Ninety-six percent of Aliso Viejo residents rated the quality of life in the city as either "excellent" or "good" and 92 percent of residents said the city is doing a good job providing municipal services

The survey, conducted by True North Research, Inc. in August and September, is part of an ongoing effort to garner input from the community and measure the performance of city government.

“Aliso Viejo residents are among the most satisfied resident groups that True North has encountered,” said Dr. Tim McLarney, president of True North Research. “Aliso Viejo is among the top cities in terms of its performance in providing municipal services. The city basically got straight A’s … these are the kinds of results that all cities strive for.”

The survey included a random sample of 400 people and asked residents questions about quality of life, city services, priorities, community events, economic development, communication and parks.

When asked to suggest a change that city government could take to make Aliso Viejo a better place to live, more than one third (37%) said they desired “no changes” from the city or were unsure of a change that would make Aliso Viejo a better place to live. The most common suggestions were providing or improving parks and recreation facilities, reducing taxes and fees and limiting growth and development, etc.

Residents feel that public safety services are the most important the city provides and that the city is doing a good job at providing those services (97%).

Over the past two years, the city has seen its highest attendance rates at community events like Founder’s Day Fair, Snowfest and the Community Cup Golf Tournament. Survey participants familiar with these events rated them fairly high. On a scale of 0-10, Founder’s Day was ranked the highest with 7.40, followed by Snowfest at 7.26 and the Community Cup Golf Tournament at 6.96.

The city is doing a good job with communicating with residents, with 76% of residents saying they are satisfied with the city’s efforts to communicate through newsletters, the Internet, social media and other means. Over the past few years, the city has been proactive in using technology – website and social media – to reach residents as quickly as possible with essential news and information. The city sends a newsletter to residents and businesses each quarter; has an electronic newsletter that keeps folks apprised of news and information each week; and the city has an active presence on Facebook and Twitter. Adding to its communication efforts, last year the city launched an iApp.

Ultimately, the survey results provides the City Council and staff with information that can be used to make sound, strategic decisions in a variety of areas, including service provision, capital improvements, planning, policy making, budgeting and community outreach.

The survey is available at www.cityofalisoviejo.com and by clicking here.

Kelly Tokarski
KT Community Relations