, LA ................................................... 343,829 Oshkosh city, WI ...................................................... 66,083 Oshtemo charter township, MI .................................. 21,705 Oswego village, IL.................................................... 30,355 Ottawa County, MI .................................................. 263,801 Overland Park city, KS ............................................. 173,372 Paducah city, KY ...................................................... 25,024 Palm Beach Gardens city, FL ..................................... 48,452 Palm Coast city, FL ................................................... 75,180 Palo Alto city, CA ..................................................... 64,403 Palos Verdes Estates city, CA .................................... 13,438 Papillion city, NE ...................................................... 18,894 Paradise Valley town, AZ .......................................... 12,820 Park City city, UT ....................................................... 7,558 Parker town, CO ...................................................... 45,297 Parkland city, FL ...................................................... 23,962 Pasco city, WA ......................................................... 59,781 Pasco County, FL .................................................... 464,697 Payette city, ID .......................................................... 7,433 Pearland city, TX ...................................................... 91,252 Peoria city, AZ ........................................................ 154,065 Peoria city, IL ......................................................... 115,007 Pflugerville city, TX .................................................. 46,936 Pinehurst village, NC ................................................ 13,124 Piqua city, OH .......................................................... 20,522 Pitkin County, CO ..................................................... 17,148 Plano city, TX ......................................................... 259,841 Platte City city, MO..................................................... 4,691 Pleasant Hill city, IA ................................................... 8,785 Pleasanton city, CA .................................................. 70,285 Polk County, IA ....................................................... 430,640 Pompano Beach city, FL ........................................... 99,845 Port Orange city, FL ................................................. 56,048 Port St. Lucie city, FL .............................................. 164,603 Portland city, OR ..................................................... 583,776 Powell city, OH ........................................................ 11,500 Powhatan County, VA ............................................... 28,046 Prince William County, VA........................................ 402,002 Prior Lake city, MN ................................................... 22,796 Pueblo city, CO ....................................................... 106,595 Purcellville town, VA ................................................... 7,727 Queen Creek town, AZ ............................................. 26,361 Raleigh city, NC ...................................................... 403,892 Ramsey city, MN ...................................................... 23,668 Raymond town, ME .................................................... 4,436 Raymore city, MO .................................................... 19,206 Redmond city, OR .................................................... 26,215 Redmond city, WA ................................................... 54,144 Redwood City city, CA .............................................. 76,815 Reno city, NV .......................................................... 225,221 Reston CDP, VA ....................................................... 58,404 Richland city, WA ..................................................... 48,058 Richmond city, CA ................................................... 103,701 Richmond Heights city, MO ......................................... 8,603 Rio Rancho city, NM ................................................. 87,521 River Falls city, WI ................................................... 15,000 Riverside city, CA .................................................... 303,871 Roanoke city, VA ...................................................... 97,032 Roanoke County, VA ................................................ 92,376 Rochester Hills city, MI ............................................. 70,995 Rock Hill city, SC ...................................................... 66,154 Rockville city, MD ..................................................... 61,209 Roeland Park city, KS ................................................. 6,731 Rogers city, MN ......................................................... 8,597 The National Citizen Survey™ 29 Rohnert Park city, CA ............................................... 40,971 Rolla city, MO .......................................................... 19,559 Roselle village, IL ..................................................... 22,763 Rosemount city, MN ................................................. 21,874 Rosenberg city, TX ................................................... 30,618 Roseville city, MN ..................................................... 33,660 Round Rock city, TX ................................................. 99,887 Royal Oak city, MI .................................................... 57,236 Royal Palm Beach village, FL ..................................... 34,140 Sacramento city, CA ................................................ 466,488 Sahuarita town, AZ .................................................. 25,259 Sammamish city, WA ............................................... 45,780 San Anselmo town, CA ............................................. 12,336 San Diego city, CA ............................................... 1,307,402 San Francisco city, CA ............................................. 805,235 San Jose city, CA .................................................... 945,942 San Marcos city, CA ................................................. 83,781 San Marcos city, TX .................................................. 44,894 San Rafael city, CA ................................................... 57,713 Sangamon County, IL .............................................. 197,465 Santa Fe city, NM ..................................................... 67,947 Santa Fe County, NM .............................................. 144,170 Santa Monica city, CA ............................................... 89,736 Sarasota County, FL ................................................ 379,448 Savage city, MN ....................................................... 26,911 Schaumburg village, IL ............................................. 74,227 Schertz city, TX ........................................................ 31,465 Scott County, MN .................................................... 129,928 Scottsdale city, AZ .................................................. 217,385 Sedona city, AZ ........................................................ 10,031 Sevierville city, TN ................................................... 14,807 Shakopee city, MN ................................................... 37,076 Sharonville city, OH .................................................. 13,560 Shawnee city, KS ..................................................... 62,209 Shawnee city, OK ..................................................... 29,857 Sherborn town, MA .................................................... 4,119 Shoreline city, WA .................................................... 53,007 Shoreview city, MN .................................................. 25,043 Shorewood village, IL ............................................... 15,615 Shorewood village, WI ............................................. 13,162 Sierra Vista city, AZ .................................................. 43,888 Silverton city, OR ....................................................... 9,222 Sioux Center city, IA .................................................. 7,048 Sioux Falls city, SD .................................................. 153,888 Skokie village, IL ...................................................... 64,784 Snoqualmie city, WA ................................................ 10,670 Snowmass Village town, CO ........................................ 2,826 Somerset town, MA .................................................. 18,165 South Jordan city, UT ............................................... 50,418 South Lake Tahoe city, CA ........................................ 21,403 Southlake city, TX .................................................... 26,575 Spearfish city, SD ..................................................... 10,494 Spring Hill city, KS ...................................................... 5,437 Springfield city, MO ................................................. 159,498 Springville city, UT ................................................... 29,466 St. Augustine city, FL ............................................... 12,975 St. Charles city, IL .................................................... 32,974 St. Cloud city, FL ...................................................... 35,183 St. Joseph city, MO .................................................. 76,780 St. Joseph town, WI ................................................... 3,842 St. Louis County, MN ............................................... 200,226 State College borough, PA ........................................ 42,034 Steamboat Springs city, CO ...................................... 12,088 Sugar Grove village, IL ............................................... 8,997 Sugar Land city, TX .................................................. 78,817 Suisun City city, CA .................................................. 28,111 Summit County, UT .................................................. 36,324 Summit village, IL .................................................... 11,054 Sunnyvale city, CA .................................................. 140,081 Surprise city, AZ...................................................... 117,517 Suwanee city, GA ..................................................... 15,355 Tacoma city, WA ..................................................... 198,397 Takoma Park city, MD .............................................. 16,715 Tamarac city, FL ...................................................... 60,427 Temecula city, CA ................................................... 100,097 Tempe city, AZ ....................................................... 161,719 Temple city, TX ........................................................ 66,102 Texarkana city, TX ................................................... 36,411 The Woodlands CDP, TX ........................................... 93,847 Thousand Oaks city, CA ........................................... 126,683 Tigard city, OR ......................................................... 48,035 Tracy city, CA .......................................................... 82,922 Trinidad CCD, CO ..................................................... 12,017 Tualatin city, OR ...................................................... 26,054 Tulsa city, OK ......................................................... 391,906 Tustin city, CA ......................................................... 75,540 Twin Falls city, ID .................................................... 44,125 Unalaska city, AK ....................................................... 4,376 University Heights city, OH ....................................... 13,539 University Park city, TX............................................. 23,068 Upper Arlington city, OH ........................................... 33,771 Urbandale city, IA .................................................... 39,463 Vail town, CO ............................................................. 5,305 Ventura CCD, CA ..................................................... 111,889 Vernon Hills village, IL .............................................. 25,113 Vestavia Hills city, AL ............................................... 34,033 Victoria city, MN ......................................................... 7,345 Vienna town, VA ...................................................... 15,687 Virginia Beach city, VA............................................. 437,994 Walnut Creek city, CA ............................................... 64,173 Warrensburg city, MO .............................................. 18,838 Washington County, MN .......................................... 238,136 Washington town, NH ................................................ 1,123 Washoe County, NV ................................................ 421,407 Washougal city, WA ................................................. 14,095 Wauwatosa city, WI ................................................. 46,396 Waverly city, IA ......................................................... 9,874 Wentzville city, MO................................................... 29,070 West Carrollton city, OH ........................................... 13,143 Western Springs village, IL ....................................... 12,975 Westerville city, OH .................................................. 36,120 Westlake town, TX ........................................................ 992 Westminster city, CO ............................................... 106,114 Weston town, MA ..................................................... 11,261 Wheat Ridge city, CO ............................................... 30,166 White House city, TN ............................................... 10,255 Wichita city, KS ....................................................... 382,368 Williamsburg city, VA................................................ 14,068 Willowbrook village, IL ............................................... 8,540 Wilmington city, NC ................................................. 106,476 Wilsonville city, OR................................................... 19,509 Windsor town, CO .................................................... 18,644 Windsor town, CT .................................................... 29,044 Winnetka village, IL ................................................. 12,187 Winter Garden city, FL .............................................. 34,568 Woodbury city, MN................................................... 61,961 Woodinville city, WA ................................................. 10,938 Woodland city, CA .................................................... 55,468 Wyandotte County, KS ............................................ 157,505 Yakima city, WA ....................................................... 91,067 York County, VA....................................................... 65,464 Yorktown town, IN ..................................................... 9,405 Yorkville city, IL ....................................................... 16,921 Yountville city, CA ...................................................... 2,933 The National Citizen Survey™ 30 Population 100,000 – 150,000 Benchmark Comparisons Table 79: Community Characteristics General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark The overall quality of life in Denton 83% 16 38 Similar Overall image or reputation of Denton 76% 6 23 Higher Denton as a place to live 86% 16 33 Similar Your neighborhood as a place to live 81% 12 22 Similar Denton as a place to raise children 79% 11 29 Similar Denton as a place to retire 58% 11 28 Similar Overall appearance of Denton 75% 11 23 Similar Table 80: Community Characteristics by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Overall feeling of safety in Denton 77% 10 23 Similar In your neighborhood during the day 94% 8 27 Similar In Denton's downtown/commercial area during the day 88% 10 24 Similar Mobility Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit 59% 14 17 Similar Availability of paths and walking trails 53% 14 22 Similar Ease of walking in Denton 63% 6 23 Similar Ease of travel by bicycle in Denton 47% 10 23 Similar Ease of travel by public transportation in Denton 51% 5 20 Higher Ease of travel by car in Denton 44% 18 22 Similar Ease of public parking 32% 14 17 Similar Traffic flow on major streets 26% 20 23 Similar Natural Environment Quality of overall natural environment in Denton 62% 14 18 Similar Cleanliness of Denton 64% 9 20 Similar Air quality 71% 13 20 Similar Built Environment Overall "built environment" of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 59% 8 17 Similar Overall quality of new development in Denton 72% 2 18 Higher Availability of affordable quality housing 43% 6 23 Similar Variety of housing options 61% 4 17 Similar Public places where people want to spend time 73% 3 17 Higher Economy Overall economic health of Denton 68% 6 19 Similar Vibrant downtown/commercial area 78% 3 16 Much higher Overall quality of business and service establishments in Denton 78% 2 18 Higher Cost of living in Denton 48% 6 19 Similar Shopping opportunities 63% 9 21 Similar Employment opportunities 55% 7 24 Similar Denton as a place to visit 65% 8 19 Similar Denton as a place to work 71% 9 29 Similar Recreation and Wellness Health and wellness opportunities in Denton 67% 9 18 Similar Availability of affordable quality mental health care 64% 4 15 Higher Availability of preventive health services 70% 4 15 Similar Availability of affordable quality health care 66% 8 18 Similar Availability of affordable quality food 81% 1 15 Higher Recreational opportunities 75% 4 21 Similar Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 72% 4 16 Similar Overall opportunities for education and enrichment 87% 2 17 Higher The National Citizen Survey™ 31 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Education and Enrichment Opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities 91% 2 11 Higher Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 86% 2 22 Much higher Adult educational opportunities 83% 2 16 Higher K-12 education 63% 9 22 Similar Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 44% 6 17 Similar Community Engagement Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 83% 2 17 Higher Neighborliness of Denton 64% 5 17 Similar Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 81% 2 21 Higher Opportunities to participate in community matters 89% 1 18 Higher Opportunities to volunteer 83% 3 16 Higher Table 81: Governance General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Services provided by the City of Denton 83% 11 37 Similar Overall customer service by Denton employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 73% 14 31 Similar Value of services for the taxes paid to Denton 50% 12 32 Similar Overall direction that Denton is taking 64% 6 22 Similar Job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement 62% 1 22 Higher Overall confidence in Denton government 51% 9 17 Similar Generally acting in the best interest of the community 58% 5 18 Similar Being honest 57% 6 16 Similar Treating all residents fairly 59% 7 17 Similar Services provided by the Federal Government 42% 10 17 Similar Table 82: Governance by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Police services 75% 18 38 Similar Fire services 92% 5 30 Similar Ambulance or emergency medical services 96% 3 21 Similar Crime prevention 61% 13 27 Similar Fire prevention and education 72% 10 23 Similar Animal control 75% 4 27 Higher Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 72% 6 21 Similar Mobility Traffic enforcement 60% 11 28 Similar Street repair 19% 23 27 Lower Street cleaning 48% 17 23 Similar Street lighting 45% 14 19 Similar Snow removal 45% 13 17 Similar Sidewalk maintenance 40% 17 22 Similar Traffic signal timing 33% 19 19 Similar Bus or transit services 60% 3 16 Higher Natural Environment Garbage collection 92% 1 27 Higher Recycling 85% 6 27 Similar Yard waste pick-up 83% 6 20 Similar Drinking water 74% 5 19 Similar The National Citizen Survey™ 32 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Preservation of natural areas such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts 50% 9 18 Similar Denton open space 51% 8 17 Similar Built Environment Storm drainage 65% 9 24 Similar Sewer services 81% 6 23 Similar Electric service 80% 2 13 Similar Utility billing 73% 3 16 Similar Land use, planning and zoning 55% 8 24 Similar Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 47% 16 32 Similar Cable television 59% 4 16 Similar Economy Economic development 63% 6 21 Similar Recreation and Wellness City parks 85% 4 25 Similar Recreation programs or classes 72% 10 25 Similar Recreation centers or facilities 68% 10 21 Similar Health services 76% 4 17 Similar Education and Enrichment City-sponsored special events 77% 2 20 Higher Public library services 95% 2 26 Similar Community Engagement Public information services 78% 2 19 Similar Table 83: Participation General Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Sense of community 73% 2 20 Higher Recommend living in Denton to someone who asks 89% 6 18 Similar Remain in Denton for the next five years 76% 14 20 Similar Contacted Denton (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 52% 2 26 Similar Table 84: Participation by Facet Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Safety Stocked supplies in preparation for an emergency 22% 13 14 Lower Did NOT report a crime to the police 86% 3 16 Higher Household member was NOT a victim of a crime 89% 6 17 Similar Mobility Used bus, rail, subway or other public transportation instead of driving 30% 6 13 Similar Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 50% 4 17 Similar Walked or biked instead of driving 55% 8 17 Similar Natural Environment Made efforts to conserve water 88% 8 16 Similar Made efforts to make your home more energy efficient 66% 14 15 Similar Recycle at home 82% 12 18 Similar Built Environment Did NOT observe a code violation or other hazard in Denton 41% 13 17 Lower NOT experiencing housing costs stress 61% 16 17 Similar Economy Purchase goods or services from a business located in Denton 99% 2 17 Similar Economy will have positive impact on income 36% 5 19 Similar Work inside boundaries of Denton 59% 8 17 Similar The National Citizen Survey™ 33 Percent positive Rank Number of communities in comparison Comparison to benchmark Recreation and Wellness Used Denton recreation centers or their services 41% 17 17 Lower Visited a neighborhood park or City park 79% 15 20 Similar Eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day 70% 16 16 Lower Participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity 72% 17 17 Lower In very good to excellent health 52% 16 17 Similar Education and Enrichment Used Denton public libraries or their services 53% 13 17 Similar Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Denton 41% 9 12 Similar Attended City-sponsored event 52% 9 17 Similar Community Engagement Campaigned or advocated for an issue, cause or candidate 20% 13 15 Similar Contacted Denton elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 13% 15 17 Similar Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Denton 37% 11 17 Similar Participated in a club 31% 7 15 Similar Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 89% 8 17 Similar Done a favor for a neighbor 75% 12 16 Similar Attended a local public meeting 20% 8 17 Similar Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 16% 15 16 Lower Read or watch local news (via television, paper, computer, etc.) 67% 17 17 Lower Vote in local elections 60% 17 17 Much lower Communities included in custom comparisons The communities included in Denton’s custom comparisons are listed below along with their population according to the 2010 Census. Alexandria city, VA .................................................. 139,966 Ann Arbor city, MI ................................................... 113,934 Arvada city, CO ....................................................... 106,433 Athens-Clarke County, GA ....................................... 115,452 Augusta CCD, GA .................................................... 134,777 Bellevue city, WA .................................................... 122,363 Billings city, MT ....................................................... 104,170 Boone County, KY ................................................... 118,811 Cambridge city, MA ................................................. 105,162 Carlsbad city, CA ..................................................... 105,328 Cary town, NC ........................................................ 135,234 Cedar Rapids city, IA ............................................... 126,326 Centennial city, CO.................................................. 100,377 Charles County, MD ................................................ 146,551 Clearwater city, FL .................................................. 107,685 Columbia city, MO ................................................... 108,500 Columbia city, SC .................................................... 129,272 Concord city, CA ..................................................... 122,067 Coral Springs city, FL............................................... 121,096 Dayton city, OH ...................................................... 141,527 Denton city, TX ....................................................... 113,383 Fort Collins city, CO ................................................. 143,986 Hampton city, VA .................................................... 137,436 Hayward city, CA .................................................... 144,186 High Point city, NC .................................................. 104,371 Independence city, MO............................................ 116,830 Jefferson County, NY ............................................... 116,229 Kansas City city, KS ................................................. 145,786 Lakewood city, CO .................................................. 142,980 Lansing city, MI ...................................................... 114,297 McAllen city, TX ...................................................... 129,877 McKinney city, TX.................................................... 131,117 Mesa County, CO .................................................... 146,723 Naperville city, IL .................................................... 141,853 Olathe city, KS ........................................................ 125,872 Olmsted County, MN ............................................... 144,248 Peoria city, IL ......................................................... 115,007 Pueblo city, CO ....................................................... 106,595 Richmond city, CA ................................................... 103,701 Santa Fe County, NM .............................................. 144,170 Scott County, MN .................................................... 129,928 Sunnyvale city, CA .................................................. 140,081 Surprise city, AZ...................................................... 117,517 Temecula city, CA ................................................... 100,097 Thousand Oaks city, CA ........................................... 126,683 Ventura CCD, CA ..................................................... 111,889 Westminster city, CO ............................................... 106,114 Wilmington city, NC ................................................. 106,476 The National Citizen Survey™ 34 Appendix C: Detailed Survey Methods The National Citizen Survey (The NCS™), conducted by National Research Center, Inc., was developed to provide communities an accurate, affordable and easy way to assess and interpret resident opinion about important local topics. Standardization of common questions and survey methods provide the rigor to assure valid results, and each community has enough flexibility to construct a customized version of The NCS. Results offer insight into residents’ perspectives about the community as a whole, including local amenities, services, public trust, resident participation and other aspects of the community in order to support budgeting, land use and strategic planning and communication with residents. Resident demographic characteristics permit comparison to the Census as well as comparison of results for different subgroups of residents. The City of Denton funded this research. Please contact Charlie Rosendahl, Management Analyst for the City of Denton at Charles.Rosendahl@cityofdenton.com if you have any questions about the survey. Survey Validity The question of survey validity has two parts: 1) how can a community be confident that the results from those who completed the questionnaire are representative of the results that would have been obtained had the survey been administered to the entire population? and 2) how closely do the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do? To answer the first question, the best survey research practices were used for the resources spent to ensure that the results from the survey respondents reflect the opinions of residents in the entire community. These practices include: • Using a mail-out/mail-back methodology, which typically gets a higher response rate than phone for the same dollars spent. A higher response rate lessens the worry that those who did not respond are different than those who did respond. • Selecting households at random within the community to receive the survey to ensure that the households selected to receive the survey are representative of the larger community. • Over-sampling multi-family housing units to improve response from hard-to-reach, lower income or younger apartment dwellers. • Selecting the respondent within the household using an unbiased sampling procedure; in this case, the “birthday method.” The cover letter included an instruction requesting that the respondent in the household be the adult (18 years old or older) who most recently had a birthday, irrespective of year of birth. • Contacting potential respondents three times to encourage response from people who may have different opinions or habits than those who would respond with only a single prompt. • Inviting response in a compelling manner (using appropriate letterhead/logos and a signature of a visible leader) to appeal to recipients’ sense of civic responsibility. • Providing a pre-addressed, postage-paid return envelope. • Offering the survey in Spanish or other language when requested by a given community. • Weighting the results to reflect the demographics of the population. The answer to the second question about how closely the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do is more complex. Resident responses to surveys are influenced by a variety of factors. For questions about service quality, residents’ expectations for service quality play a role as well as the “objective” quality of the service provided, the way the resident perceives the entire community (that is, the context in which the service is provided), the scale on which the resident is asked to record his or her opinion and, of course, the opinion, itself, that a resident holds about the service. Similarly a resident’s report of certain behaviors is colored by what he or she believes is the socially desirable response (e.g., reporting tolerant behaviors toward “oppressed groups,” likelihood of voting for a tax increase for services to poor people, use of alternative modes of travel to work besides the single occupancy vehicle), his or her memory of the actual behavior (if it is not a question speculating about future actions, like a vote), his or her confidence that he or she can be honest without suffering any negative consequences (thus the need for anonymity) as well as the actual behavior itself. How closely survey results come to recording the way a person really feels or behaves often is measured by the coincidence of reported behavior with observed current behavior (e.g., driving habits), reported intentions to behave with observed future behavior (e.g., voting choices) or reported opinions about current community quality The National Citizen Survey™ 35 with objective characteristics of the community (e.g., feelings of safety correlated with rates of crime). There is a body of scientific literature that has investigated the relationship between reported behaviors and actual behaviors. Well-conducted surveys, by and large, do capture true respondent behaviors or intentions to act with great accuracy. Predictions of voting outcomes tend to be quite accurate using survey research, as do reported behaviors that are not about highly sensitive issues (e.g., family abuse or other illegal or morally sanctioned activities). For self-reports about highly sensitive issues, statistical adjustments can be made to correct for the respondents’ tendency to report what they think the “correct” response should be. Research on the correlation of resident opinion about service quality and “objective” ratings of service quality vary, with some showing stronger relationships than others. NRC’s own research has demonstrated that residents who report the lowest ratings of street repair live in communities with objectively worse street conditions than those who report high ratings of street repair (based on road quality, delay in street repair, number of road repair employees). Similarly, the lowest rated fire services appear to be “objectively” worse than the highest rated fire services (expenditures per capita, response time, “professional” status of firefighters, breadth of services and training provided). Resident opinion commonly reflects objective performance data but is an important measure on its own. NRC principals have written, “If you collect trash three times a day but residents think that your trash haul is lousy, you still have a problem.” Selecting Survey Recipients “Sampling” refers to the method by which households were chosen to receive the survey. All households within the City of Denton were eligible to participate in the survey. A list of all households within the zip codes serving Denton was purchased from Go-Dog Direct based on updated listings from the United States Postal Service. Since some of the zip codes that serve the City of Denton households may also serve addresses that lie outside of the community, the exact geographic location of each housing unit was compared to community boundaries using the most current municipal boundary file (updated on a quarterly basis) and addresses located outside of the City of Denton boundaries were removed from consideration. Each address identified as being within City boundaries was further identified as being within one of the four City Council Districts. To choose the 1,600 survey recipients, a systematic sampling method was applied to the list of households previously screened for geographic location. Systematic sampling is a procedure whereby a complete list of all possible households is culled, selecting every Nth one, giving each eligible household a known probability of selection, until the appropriate number of households is selected. Multi-family housing units were selected at a higher rate as residents of this type of housing typically respond at lower rates to surveys than do those in single- family housing units. Figure 1 displays a map of the households selected to receive the survey. In general, because of the random sampling techniques used, the displayed sampling density will closely mirror the overall housing unit density (which may be different from the population density). While the theory of probability assumes no bias in selection, there may be some minor variations in practice (meaning, an area with only 15% of the housing units might be selected at an actual rate that is slightly above or below that). An individual within each household was selected using the birthday method. The birthday method selects a person within the household by asking the “person whose birthday has most recently passed” to complete the questionnaire. The underlying assumption in this method is that day of birth has no relationship to the way people respond to surveys. This instruction was contained in the cover letter accompanying the questionnaire. In addition to the scientific, random selection of households, a link to an online “opt-in” survey was publicized and posted to the City of Denton website. This opt-in survey was identical to the scientific survey and open to all City residents. (The data presented in this report exclude the opt-in survey data. These data can be found in the Supplemental Online Survey Results provided under separate cover.) The National Citizen Survey™ 36 Figure 1: Location of Survey Recipients Survey Administration and Response Selected households received three mailings, one week apart, beginning on August 20, 2018. The first mailing was a prenotification postcard announcing the upcoming survey. The next mailing contained a letter from the City Manager inviting the household to participate, a questionnaire and a postage-paid return envelope. The final mailing contained a reminder letter, another survey and a postage-paid return envelope. The second cover letter asked those who had not completed the survey to do so and those who had already done so to refrain from turning in another survey. The survey was available in English and Spanish. Respondents could also opt to take the survey online if they preferred. The City of Denton chose to augment their administration of The NCS with several additional services, including demographic and geographic subgroup comparisons and custom benchmark comparisons. The results of these additional services have been provided under separate cover. Completed surveys were collected over the following seven weeks. The online “opt-in” survey became available to all residents on September 24, 2018 and remained open for three weeks. About 6% of the 1,600 surveys mailed were returned because the housing unit was vacant or the postal service was unable to deliver the survey as addressed. Of the remaining 1,509 households that received the survey, 216 completed the survey, providing an overall response rate of 14%. Of the 216 completed surveys, 29 were completed online. All surveys were completed in English. Additionally, responses were tracked by Council District; response rates by District ranged from 9% to 19%. The response rates were calculated using AAPOR’s response rate #21 for mailed surveys of unnamed persons. Additionally, 961 residents completed the online opt-in survey; results of the opt-in survey can be found in the Supplemental Online Survey Results report provided under separate cover. 1 See AAPOR’s Standard Definitions here: http://www.aapor.org/Standards-Ethics/Standard-Definitions-(1).aspx for more information The National Citizen Survey™ 37 Table 85: Survey Response Rates by Council District District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 Overall Total sample used 444 390 421 345 1,600 I=Complete Interviews 36 73 45 57 211 P=Partial Interviews 2 0 1 2 5 R=Refusal and break off 0 0 0 0 0 NC=Non Contact 0 0 0 0 0 O=Other 0 0 0 0 0 UH=Unknown household 0 0 0 0 0 UO=Unknown other 365 304 349 275 1,293 Response rate: (I+P)/(I+P) + (R+NC+O) + (UH+UO) 9% 19% 12% 18% 14% Confidence Intervals It is customary to describe the precision of estimates made from surveys by a “level of confidence” and accompanying “confidence interval” (or margin of error). A traditional level of confidence, and the one used here, is 95%. The 95% confidence interval can be any size and quantifies the sampling error or imprecision of the survey results because some residents’ opinions are relied on to estimate all residents’ opinions.2 The margin of error for the City of Denton survey is no greater than plus or minus seven percentage points around any given percent reported for all respondents (216 completed surveys). For subgroups of responses, the margin of error increases because the number of respondents for the subgroup is smaller. Survey Processing (Data Entry) Upon receipt, completed surveys were assigned a unique identification number. Additionally, each survey was reviewed and “cleaned” as necessary. For example, a question may have asked a respondent to pick two items out of a list of five, but the respondent checked three; in this case, NRC would use protocols to randomly choose two of the three selected items for inclusion in the dataset. All surveys then were entered twice into an electronic dataset; any discrepancies were resolved in comparison to the original survey form. Range checks as well as other forms of quality control were also performed. NRC used SurveyGizmo, a web-based survey and analytics platform, to collect the online survey data. Use of an online system means all collected data are entered into the dataset when the respondents submit the surveys. Skip patterns are programmed into system so respondents are automatically “skipped” to the appropriate question based on the individual responses being given. Online programming also allows for more rigid control of the data format, making extensive data cleaning unnecessary. A series of quality control checks were also performed in order to ensure the integrity of the web data. Steps may include and not be limited to reviewing the data for clusters of repeat IP addresses and time stamps (indicating duplicate responses) and removing empty submissions (questionnaires submitted with no questions answered). Survey Data Weighting Upon completion of data collection for both the scientific (probability) and nonscientific open participation online opt-in (non-probability) surveys, NRC compared the data to determine whether it was appropriate to combine, or blend, both datasets together. In the case of Denton, characteristics of respondents to the non-probability survey were dissimilar enough in both respondent trait and opinion to indicate the datasets should not be blended. Results for the opt-in survey have been provided under separate cover. 2 A 95% confidence interval indicates that for every 100 random samples of this many residents, 95 of the confidence intervals created will include the “true” population response. This theory is applied in practice to mean that the “true” perspective of the target population lies within the confidence interval created for a single survey. For example, if 75% of residents rate a service as “excellent” or “good,” then the 4% margin of error (for the 95% confidence interval) indicates that the range of likely responses for the entire community is between 71% and 79%. This source of uncertainty is called sampling error. In addition to sampling error, other sources of error may affect any survey, including the non-response of residents with opinions different from survey responders. Though standardized on The NCS, on other surveys, differences in question wording, order, translation and data entry, as examples, can lead to somewhat varying results. The National Citizen Survey™ 38 The demographic characteristics of the survey respondents were compared to those found in the 2010 Census and American Community Survey estimates for adults in the City of Denton. The primary objective of weighting survey data is to make the survey respondents reflective of the larger population of the community. The characteristics used for weighting were housing tenure (rent or own), race, ethnicity, sex, age and City Council District. No adjustments were made for design effects. The results of the weighting scheme are presented in the following table. Table 86: Denton, TX 2018 Weighting Table Characteristic 2010 Census Unweighted Data Weighted Data Housing Rent home 54% 29% 53% Own home 46% 71% 47% Detached unit* 60% 77% 59% Attached unit* 40% 23% 41% Race and Ethnicity White 77% 83% 78% Not white 23% 17% 22% Not Hispanic 82% 91% 82% Hispanic 18% 9% 18% Sex and Age Female 51% 56% 53% Male 49% 44% 47% 18-34 years of age 49% 15% 48% 35-54 years of age 29% 20% 28% 55+ years of age 23% 65% 24% Females 18-34 24% 8% 29% Females 35-54 15% 13% 14% Females 55+ 13% 34% 10% Males 18-34 24% 4% 17% Males 35-54 14% 7% 15% Males 55+ 10% 33% 15% Council District District 1 24% 18% 23% District 2 27% 34% 27% District 3 25% 21% 25% District 4 24% 27% 24% * U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Survey Data Analysis and Reporting The survey dataset was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). For the most part, the percentages presented in the reports represent the “percent positive.” The percent positive is the combination of the top two most positive response options (i.e., “excellent” and “good,” “very safe” and “somewhat safe,” “essential” and “very important,” etc.), or, in the case of resident behaviors/participation, the percent positive represents the proportion of respondents indicating “yes” or participating in an activity at least once a month. On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer “don’t know.” The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the reports. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. When a table for a question that only permitted a single response does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to the common practice of percentages being rounded to the nearest whole number. The data for the opt-in survey are presented separately in the report titled Supplemental Online Survey Results. The National Citizen Survey™ 39 Appendix D: Survey Materials Dear Denton Resident, It won’t take much of your time to make a big difference! Your household has been randomly selected to participate in a survey about your community. Your survey will arrive in a few days. Thank you for helping create a better Denton! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de Denton, ¡No le tomará mucho de su tiempo para marcar una gran diferencia! Su hogar ha sido elegido al azar para participar en una encuesta sobre su comunidad. Su encuesta le llegará dentro de pocos días. ¡Gracias por ayudar a crear una Denton mejor! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Ciudad Dear Denton Resident, It won’t take much of your time to make a big difference! Your household has been randomly selected to participate in a survey about your community. Your survey will arrive in a few days. Thank you for helping create a better Denton! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de Denton, ¡No le tomará mucho de su tiempo para marcar una gran diferencia! Su hogar ha sido elegido al azar para participar en una encuesta sobre su comunidad. Su encuesta le llegará dentro de pocos días. ¡Gracias por ayudar a crear una Denton mejor! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Ciudad Dear Denton Resident, It won’t take much of your time to make a big difference! Your household has been randomly selected to participate in a survey about your community. Your survey will arrive in a few days. Thank you for helping create a better Denton! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de Denton, ¡No le tomará mucho de su tiempo para marcar una gran diferencia! Su hogar ha sido elegido al azar para participar en una encuesta sobre su comunidad. Su encuesta le llegará dentro de pocos días. ¡Gracias por ayudar a crear una Denton mejor! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Ciudad Dear Denton Resident, It won’t take much of your time to make a big difference! Your household has been randomly selected to participate in a survey about your community. Your survey will arrive in a few days. Thank you for helping create a better Denton! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de Denton, ¡No le tomará mucho de su tiempo para marcar una gran diferencia! Su hogar ha sido elegido al azar para participar en una encuesta sobre su comunidad. Su encuesta le llegará dentro de pocos días. ¡Gracias por ayudar a crear una Denton mejor! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Ciudad Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO.94 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX 76201 City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201  (940) 349-8307 www.cityofdenton.com August 2018 Dear City of Denton Resident: Please help us shape the future of Denton! You have been selected at random to participate in the 2018 Denton Citizen Survey. Please take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed survey. Your participation in this survey is very important – especially since your household is one of only a small number of households being randomly surveyed. Your feedback will help us make decisions that affect our city/community. A few things to remember: • Your responses are completely anonymous. • In order to hear from a diverse group of residents, the adult 18 years or older in your household who most recently had a birthday should complete this survey. • You may return the survey by mail in the enclosed postage-paid envelope, or you can complete the survey online at: http://bit.ly/xxplaceholder If you have any questions about the survey, please call (940) 349-8307. Thank you for your time and participation! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de la Ciudad de Denton: ¡Por favor ayúdenos a moldear el futuro de Denton! Usted ha sido seleccionado al azar para participar en la Encuesta de Ciudadanos de Denton del 2018. Por favor tome unos minutos para completar la encuesta adjunta; si usted preferiría completar la encuesta en español, por favor siga las instrucciones abajo para acceder a la encuesta en español por medio de la red. Su participación en esta encuesta es muy importante – especialmente porque su hogar es uno de solamente un número pequeño de hogares que se están encuestando aleatoriamente. Sus observaciones le ayudarán a Denton tomar decisiones que afectarán a nuestra ciudad/comunidad. Algunas cosas para recordar: • Sus respuestas son completamente anónimas. • Para poder escuchar a un grupo diverso de residentes, el adulto de 18 años o más en su hogar que haya celebrado su cumpleaños más recientemente debe completar esta encuesta. • Puede devolver la encuesta por correo en el sobre pre-pagado adjunto, o puede completar la encuesta en línea en español en: http://bit.ly/xxplaceholder Para la versión en español haga clic en “Español” en la esquina superior a mano derecha. Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre la encuesta, por favor llame al (940) 349-8307. ¡Gracias por su tiempo y participación! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Cuidad City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201  (940) 349-8307 www.cityofdenton.com September 2018 Dear City of Denton Resident: Here’s a second chance if you haven’t already responded to the 2018 Denton Citizen Survey! (If you completed it and sent it back, we thank you for your time and ask you to recycle this survey. Please do not respond twice.) Please help us shape the future of Denton! You have been selected at random to participate in the 2018 Denton Citizen Survey. Please take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed survey. Your participation in this survey is very important – especially since your household is one of only a small number of households being randomly surveyed. Your feedback will help us make decisions that affect our city/community. A few things to remember: • Your responses are completely anonymous. • In order to hear from a diverse group of residents, the adult 18 years or older in your household who most recently had a birthday should complete this survey. • You may return the survey by mail in the enclosed postage-paid envelope, or you can complete the survey online at: http://bit.ly/xxplaceholder If you have any questions about the survey, please call (940) 349-8307. Thank you for your time and participation! Sincerely, Estimado Residente de la Ciudad de Denton: ¡Aquí tiene una segunda oportunidad si usted aún no ha respondido a la Encuesta de Ciudadanos de Denton del 2018! (Si usted la completó y la devolvió, le damos las gracias por su tiempo y le pedimos que recicle esta encuesta. Por favor no responda dos veces.) ¡Por favor ayúdenos a moldear el futuro de Denton! Usted ha sido seleccionado al azar para participar en la Encuesta de Ciudadanos de Denton del 2018. Por favor tome unos minutos para completar la encuesta adjunta; si usted preferiría completar la encuesta en español, por favor siga las instrucciones abajo para acceder a la encuesta en español por medio de la red. Su participación en esta encuesta es muy importante – especialmente porque su hogar es uno de solamente un número pequeño de hogares que se están encuestando aleatoriamente. Sus observaciones le ayudarán a Denton tomar decisiones que afectarán a nuestra ciudad/comunidad. Algunas cosas para recordar: • Sus respuestas son completamente anónimas. • Para poder escuchar a un grupo diverso de residentes, el adulto de 18 años o más en su hogar que haya celebrado su cumpleaños más recientemente debe completar esta encuesta. • Puede devolver la encuesta por correo en el sobre pre-pagado adjunto, o puede completar la encuesta en línea en español en: http://bit.ly/xxplaceholder Para la versión en español haga clic en “Español” en la esquina superior a mano derecha. Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre la encuesta, por favor llame al (940) 349-8307. ¡Gracias por su tiempo y participación! Atentamente, Todd Hileman City Manager/Administrador de la Ciudad The City of Denton 2018 Citizen Survey Page 1 of 5 Please complete this questionnaire if you are the adult (age 18 or older) in the household who most recently had a birthday. The adult’s year of birth does not matter. Please select the response (by circling the number or checking the box) that most closely represents your opinion for each question. Your responses are anonymous and will be reported in group form only. 1. Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Denton as a place to live .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Your neighborhood as a place to live................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Denton as a place to raise children .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Denton as a place to work .................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Denton as a place to visit ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Denton as a place to retire ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 The overall quality of life in Denton .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 2. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Overall feeling of safety in Denton .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit ............................ 1 2 3 4 5 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Overall “built environment” of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) .................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall economic health of Denton ................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Sense of community ........................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall image or reputation of Denton ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 3. Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Don’t likely likely unlikely unlikely know Recommend living in Denton to someone who asks .............................. 1 2 3 4 5 Remain in Denton for the next five years ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5 4. Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Very Somewhat Neither safe Somewhat Very Don’t safe safe nor unsafe unsafe unsafe know In your neighborhood during the day................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 In Denton’s downtown/commercial area during the day ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6 5. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Traffic flow on major streets .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of public parking ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by car in Denton .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by public transportation in Denton ............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by bicycle in Denton .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of walking in Denton ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of paths and walking trails .............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Air quality .......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Cleanliness of Denton ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Overall appearance of Denton .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Public places where people want to spend time ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Variety of housing options ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality housing .......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) .......... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreational opportunities ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality food ................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality health care ..................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of preventive health services ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality mental health care ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The National Citizen Survey™ • © 2001-2015 National Research Center, Inc. Page 2 of 5 6. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Denton as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 K-12 education .................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Adult educational opportunities ......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities ......... 1 2 3 4 5 Employment opportunities ................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Shopping opportunities ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Cost of living in Denton ..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of business and service establishments in Denton ..................... 1 2 3 4 5 Vibrant downtown/commercial area ................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of new development in Denton ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities ................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to volunteer ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to participate in community matters .......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Neighborliness of residents in Denton ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 7. Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Made efforts to conserve water ................................................................................................................................1 2 Made efforts to make your home more energy efficient ..........................................................................................1 2 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Denton (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) .....................................1 2 Household member was a victim of a crime in Denton ...........................................................................................1 2 Reported a crime to the police in Denton ...............................................................................................................1 2 Stocked supplies in preparation for an emergency ..................................................................................................1 2 Campaigned or advocated for an issue, cause or candidate ....................................................................................1 2 Contacted the City of Denton (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information .......................................1 2 Contacted Denton elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion ................................1 2 8. In the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members done each of the following in Denton? 2 times a 2-4 times Once a month Not week or more a month or less at all Used Denton recreation centers or their services............................................................... 1 2 3 4 Visited a neighborhood park or City park ......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Used Denton public libraries or their services ................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Denton ................................................... 1 2 3 4 Attended a City-sponsored event ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Used bus, rail, subway or other public transportation instead of driving........................... 1 2 3 4 Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone ...................................... 1 2 3 4 Walked or biked instead of driving .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Denton ................................................ 1 2 3 4 Participated in a club ......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors ......................................................... 1 2 3 4 Done a favor for a neighbor ............................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 9. Thinking about local public meetings (of local elected officials like City Council, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.), in the last 12 months, about how many times, if at all, have you or other household members attended or watched a local public meeting? 2 times a 2-4 times Once a month Not week or more a month or less at all Attended a local public meeting ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting ................................................... 1 2 3 4 The City of Denton 2018 Citizen Survey Page 3 of 5 10. Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Denton: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Police services .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fire services ........................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Ambulance or emergency medical services ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Crime prevention ............................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fire prevention and education ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Traffic enforcement ........................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Street repair ....................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Street cleaning ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Street lighting ..................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Snow removal .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Sidewalk maintenance ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Traffic signal timing ........................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Bus or transit services ......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Garbage collection ............................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Recycling ........................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Yard waste pick-up ............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Storm drainage .................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Drinking water ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Sewer services .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Electric service ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Utility billing ...................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 City parks ........................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreation programs or classes .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreation centers or facilities ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Land use, planning and zoning .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Animal control ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Economic development ..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Health services ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Public library services ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Public information services ................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Cable television .................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) ............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Preservation of natural areas such as open space, farmlands and greenbelts ..... 1 2 3 4 5 Denton open space ............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 City-sponsored special events ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Overall customer service by Denton employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 11. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The City of Denton............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 The Federal Government .................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 The State Government ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 12. Please rate the following categories of Denton government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The value of services for the taxes paid to Denton ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5 The overall direction that Denton is taking ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The job Denton government does at welcoming citizen involvement ............... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall confidence in Denton government........................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Generally acting in the best interest of the community ..................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Being honest ....................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Treating all residents fairly ................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 The National Citizen Survey™ • © 2001-2015 National Research Center, Inc. Page 4 of 5 13. Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Denton community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years: Very Somewhat Not at all Essential important important important Overall feeling of safety in Denton .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Overall ease of getting to the places you usually have to visit ............................................ 1 2 3 4 Quality of overall natural environment in Denton ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 Overall “built environment” of Denton (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 Health and wellness opportunities in Denton .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Overall opportunities for education and enrichment......................................................... 1 2 3 4 Overall economic health of Denton ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Sense of community ........................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 14. Please rate the following aspects of City of Denton communications: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The availability of information about City programs and services .................... 1 2 3 4 5 City efforts to keep citizens informed about local issues .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 City efforts to educate citizens about environmental and sustainable practices ....... 1 2 3 4 5 The quality of the City’s website (www.cityofdenton.com) ................................ 1 2 3 4 5 The quality of the City’s video production and cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The relevance of topics in the Resident Update newsletter .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The usefulness of information in the Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) .... 1 2 3 4 5 City efforts to engage citizens on social media sites ........................................... 1 2 3 4 5 15. Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the City government and its activities, events and services: Major Minor Not a source source source City website (www.cityofdenton.com) .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 Resident Update newsletter ........................................................................................................................ 1 2 3 Citizen Connection (utility bill newsletter) .................................................................................................. 1 2 3 City cable television channel (Charter 194, Grande 12, Frontier 38) .................................................... 1 2 3 City Facebook or Twitter feed ............................................................................................................... 1 2 3 City YouTube channel .......................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 City email news updates and alerts ........................................................................................................ 1 2 3 CodeRed emergency notifications ......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 Denton Record-Chronicle ............................................................................................................................. 1 2 3 Other local news source ......................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 Your homeowner/neighborhood association ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 Public meetings ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 Public buildings (brochures, posters, signage) ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 City staff ................................................................................................................................................. 1 2 3 City Council ........................................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 Word of mouth/friends ......................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 16. Please indicate which of the following is your preferred method of customer service interaction with the City of Denton Employees: (Please select only one.)  In-person/face-to-face  Mail/fax  Social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.)  Telephone  Internet application  Other  E-mail  Mobile phone application 17. Thinking about your most recent experience with the City of Denton, please rate your impression of the following categories of customer service performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The ease of locating contact information ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The availability of City staff (hours of operation) ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The length of time you waited (waiting on hold, waiting in line, etc.) to submit a request ......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The courtesy and helpfulness of City staff ......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The competence and knowledge of City staff .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The timely resolution of your request ................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 18. Did you vote in the previous municipal election in Denton:  Yes  No  Why not? (Mark all that apply.)  Not aware of election  Voting location inconvenient  Not registered to vote  Other The City of Denton 2018 Citizen Survey Page 5 of 5 Our last questions are about you and your household. Again, all of your responses to this survey are completely anonymous and will be reported in group form only. D1. How often, if at all, do you do each of the following, considering all of the times you could? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always Recycle at home ............................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Purchase goods or services from a business located in Denton ...................... 1 2 3 4 5 Eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity ..................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Read or watch local news (via television, paper, computer, etc.) ................... 1 2 3 4 5 Vote in local elections ..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 D2. Would you say that in general your health is:  Excellent  Very good  Good  Fair  Poor D3. What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be:  Very positive  Somewhat positive  Neutral  Somewhat negative  Very negative D4. What is your employment status?  Working full time for pay  Working part time for pay  Unemployed, looking for paid work  Unemployed, not looking for paid work  Fully retired D5. Do you work inside the boundaries of Denton?  Yes, outside the home  Yes, from home  No D6. How many years have you lived in Denton?  Less than 2 years  11-20 years  2-5 years  More than 20 years  6-10 years D7. Which best describes the building you live in?  One family house detached from any other houses  Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium)  Mobile home  Other D8. Is this house, apartment or mobile home...  Rented  Owned D9. About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners’ association (HOA) fees)?  Less than $300 per month  $300 to $599 per month  $600 to $999 per month  $1,000 to $1,499 per month  $1,500 to $2,499 per month  $2,500 or more per month D10. Do any children 17 or under live in your household?  No  Yes D11. Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older?  No  Yes D12. How much do you anticipate your household’s total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.)  Less than $25,000  $25,000 to $49,999  $50,000 to $99,999  $100,000 to $149,999  $150,000 or more Please respond to both questions D13 and D14: D13. Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino?  No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino  Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino D14. What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race you consider yourself to be.)  American Indian or Alaskan Native  Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander  Black or African American  White  Other D15. In which category is your age?  18-24 years  55-64 years  25-34 years  65-74 years  35-44 years  75 years or older  45-54 years D16. What is your sex?  Female  Male D17. Do you consider a cell phone or land line your primary telephone number?  Cell  Land line  Both Thank you for completing this survey. Please return the completed survey in the postage-paid envelope to: National Research Center, Inc., PO Box 549, Belle Mead, NJ 08502