Jay GreesonAs so many of us were getting ready for Halloween festivities, the City of Chattanooga released the results of its annual survey of citizens.
Before we start to dissect the numbers and the results, we feel this is an important caveat: Kudos to everyone involved in offering up a tangible and empirical gauge of public viewpoints.
This is the type of thing that makes us better and shows us the ways we can get better. That's a great thing, and much praise to city auditor Stan Sewell for compiling the results.
Kudos for trying to find ways to be better. Kudos for fighting through the painful realization that roughly 22 percent of the 10,000 surveys sent were returned. Kudos for understanding that true value can be found in the non-election feedback from government's customers.
That's right. You and me and the rest of the folks who are supposed to be served by our public servants. This is the feedback from them - or 22 percent of them - and is beyond the catchy slogans or who can raise the most money.
This is the state of the city, and the city deserves credit for trying to find what you think that state is.
That's the good news. The bad news? Well, just about everything else in the findings.
Well, unless you are a bicyclist, because, duh.
The numbers are overwhelmingly positive for the pedalers, way more so than the downtown peddlers.
To be fair, rich people are always going to have a better view of their station in life. Money does not buy happiness, but it dang sure can make a down payment on it.
And let's be really clear here, the bike lanes that have been built to appease a vocal minority of our citizens - those who would be more than happy to answer some survey questions, mind you - are a pimple on the face of the problems we are staring at when it comes to the next steps of our city.
(And hey, cyclists, I get your emails and yes, I do not live downtown, but if you believe a curb between you and the far right of traffic is downtown's biggest issue, well, reread that sentence).
The survey responses are clear:
* Respondents remain unchanged from last year at 44 percent that they get good or better value on the amount of taxes they pay.
* Roughly 85 percent of those surveyed say Chattanooga is a good or better place to raise kids. That's a great number... until you realize it's the lowest number in the five years that Sewell and Co. have done these surveys. In fact, 85 percent is 4 to 5 percent lower than last year.
* Half of the respondents rate the city as taking a good or very good direction. Half. That means half say we are not taking a good direction. Half. (And it's important to note that these numbers are roughly 5 percent down - or an almost 10 percent decrease - from last year's results.)
And maybe that last one presents the question that we need to ask and that needs an answer, both for Mayor Andy Berke, who has been on the job for a small number of unproductive years, and also for those behind the scenes in years who have made Chattanooga the city turnaround story we want to believe.
If we are split on those responding to the question that we are headed in a good direction, well, what do you say to the other half?
What do you say to the growing numbers of folks who do not feel safe at night in their own communities?
What do you say to the growing numbers of taxpayer funds spent on city-funded recreation programs, even though 85 percent of those who responded say they did not participate in a single one in the last year?
Yes, the minority who did participate in the city-funded recreation programs were overflowing with praise, but again, we are discussing the vocal minority clamoring for trendy, buzz-worthy programs when our streets are considered awful (only 1 in 4 say they consider city streets smooth), relatively dirty (cleanliness rated as fair or mediocre) and unsafe after dark.
I am thankful for the results of this survey.
I am even more eager to see what the city's leadership does with the results.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6343.