2012 Citizen Survey Results: Departmental Responses

1. 2012 Citizen Survey Results:Departmental Responses Ideas for Improvement from Directors

2. Public Safety • Two items rated “no opinion” include police safety education programs and fire safety education programs. • Huntsville Fire Department completed 33 presentations in the last year that reached over 1,500 residents. This is a decrease from last fiscal year’s 60+ presentations due to natural disasters, staff focus on responses. • Huntsville Police Department has completed 24 community service presentations to date this year, as compared to 29 at this point last year.

3. Public Safety Fire Department personnel have made presentations to: • Pre-Kindergarten, Elementary and Junior High School students • Every 1st grader in the county at Safety Town • Kiwanis Club • SHSU dormitories and resident assistants in charge of each dorm • Sororities and fraternities • Scare on the Square • Head Start - multiple times  • Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts • Mothers of pre-school children • Royal Rangers • Multiple birthday parties for children at the fire station for no charge • Multiple churches, day cares, health care centers, senior centers, restaurants and businesses including Home Depot

4. Public Works • In question #7, “Condition of Streets” and “Condition of Sidewalks” were both rated as major concerns, and a significant percentage of respondents were dissatisfied with the two areas in question #12. • Regarding sidewalks, the department has historically allotted approximately $100,000/year for new sidewalk construction as well as maintenance and repair of existing sidewalks. • Due to grant funding, $1.5 million will be applied over the next 3-4 years beginning this fiscal year.

5. Public Works • Regarding Streets, the Street Services Department utilizes an annual maintenance program to address the condition of streets. • For the last several years, approximately $500,000/year has been allotted for maintenance and improvements to streets. • For FY12-13, the Street Services Department has set specific objectives to: Seal Coat 12.53 lane miles of City streets; Overlay 6.48 lane miles of City streets; Crack Seal 17.18 lane miles of City streets.

6. Community Appearance While 60% of respondents were satisfied with the overall appearance of the City and of their respective neighborhoods, 33.2% of respondents considered trash and litter a major concern. In FY 2011-12, the Community Services Department and the Streets Department together collected over 2,400 tons of litter from parks, green spaces, public right-of-ways, drainage ways and on streets (utilizing street sweeper).

7. Media • In question #23, 72% of respondents indicated they utilize the City’s Web site, while 73.5% indicated they utilize the City Connection newsletter. • Only 37.9% of respondents said they utilize the City’s Tourism web site, www.huntsvilletexas.gov. To address this concern, new and more prominent links have been added to the City’s primary Web site, www.huntsvilletx.gov.

8. Both links now lead to www.huntsvilletexas.com, the City’s Tourism Site

9. Web site accessibility • While 48.5% of respondents indicated the City’s Web site is easy to navigate and use, 30.4% had no opinion. • As well, 54.7% had no opinion about the live streaming video features and video archives. • Features to assist could include tutorial videos for both Web site features and video archives.

10. Social Media • Approximately21.5% of respondents indicated that they utilize the City Facebook page or the Huntsville Police Department Page, and only 8.7% claimed to visit the City’s Twitter page. • According to the most recent figures, 1,529 Facebook users have “liked” the City’s page, while 1,571 users have “liked” the HPD page. • As well, the City of Huntsville Twitter page has 394 followers and over 1,400 tweets, or entries.

11. News/Information • To address several of the survey categories for which respondents indicated they had “no opinion,” informational features may be used to clear up confusion or provide basic facts. • Features in the City Connection, press releases and information on the City’s Web site may be utilized for questions relating to: Public Works Community Services Information Technology/Web site Public Safety Parks/Recreation Services

12. Short, easy to read articles provide information and links for new users and reminders for previous users.

13. News/Information • Specifically, in question #16, respondents had “no opinion” on dog parks, lighted basketball courts, jogging/biking trails, natural habitat/interpretive areas, community center/meeting space and park restrooms. • Features on the City’s Web site, photos of the facilities and staff presentations about the sites could increase knowledge and use.

14. Possible Web site features Finance Department information including: (1) How the Government Finance Officers Association guidelines shape our budget, and what those guidelines are (2) What types of financial information we have on our Web site and definitions of key industry terms

15. Possible Web site features • Contact information for Texas Department of Transportation, specifically pertaining to traffic concerns from question #8 • Notices prior to fire department or police department safety presentations • Restaurant inspection documents/results • Assistance with City of Huntsville iPhone apps, Web site features and other communication tools