2016 National Citizen Survey Results

“The results of this survey are proof that O’Fallon is truly one of the best communities in which to live, work and play,” said Mayor Graham. “The vision, guidance, and compassion shown by the O’Fallon City Council, City staff, and every O’Fallon resident has made this the greatest community in the area.”

Drawing on the results of the survey, the National Research Center provided these conclusions:

• O’Fallon residents enjoy a high quality of life.
• O’Fallon is a good place to live and raise a family.
• O’Fallon residents value and appreciate a high level of safety.
• Most City services were rated higher than in previous years and were either similar to or higher than benchmarks compared to other cities.
• O’Fallon residents support the overall direction of O’Fallon.

In the City’s continuing efforts to receive valuable input from our residents and to improve customer service, the National Citizen’s Survey was conducted beginning in May 2016. This was the fifth time since 2005 the National Citizen’s Survey was conducted in O’Fallon. This year, surveys were mailed to 1,500 randomly selected households. The survey received a 30% response rate, enough for a 95% level of confidence that this survey represents the true responses of the entire population of O’Fallon.

The survey was conducted by the National Research Center using the National Citizen Survey that has been conducted in more than 500 communities throughout the United States. Therefore, responses from O’Fallon residents were not only evaluated according to geographic location, change over time and community demographics, but also in comparison to responses from more than 200,000 residents who have taken the survey across the country.

Community Livability – About nine in ten residents gave excellent or good ratings to O’Fallon as a place to raise children and the overall image of O’Fallon; both of these ratings were higher than ratings in comparison communities and both have increased over time.

Governance – About eight in ten respondents rated the overall quality of City services as excellent or good. A majority of respondents gave positive ratings to the job the City does at welcoming citizen involvement, confidence in the City government, the job the City does at acting in the best interest of O’Fallon, being honest, and treating all residents fairly. About two-thirds of residents gave excellent or good ratings to the overall direction of O’Fallon and about nine in ten gave high ratings to the overall customer service provided by City employees.

Safety – Almost all residents gave positive ratings to police, fire and ambulance/EMS services; ratings for police services and crime prevention were higher than ratings in other communities. The Police Department received a 94% rating as “excellent” or “good”; 97% of respondents feel safe in their neighborhood; 96% feel safe in Downtown O’Fallon; 90% have an overall feeling of safety in O’Fallon; and 93% said they were not a victim of a crime in the last 12 months.

Overall, ratings for 2016 generally remained stable or increased over time. Of the 84 items for which comparisons were available, 50 items were rated similarly in 2011 and 2016, and 34 showed an increase in ratings.

Some of the items with higher ratings in 2016 than in 2011 were: recreation opportunities, overall image of O’Fallon, Police services, fire prevention, economic development, planning and zoning, the job the City does at welcoming citizen involvement, and the overall direction of O’Fallon.

Complete survey results, as well as the survey results presentation, are posted on the City’s website at www.ofallon.org/administration/pages/2016-national-citizen-survey.