03/22/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the median estimate of the share of property taxes going to the City was 19.5 percent. If more citizens were informed about the correct burden of their city property taxes, the value placed on city services might increase accordingly. While local newspapers played a major role in informing citizens about city government and its activities, the city newsletter was also doing a solid job. Forty-three percent of 'the sample reported relying upon local papers, a percentage somewhat lower than.the norm; but, twenty percent relied upon the city newsletter, almost double the suburban norm. The "grapevine," at twelve percent, -was was also alive and well in the city. In view of these results, the.city newsletter is certainly one of the most effective in the Metropolitan Area. Seventy-seven percent of the residents felt satisfied with their current level of information about.city government -- a high contentment level. Ninety-one percent, an impressive .figure, received and read the "Bulletin." Sixty-eight percent -received and read the '.'Focus.'.' Print media, then, is doing a .good job in reaching the Mounds View citizenry.., The'. newsletter possessed a 'similarly strong reach and readership. Eighty-one percent of the residents received and read the newsletter. The discard rate of six percent is minimal. Most readers keep they copies for future reference. And, with the exception of more detailed coverage of City Council Meetings, suggestions for improvement were few. The newsletter, then,_is both well. -read and well-regarded. Several city services were examined in some. detail. Snow plowing achieved .an approval rating of seventy-six percent; eighteen percent disapproved. This rating is at the norm for most city services in the suburbs. -Expectations about reasonable response times to winter storms were very high. A majority of residents felt that snow should be removed within approximately eight hours after a major storm. For a storm hitting after midnight, most residents felt that snow should be removed from city streets by mid-morning. Residents opposed by almost two -to - one charging households on cul-de-sacs extra for snow removal and there was also strong opposition -- seventy-six percent to fifteen percent -- to the adoption of a "bare pavement" policy. The plowing of sidewalks adjacent to major streets, pathways, and city -owner parking lots scored an approval rating of sixty-three percent and a disapproval rating of fourteen percent. In general, residents are satisfied with snow plowing in the city, even though they have relatively high expectations about its completion after winter storms. City street maintenance and sweeping was also examined in some detail. Seventy-five percent of the sample approved of street maintenance, while twenty-three percent disapproved. On this city service, Mounds View ranks among the top in the suburban ring. Almost three-quarters of the residents also felt that street patching during the past year had been both 2