What If They Gave A Survey And Nobody Griped?

Carolanne Sudderth
Mirror Staff Writer

Santa Monica residents are almost as contented as Adohr cows, according to a survey conducted last fall.
   Commissioned by the City of Santa Monica, it asked respondents to rate their degree of satisfaction with city services.
   From August 18, to September 3, 1998, a random sampling of Santa Monica phone numbers were dialed between the hours of 5 and 9 p.m. during the week and 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends. The questions covered everything from the state of the streets to police to information services, libraries, and recreation services.
   When asked what could be done to improve the city as a whole, 37.3% said “Nothing” or “I don’t know.” The only statement checked by more than 10% was “improve homeless services. (12.6%) This was closely followed, however, by a 9.1% vote for “reduce homelessness.”
   The need to maintain and repair streets and sidewalks ran close behind, with 8.9% listing the need for some attention. The survey asked if residents would be open to sharing the cost of sidewalk repairs with the city. Just over one-quarter (27%) said yes. Half of this number (52.3%) limited their contribution to $100. A small percentage indicated willingness to put in as much as $400.
   Well over three-quarters of the respondents (87%) rated overall police performance as “good” or “excellent”. “Addressing neighborhood concerns” rated 75.6% approval.
   10.4 % of those interviewed said that during the past 12 months they had been victims of assault, larceny, burglary, vandalism, or robbery the past twelve months, but only half of them (54%) had reported the crimes to the police.
   One-third of the respondents had had direct contact with the police in the past year. Of these, 77% felt that the police were doing a “good “ or “excellent” job. An additional 7% gave them a fair rating, and 14.0% rated their performance as “poor.” By far, the most common suggestion for changes in police service was “[more] Frequent Patrols in My Neighborhood” (27.2%) . Almost 50% checked “Don’t Know” (26.4%) and “Nothing” for “needed improvements” (18.0%).
   Although nearly three-quarters (79%) thought that Santa Monica’s recreation opportunities ranged from good to excellent, only 60.5% of the households queried had a member who had used them in the past 12 months.
   Reasons for fair to poor ratings included lack of safety, the need to expand recreation centers or activities, lack of landscape maintenance, and the need for more parks.
   Eighty percent of participants rated the availability of library materials as good or excellent and 75% gave library services the same rating. The main reason cited for lesser ratings was the need to expand reference or research facilities. 67% of the households had used the libraries in the past year.