STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE · Most respondents rated recycling (53%), trash service (50%), and water and sewer service (52%) as excellent or good. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of respondents

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE

MAYOR

2011 Baltimore Citizen Survey

www.baltimorecity.gov/citizensurvey

Conducted by:The Schaefer Center for Public Policy

University of Baltimore

Schaefer Center for Public Policy

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Better Schools

When asked how they would rate the quality of public education in Baltimore, over a quarter of respondents (28%) rated public K through 12 education as Good or Excellent.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of respondents said that Baltimore City Public Schools had either greatly or somewhat improved in the last three years. This opinion ties in well with an increase in the percentage of twelfth graders graduating from high school in Baltimore, up from 63% in 2008 and 2009 to 66% in 2010.

10%

10%

Rating of K-12 Education Services (2009-2011)

Change in Baltimore City Public Schools in the last three years

How would you rate the quality of Baltimore public K-12 education services?

In the past three years, do you think Baltimore City Schools have improved or declined?

Excellent

Greatly improved

Good

Somewhat improved

311 (non-emergency) service

Fair

Stayed about the same

Poor

Somewhat declined

Greatly declined

No experience

Don’t know

20%

20%

30%

30%

40%

40%

50%

50%

60%

60%

70%

70%

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80%

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100%

2011

2010

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2011 Baltimore Citizen Survey | 1 | www.baltimorecity.gov/citizensurvey

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Safer Streets

Fire Protection was the most highly rated safety-related service, with 65% rating it as excellent or good.

While the statistics for violent crime in Baltimore have shown a decrease since 2007, respondents’ perceptions about crime seem to have remained unchanged in the last three citizen surveys, with over half (61%) indicating that they believed violent crime was getting worse or much worse.

10%

Rating of Safety Related Services 2011

How would you rate the quality of the following safety-related services?

Fire Protection


EMS / Ambulance service

Street Lighting

Police Protection

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Excellent No experienceGood Fair Poor

2007

16.31

15.89

15.13

14.56

Violent Crime Rate - Baltimore City*

UC

S p

art

1 cr

ime

per

1,0

00 re

sid

ents

*Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

2008 2009 201020%

Do you think violent crime inBaltimore is getting better or worse?

Getting much worse

Getting worseAbout the same

Getting better

Vio

lent

cri

me

40% 60% 80% 100%


PRIORITY OUTCOME: Stronger Neighborhoods

Snow removal was perceived to be more positive than street and sidewalk maintenance, with 37% of repondents rating snow removal as excellent or good and 29% rating street and sidewalk maintenance as excellent or good.

A third of respondents (33%) thought that the availability of recreational opportunities in Baltimore was either good or excellent, which is fairly consistent over the last three years.

Rating of Neighborhood-Related Services (2011)

10%

How would you rate the quality of the following neighborhood-related services?

Snow Removal

Street & Sidewalk Maintenance

Housing Code Enforcement

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


10%

Availability of Recreational Opportunities in Baltimore (2009-2011)How would you rate the the availability of recreational opportunities in Baltimore?

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

No experience

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011

2010

2009


10%

How problematic is finding parking in commercial areas?

A very serious problem

A serious problem

A moderate problem

Not a problem

Don’t know

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011

2010

2009

PRIORITY OUTCOME: A Growing Economy

Respondents perceived the availability of good jobs as increasing over last year, with 18% indicating that the availability was excellent or good. The percentage who thought that the availability of good jobs was poor fell from 42% in 2010 to 38% in 2011.

Over half of respondents (53%) indicated that the availability of cultural activities in Baltimore was excellent or good, an increase from previous years.

The percentage of respondents indicating that finding parking in commercial areas was a serious or very serious problem showed a sharp decline, falling from 51% in 2010 to 39% in 2011.

10%

Availability of Good Jobs in Baltimore (2009-2011)How would you rate the the availability of good jobs in Baltimore?

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

No experience

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011

2010

2009

20%

How would you rate the availability of cultural activities in Baltimore?

Excellent Good FairPoor Don’t know

Cul

tura

l Act

ivit

ies

40% 60% 80% 100%


PRIORITY OUTCOME: Innovative Government

Overall, respondents were satisfied with the services that the City of Baltimore provides, with 48% indicating that they were either very satisfied or satisfied. This is an increase from 43% in 2010, but a decrease from 63% in 2009.

Fire protection and EMS/ambulance services were the most highly rated services that Baltimore City provides, with average ratings of 7.9 and 7.6, respectively (out of 10 possible points).

10%

Overall Satisfaction with Baltimore City Services (2009-2011)

Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Neither Satified nor Unsatisfied

Unsatisfied

Very Unsatisfied

Don’t Know

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011

Mean Importance Rating

2010

2009

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Baltimore City Services Mean Importance and Rating (2011)

Fire protection

EMS/Ambulance service

Police protection

Trash removal

Water & sewer services

Street lighting

Libraries

Sreet & sidewalk maintenance

Snow removal

Rat removal

K-12 education


Curbside recycling

City parks

Housing code enforcement

Tree planting/maintenance

City -run pools


PRIORITY OUTCOME: A Cleaner & Healthier City

Most respondents rated recycling (53%), trash service (50%), and water and sewer service (52%) as excellent or good. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of respondents indicated that they thought the cleanliness of the City was either excellent or good. Over half (61%) rated their own neighborhoods’ cleanliness as either excellent or good.

10%

10%

Cleanliness of City (2009-2011)

Cleanliness of Respondent’s Neighborhood (2009-2011)

Rating of Services Related to a Clean and Sustainable Baltimore

Excellent

Excellent

Good

Good

Fair

Fair

Poor

Poor

Don’t Know

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50%

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2011

2011

2010

2010

2009

2009

10%

Curbside recycling

Trash service

Water & sewer service

Rat control

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%



PurposeThe Baltimore City Citizen Survey serves as an annual report card for City government. Baltimore City implemented the survey in 2009 to provide residents the opportunity to rate the quality of life in the city and their satisfaction with City government. Mayor Rawlings-Blake, her administration, City Council members and City agencies use survey data to better understand what residents perceive as the top issues facing the city. This enables the city to better align its priorities and resource allocation with citizen needs. This annual survey provides important time-trend data to understand changes in residents’ attitudes, behaviors and quality of life indicators.

MethodsThe Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore, in conjunction with the Baltimore City government, conducted a telephone survey of 1,786 Baltimore City residents who were at least 18 years of age. Data were collected via Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI) between April 1, 2011 and June 8, 2011. For the purpose of geographic comparison, respondents were classified according to zip code as residents in one of the nine Baltimore City planning districts. The responses were then weighted at the city level to more closely reflect the distribution of age, gender, race and residence. The margin of error for the responses is 2.3% at the 95% confidence level for analysis at the city level.

About the2011 Baltimore Citizen Survey

www.baltimorecity.gov/citizensurvey

Photo credits: Mark Dennis

Schaefer Center for Public Policy

Documents

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE · Most respondents rated recycling (53%), trash service (50%), and water and sewer service (52%) as excellent or good. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of respondents