Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/22/2020

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Conclusions Resident satisfaction with City services and government performance is on the upswing. When presented with a series of questions about leadership and governance in Ramsey, about 8 in 10 residents gave favorable marks to the customer service provided by the City, and roughly half were pleased with items related to local government performance, including the value of services for taxes paid, the overall direction of the City and the job Ramsey government does at welcoming citizen involvement. These ratings were all similar to the national benchmark. Most notably, ratings for welcoming citizen involvement, overall confidence in City government, government acting in the best interest of Ramsey and being honest improved since 2016, demonstrating a positive increase in public trust. Further, ratings for select City services, such as traffic signal timing, land use, planning and zoning, and code enforcement also increased since the last survey iteration, and no services declined in ratings during that time. Economy continues wu u ti uruurutg for resitieri• As in 2016, residents indicated that the facet of Economy would be an important focus area for the City to address in the next two years. About half of residents gave favorable marks to the overall economic health of Ramsey, cost of living, the city as a place to work and economic development and these ratings were all similar to those given elsewhere. Further, resident sentiment toward employment opportunities and economic development improved since 2016, and more residents in 2018 believed that the economy would have a positive impact on their income in the next six months. Also, about 8 in 10 residents were quite interested in receiving information from the City about local business (e.g., new/expanded businesses, grand openings, etc.). However, ratings for vibrant downtown area, overall quality of business and service establishments, shopping opportunities and Ramsey as a place to visit were lower than those seen in other communities across the country. While these ratings might be indicative of community support for greater economic development, it is important to note that balancing rural character and urban growth was identified as a key priority for the City in the upcoming five years. Residents support improvements to Mobility About 6 in 10 residents or more gave positive ratings to most aspects of Mobility, including overall ease of travel, ease of travel by car, availability of paths and walking trails and traffic enforcement; these ratings were all similar to those given in other communities across the nation. Road maintenance was important to residents with nearly 85% of respondents reporting they were interested in receiving information from the City about road work; the only type of information of greater interest related to community events. When asked about street maintenance funding, about 8 in 10 residents supported the current method of funding for City street maintenance, which requires 25% of funding by special assessments of benefitting properties. Finally, connectivity is a priority for Ramsey residents. Seven in 10 residents thought that creating a connected community (roads, trails, sidewalks, rail, and transportation) was essential or very important to the future of the community. Further, when asked to consider a number of community enhancements (with a potential for a tax increase), a strong majority of residents supported the City making improvements to existing trails as well as building new trails. 16