ARLINGTON, Va. -- Arlington County ranks "among the very best" in the nation in resident satisfaction with local government services, according to a new survey.

When compared to other communities its size, Arlington was rated significantly above average in all service areas, including fire and ambulance services (90%), county libraries (89%) and parks and recreation services (80%). The County will use the survey results as an additional tool to measure its performance and enable more effective management of community services. More details are presented below and full survey results are available on the Arlington website, www.arlingtonva.us.

"Arlington has done an excellent job of providing services to residents of the County," said Chris Tatham, vice president, ETC Institute, which conducted the survey. "Compared to other large communities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000 residents, Arlington County's ratings are among the very best."

"Asking our customers how we are doing gives us essential information to help us measure our effectiveness, responsiveness and the quality of County services," said Ron Carlee, Arlington County Manager. "This feedback is essential to continual improvement."

ETC Institute, a nationally-known firm, has conducted opinion research services for more than 250 cities and counties in 41 states. For the Arlington survey, the firm surveyed a random sample of 1,200 households; the sampling has a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/- 2.9%. ETC reports that the Arlington survey results were so high that they necessitated ETC's recalibration of its "best in class" national benchmarks.

Major findings

• Most residents are satisfied with Arlington services. Ninety percent (90%) of residents are satisfied with the quality of fire and ambulance services in Arlington; 89% are satisfied with quality of county libraries, and 80% are satisfied with parks and recreation services. When compared to other large communities (those with populations of more than 100,000), Arlington rated significantly above average in all areas. When compared to all communities (including those with less than 100,000 residents), Arlington rated above average in all but two areas: (1) enforcement of codes and ordinances and (2) the overall flow of traffic on county streets.
• Services that residents thought should receive the most increase in emphasis over the next two years. The areas that residents thought should receive the most increase in emphasis from Arlington over the next two years are: (1) the management of traffic flow on county streets and (2) the maintenance of county streets.
• Residents were generally satisfied with the overall quality of life in Arlington. Most (86%) residents indicated that they are satisfied with the quality of life in Arlington; only 3% were not satisfied; 11% gave a neutral rating.

Next Steps

Arlington and ETC are holding an open community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 17 to explain the survey results and answer questions. The meeting will be held at 3033 Wilson Blvd., 7th floor at 7:30 p.m.

Also this month, County departments are meeting with research experts from ETC Institute to fully understand the survey results and develop appropriate action plans.

Other findings

• Public Safety. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of residents are satisfied with the quality of local fire protection. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of those surveyed were satisfied with the overall quality of police protection. Compared to other large communities, Arlington rated above average in all areas of public safety that were rated. In fact, Arlington received the highest ratings among 20 large communities in: (1) overall quality of police protection, (2) overall efforts to prevent crime, (3) enforcement of local traffic laws, (4) overall quality of local ambulance service, and (5) adequacy of street lighting.
• Code Enforcement. More than half (54%) of the residents surveyed were satisfied with the County's efforts to enforce the exterior maintenance of business property and 53% were satisfied with the County's efforts to enforce the exterior maintenance of residential property. Arlington's overall rating for code enforcement was significantly better than other large communities. For enforcement of exterior maintenance of residential property, Arlington's efforts were rated at about the same level as other large communities.
• Utility Services. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of the residents surveyed were satisfied with the overall quality of residential trash collection services. Eighty-three percent (83%) of those surveyed were satisfied with the quality of curbside recycling services. Seventy-five percent (75%) were satisfied with yard waste services, and 74% were satisfied with the quality of wastewater treatment services.
• Public Works. The areas of Public Works that were rated best included: overall satisfaction with the maintenance of county buildings (79%), adequacy of street lighting in commercial areas (78%), snow removal on major county streets (71%), and the cleanliness of county streets and public areas (71%). When compared to other large communities, Arlington rated in the top 25% of all Public Works areas that were assessed on the survey.
• Parks, Recreation, and Culture. In general, residents were satisfied with parks, recreation, and culture in Arlington. Eighty-two percent (82%) of the residents were satisfied with walking and biking trails in the county; 82% were satisfied with the number of county parks, and 74% were satisfied with maintenance of county parks. When compared to other large communities, Arlington rated in the top 25% of all parks, recreation, and cultural areas that were assessed on the survey.
• County Communications. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the residents surveyed were satisfied with the quality of the County newsletter, The Citizen; 70% were satisfied with the availability of information about county programs and services, and 63% were satisfied with the quality of information on the county's web page. When compared to other large communities, Arlington rated in the top 25% of all communication areas that were assessed on the survey.
• Library Services. Nearly three-fourths (71%) of those surveyed indicated that they had used a county library during the past year. Of those who had used a library, 92% were satisfied with the helpfulness of library staff; eighty-nine percent (89%) were satisfied with the availability of materials, and 81% were satisfied with the adequacy of on-line (Internet) services.
• Transportation. More than two-thirds (71%) of the residents surveyed were satisfied with the availability of bike trails and bike lanes in Arlington County; 68% were satisfied with the ease of traveling within Arlington County, and 65% were satisfied with the County's public transit system (ART).
• Health and Human Services. Forty-five percent (45%) of those surveyed who had an opinion were satisfied with the availability of services for low and fixed income residents in the county.
• Emergency Preparedness. Almost one-fourth (22%) of the residents surveyed were registered for Arlington Alert. When asked about their level of agreement with the statement "My household is prepared with food, water, and other supplies for an emergency, such as a natural disaster or terror attack," 54% agreed, 27% disagreed, and 20% gave a neutral response.

Why Arlington commissioned the citizen satisfaction survey

Arlington administered the comprehensive customer satisfaction survey during the summer of 2004 to assess citizen satisfaction with the quality of a wide range of county services, including: police, fire, transportation, trash collection, libraries, code enforcement, street maintenance, communication, and many others.

Arlington plans to conduct such a survey regularly, as part of its Arlington Counts! performance management program.

Survey methodology

The statistically valid survey was conducted by an independent firm.

ETC Institute mailed a seven-page survey to a random sample of 3,000 households in Arlington in June 2004. Approximately seven days after the surveys were mailed, residents who received the survey were contacted by phone. Those who indicated that they had not returned the survey were given the option of completing it by phone.

The survey was administered in both English and Spanish. Of the households that received a survey, 719 completed the survey by phone and 481 returned it by mail for a total of 1,200 completed surveys (40% response rate). The results for the random sample of 1,200 households have a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/- 2.9%.

ETC Institute has more than 20 years of expertise in customer satisfaction for local governments, including its proprietary DirectionFinder®, a national benchmarking survey initiative. DirectionFinder® allows Arlington to compare its survey results to those of other similar communities with populations over 100,000 across the United States.

Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world -- including the Pentagon -- Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.

ETC Institute specializes in providing opinion research services for local governments across the United States. Since 1999, ETC Institute has completed projects for more than 250 cities and counties in 41 states.