Annual Citizen Survey Gives City High Overall Ratings Home Recycling Program Tops with the Public
94 Percent Satisfied with Services Overall

SAN DIEGO - The Mayor and City Council today honored five City of San Diego programs rated highest by San Diego citizens in an annual telephone survey (PDF: 47K).

"According to the 2003 Resident Satisfaction Survey, 94 percent of San Diego residents are pleased with the City's services overall," said City Manager P. Lamont Ewell. "Although we have had fiscal challenges in recent years, our employees have risen to the challenge by making our residents their number one priority. I remain proud of the dedicated women and men in our workforce."

The latest annual survey also showed that 79 percent of City residents rated San Diego's quality of life as good or excellent.

The highest-rated City service was a perennial favorite with citizens: City-provided home recycling service (97 percent satisfaction rating). Other services receiving a rating of 90 percent or higher included residential trash collection (96 percent), library services (94 percent), fire emergency response (93 percent), and the City's web site (92 percent).

The awards program is sponsored by Union Bank of California. Joseph Benoit, Market President, attended the ceremony. "I applaud the City for conducting this annual survey and for creating this very public way of recognizing that San Diego citizens are well aware of the quality of the services you provide in America's Finest City," Mr. Benoit said. "We are proud to again sponsor these awards."

The top-rated services are commemorated on a perpetual award on display in the lobby of the City Administration Building. The award depicts the City's neighborhoods against a backdrop of downtown San Diego on the bay.

The Behavior Research Center conducted the survey in October 2003. It involved 600 in-depth telephone surveys to obtain statistically significant results from a demographic mix comparable to the City's actual population. The survey has been conducted for 9 years and the results can be found online at www.sandiego.gov in "News and Announcements."

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