SUWANEE - At the end of 2014, the City of Suwanee participated in its fourth National Citizen Survey, a survey managed by the National Research Center that gathers resident opinions across a range of community issues. As in previous years, Suwanee residents' ratings put the City of Suwanee at or near the top in a variety of areas as compared to other communities across the country.
In fact, residents rated Suwanee higher than other participating communities across the nation in eight categories. Across the 127 categories Suwanee residents were requested to rate, Suwanee scored in the top 10 in 27 percent of them.
"The National Citizen Survey remains an important tool for us to gauge citizen satisfaction," says Mayor Jimmy Burnette. "We always learn a little something about ourselves as a community through the survey, and it's good to know that the City of Suwanee continues to be headed in the right direction."
The City of Suwanee was ranked #1 compared to other benchmarked communities in the following areas:
- City-sponsored events
- job Suwanee government does welcoming citizen involvement
- overall built environment
- availability of affordable quality childcare
- overall confidence in local government
- generally acting in the best interest of the community
- being honest
- treating all residents fairly.
Included in the 26 other areas in which Suwanee was ranked among the top 10 nationally are the categories noted below.Also noted is the rank Suwanee achieved as well as the number of other participating communities who included that particular category among their survey questions:
- quality of overall natural environment (#5 of 234)
- overall direction Suwanee is taking (#2 of 277)
- preservation of natural areas (#4 of 219)
- economic development (#3 of 240)
- neighborliness (#3 of 81)
- services provided by the City (#7 of 377)
- overall appearance (#10 of 308)
- City parks (#2 of 275)
- vibrant downtown/commercial area (#5 of 79)
- positive impact of economy on household income (#2 of 216).
Suwanee was ranked lower than other benchmarked communities in a seven areas, including bus or transit service, use of public transportation, and citizen participation in volunteer opportunities.
Survey results from 2014 continue to indicate that Suwanee residents are highly satisfied with the community's overall quality of life, according to city officials:
- 96% rated Suwanee's quality of life as good or excellent
- 98% said Suwanee was a good or excellent place to live
- 97% found Suwanee a good or excellent place to raise kids
- 96% would recommend living in Suwanee.
When the City asked survey-takers who had moved to Suwanee after January 1, 2009 to score the most important factors in their relocation decision, they rated the following as essential or very important:
- police/public safety (92%)
- Suwanee's neighborhoods (90%)
- community appearance (88%)
- overall community feel/vibe (86%)
- Suwanee's park system (83%)
- school system (78%).
The 2014 National Citizen Survey was sent to 1,200 randomly selected City of Suwanee addresses in November. The response rate for surveys was 22%. The National Citizen Survey is endorsed by the International City/County Management Association and the National League of Cities.
