The survey asks questions about a community’s livability, which includes city services, civic participation, governance, and various community characteristics.
The conclusion of the livabiltiy report says, "Paducah residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life and feel more positively about Paducah as a place to retire than in past survey years.”
Positive responses for the question asking about the overall quality of life in Paducah jumped from 63% in 2013 to 68% in 2016 and to 70% in this year's survey. Regarding Paducah as a place to retire, positive ratings jumped from 65% in 2016 to 74% in 2018. The rating was 63% in 2013.
City Manager Jim Arndt said, “I was thrilled to see that our ratings showed either stability or notable positive increases. Of the 134 items for which comparisons were available, 109 items were rated similarly in 2016 and 2018, and 23 items showed statistically significant increases in ratings of more than seven percentage points. Those increases were in categories including Paducah as place to retire, the value of services for taxes paid in Paducah, the overall direction of Paducah, recycling opportunities, economic development, and recreation programs.”
A couple of other questions focused on governance and participation. When asked to rate the overall direction that Paducah is taking, the positive responses increased from 39% in 2013 to 42% in 2016 and to 51% in 2018. When asked how likely they would be to recommend living in Paducah to someone, positive responses increased from 75% in 2013 to 78% in 2016 and to 82% in 2018.
Arndt said, “We are now reviewing the results and aligning them with the Key Performance Areas and Objectives outlined in Paducah’s Strategic Plan.”
The National Citizen Survey gathers feedback from citizens about the three pillars of a community: Community Characteristics, Governance, and Participation.
The pillars are further divided into eight facets: Safety, Mobility, Natural Environment, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation & Wellness, Education & Enrichment, and Community Engagement. Each question on the survey is connected to a pillar and facet. Over the next several weeks, specific results relating to each facet will be released.
The International City/County Management Association and the NRC develop the survey which is used by hundreds of cities. For more information about the citizen survey including the survey instrument, please visit www.paducahky.gov/citizen-survey.
From the survey's "Technical Appendices":
About 8% of the 1,500 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 1,379 households that received the survey, 360 completed the survey, providing an overall response rate of 26%. Of the 360 completed surveys, 24 were completed online. (Response rates for the 2013 and 2016 surveys were 29%.)
The margin of error for the City of Paducah survey is no greater than plus or minus five percentage points around any given percent reported for all respondents (360 completed surveys). For subgroups of responses, the margin of error increases because the number of respondents for the subgroup is smaller. For subgroups of approximately 100 respondents, the margin of error is plus or minus 10 percentage points.
On the Net:
Citizen Survey webpage
