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1 compares very favorably with norm of between 15% and 20% found in 2 other community surveys ; 3 no single major problem was identified, but 7% reported concerns 4 about water and 8% complained about the condition of. the streets. 5 No significant "dark clouds on horizon" that even 'a small number . 6 of the residents are aware of. 7 4 . Community not dogmatically anti-tax indicated that given the com- 8 munity demographics, would have expected to see fewer people 9 supporting a tax increase to maintain the current level of ser- 10 vices , but 53% of those contacted supported that concept and only 11 36% opposed. Most people consider taxes "about average" and 12 there weren' t a lot who consider the property taxes they pay 13 onerous. Two services which are definitely "sacred cows" which 14 the community would object cutting are snow plowing and park 15 maintenance. The message came over loud and clear that a prudent 16 approach when it came to taxes and spending really characterized 17 the St. Anthony residents because the moderate approach when it 18 came to the City Hall was the consensus choice of 47%. The 19 survey indicated the community perceived what was being proposed 20 was logical once they understood what was going to be done. 21 Community is prudent but certainly not opposed to taxing for a 22 good solid level of City services. 23 5. City services given excellent ratings: park maintenance; snow 24 plowing; police and fire protection. Street maintenance, animal 25 control, and storm sewers were given slightly lower ratings but 26 still got 70% approval. What really split the community was 27 water. 28 Police patrolling considered adequate; City streets and storm 29 sewers posed only minor and not major problems; code enforce- 30 ment was considered to be about right in terms of toughness; 31 City parks are very well used and rated high with the exception 32 of playground equipment which still only attracted a minor 33 number of negatives in the survey. The commercial areas were 34 the only ones who came under fire in terms of appearance. They 35 were termed "displeasing to neutral" by nearby neighbors. Over- 36 all in terms of performance, the City rated generally well. 37 6. City government and staff given highest rating compared to 38 other communities surveyed - considered to be most popular and 39 respected of any other of the Communities the firm has surveyed 40 the last few years. Forty percent knew a great deal or a fair 41 amount about what the ' Council and the Mayor were doing; which is 42 a very high number. The approval rating was 79% which topped 43 Decision Resource' s high and established a new norm for other 44 communities to meet. Also high were the 31% of the respondents 45 who had some interaction with the staff, which Mr. Morris in- 46 terpreted to mean that St. Anthony has a "very hands-on govern 47 • 16