City Services Satisfaction Survey 2008 City Services Satisfaction Survey | Page 4

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
This is the seventh annual survey among City of Arlington residents to measure
satisfaction with city services. The benchmark study was conducted in December 2000,
and subsequent waves have occurred between November or December each year,
except for the 2006 wave which was conducted in January and February of 2007 and
was significantly changed from previous waves.
Beginning from the 2006 wave, the questionnaire was redesigned to more closely
match the ICMA study. This will allow the City of Arlington to compare the City to other
cities of similar size and makeup across the country.
The purpose of the survey is to assess citizens’ current perceptions of city services, to
identify areas where the City is perceived as doing well and areas where improvement
may be needed, and to monitor the effectiveness of the City’s efforts to improve
services. Information gathered from this seventh wave of interviewing will also be used
in planning and budgeting for 2008.
METHODS
A total of 50,108 calls were made to obtain 437 telephone interviews among residents
within Arlington city limits. Within this sample, quotas were set for gender, age and zip
code to ensure an accurate representation of the city’s population. Random-digit
sampling was used primarily. (Some supplemental purchased listed sample was used
to fill quotas in a few zip codes that are difficult to target using random-digit sampling.)
All respondents were age 18 or over and live within Arlington city limits, excluding
Dalworthington Gardens and Pantego. About half were male and about half were
female.
Interviews were conducted November 28 through December 16, 2007.
A copy of the questionnaire, along with further discussion of data collection and data
processing procedures, is presented in the Appendix.
Decision Analyst, Inc.
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