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Home My WebLink About04-10-1997 Charter Packet MEETING NOTICE CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION LINO LAKES SENIOR CENTER THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1997 7:00 P.M. i t"ll A,�,7A � City of Lino Lakes Charter-Cvmmissi� March 21, 1997 Sauey Overvielw ecision Resources, Ltd., is pleased to present the results of this study to the City of Lino Lakes. This section provides a brief introduction to the specifications of the survey and a guide to the organization of the written analysis. While the most statistically sound procedures have been used to collect and analyze the information presented herein, it must always be kept in mind that surveys are not predictions. They are designed to measure public opinion within identifiable limits of accuracy at specific points in time. This survey is in no way a prediction of opinions, perceptions, or actions at any future point in time. After all, in public policy analysis, the major task is to impact these revealed opinions in a constructive fashion. The Principal Investigator for this study was Dr. William D. Morris; the Project Director overseeing all phases of the research and analysis was Ms. Diane Traxler. Research Design This study contains the results of a telephone survey of 402 randomly selected residents of the City of Lino Lakes. Survey responses were gathered by professional interviewers across the community between September 4 and 16, 1996. The average interview took twenty-seven minutes. All respondents interviewed in this study were part of a randomly generated sample of the City of Lino Lakes. In general, random samples such as this yield results projectable to their respective universe within± 5.0 percent in 95 out of 100 cases. Interviews were conducted by Decision Resources, Ltd., trained personnel from telephone banks in St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately twenty percent of all interviews were independently validated for procedure and content by a Decision Resources, Ltd., supervisor. Completed interviews were edited and coded at the company's headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Statistical analysis and cross-tabulations were produced by the company's direct job entry access facility to the University of Minnesota VAX Computer System. City of Lino Lakes Charter Commission March 21, 1997 Organization of the Study The results of this study are presented in the following order: The Analysis consists of a written report of the major findings. The results contained herein were also presented verbally to the client. The Questionnaire reproduces the survey instrument as it was used in the interviewing process. This section also includes a response frequency distribution for each question. The Graphics section provides a visual representation of the data assembled in this survey analysis. Any further questions the reader may have about this study which are not answered in this report should be directed to either Dr. Morris or Ms. Traxler. Charter Commission Issues A portion of the survey undertook a brief analysis of residential knowledge about and evaluations of the condition of city streets, current City powers, and changes in the City Charter. Condition of City Streets Respondents were asked: How would you rate the overall condition of city streets in Lino Lakes--excellent, good, only_fair, or poor? Seventy-two percent rated the overall condition of city streets as"excellent" or"good:" Page 2 of 5 City of Lino Lakes Charter Commission March 21, 1997 EXCELLENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% GOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68% 0 0 DONT KNOW/REFUSED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1% Twenty-seven percent, though, rated their condition lower. Higher ratings were posted by 18-34 year olds, Precinct 2 households, and less than $50,000 annual income households. Lower ratings were concentrated among over 45 year olds, as well as Precinct 4 households. The City may wish to further examine the cause of complaints in Precinct 4, since that appeared to be a"hot spot"with regard to the condition of city streets. Awareness of City Charter Provisions Residents were next told: The Lino Lakes City Charter limits the street recon- struction practices of the City. Under the Charter, the City may only use tax dollars for street recon- struction if one of two conditions are met: first, a citizen petitions the City for a specific road improve- ment AND a majority of the affected property owners support the petition AND a referendum on the im- provement is approved in a citywide election; or second, the City Council initiates the project AND the project is approved by a majority of the affected property owners AND a referendum is approved in a citywide election. The City is, however, allowed to perform limited maintenance of streets, such as filling pot holes and seal coating. They were then asked: Page 3 of 5 City of Lino Lakes Charter Commission March 21, 1997 Prior to this survey, were you aware of these Charter provisions? About one-half of the sample was aware of the Charter provisions -- forty-seven percent: AWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47% UNAWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52% DON'T KNOW/REFUSED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1% But, fifty-three percent reported unawareness. Awareness of the provisions was highest among residents of the city for over 5 years, Blue Collar households, and those without a health club membership. Awareness was lowest among residents for less than 5 years in the community, households with children, 18-34 year olds, Precinct 4 households, White Collar households, over$75,000 annual income households, and health club members. It was noteworthy that the area most critical about street conditions was also least knowledgeable about City Charter provisions. Development of a Comprehensive Plan Respondents were informed: The initial step in road reconstruction is the de- velopment of a comprehensive plan that would prioritize roads for improvement. In order to im- plement this plan, a funding source would have to be established. They were then queried: Would you favor or oppose a City Charter change that would allow the City to establish such a.fund? Do you feel strongly that way? By a fifty-six percent to twenty-five percent judgment, residents favored a City Charter change to Page 4 of 5 City of Lino Lakes Charter-Comm fission March 21, 1997 establish such a fund. STRONGLY FAVOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20% SOMEWHAT FAVOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13% STRONGLY OPPOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12% DON`T KNOW/RE-FUSED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1$% However, about one-third of the community was in the"somewhat favor" category, indicating that a solid information effort would be required prior to a referendum on this issue. Supporters were most apt to be 35-44 year olds, Precinct 4 households, and White Collar households. Opposition was highest among households with seniors, empty-nesters, Precinct 2 households, Blue Collar households, and retirees. Summary and Conclusions While most residents rated the condition of city streets favorably, a majority supported a City Charter change to allow for the development of a comprehensive plan. The majority, though, was not sufficient to guarantee-success in a-referendumr election,-irrfactt a substantiaf information, effort would be needed to insure a positive vote. A key portion of the information campaign must beto a taxcincrease-will-not passage &this type-of charter change. The character of the opposition strongly suggested that it was due to the feeling that a-successftd-referendum woutcfentai}a-tax-increase, as-in-the-case of most school-district apd city bond or levy requests. Residents, then, will need to be convinced that the City Charter change-sim*permits-a process--which-will-be subjecm scratinyby-the-pubfrc--trrbegio. Once that message is communicated, the referendum will have a much higher probability of passage. Page 5 of 5