Beverly Citizen's Survey 2015 Summary

Introduction
I conducted the Beverly Citizen's Survey in an effort to obtain feedback from
residents regarding the issues facing Beverly and to gain insight into your opinions
about what the city is doing well and what areas we need to work on. I'm very
happy to report that more than 200 citizens from across Beverly participated in the
survey.
While this survey is not a scientific poll, I believe the views represented in the
survey are reflective of the mood and feelings of the residents of Beverly as a
whole.
Findings related to Quality of Life
In general residents rate Beverly very high as a community in terms of quality of
life. Below are the categories that residents rated highest:
"Overall as a place to live" 91.4% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good with
50% saying Very Good.
"As a place to raise children" 87.4% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good
with 42.6 % saying Very Good.
"Availability and diversity of dining options" 77.6% rated Beverly as Good or
Very Good with 35.5% saying Very Good
"Availability and diversity of recreational activities" 73.4% rated Beverly as
Good or Very Good with 30.4% saying Very Good.
There are also some areas that residents didnt rate as highly. Below are the
categories that residents rated lowest:
"Availability of job opportunities" 50.2% rated Beverly as Average and
roughly as many residents rated Beverly as Bad (7.5%) than those who rated
Beverly Very Good (8.0%)
"Availability of affordable housing" 46.0% rated Beverly as Average and
12.9 % rated Beverly as Bad.
Findings related to Most Important Issue

There are a number of issues that residents feel are important in Beverly. Below is a
list of the top 4 issues according to respondents:
"Funding our schools" received the highest weighted score in terms of
importance. 43% of residents rated this issue in their Top 3 and 19.2% rated
this as the #1 issue facing Beverly.
"Property taxes" received the second highest weighted score in terms of
importance. 38% of residents rated this issue in their Top 3 and 23.1% rated
this as the #1 issue facing Beverly.
"Economic development downtown" received the third highest weighted
score in terms of importance. 36% of respondents rated this issue in their
Top 3 and 7.5% rated this as the #1 issue facing Beverly.
While these issues clearly emerged as the top issues among respondents below are
several 2nd tier issues that rate highly among significant segments of residents:
"Improving roads and infrastructure" 51% rated this issue among their Top 5
Budget and Fiscal Responsibility" 48%+ rated this issue among their Top 5
"Waterfront Development" - 48%+ rated this issue among their Top 5
"Crime/Public Safety"

46%+ rated this issue among their Top 5

Findings related to the Middle School Project

An overwhelming 67% of residents support the city's proposed plan to build a new
middle school at the site of the Memorial Building. 36.9% of respondents indicated
that they "Strongly Support" the plan. 26% of respondents are opposed with 11.8%
indicating that they "Strongly Oppose" this plan. 6.6% of respondents are "Not
Sure".
Findings related to transparency in our local government
It seems that progress has been made in terms of improving transparency in our
local government. 55.2% of residents indicated that transparency has improved
since the last election with 24.6% saying that it has "Significantly improved". Only
6.1% of respondents indicated that transparency "Has gotten worse" and 21.3%
indicated that it "Has not improved". 17.0% of respondents were "Not sure".
While these results indicate that some progress has been made, there is definitely
more work to be done in this area.

Findings related to Right Direction/Wrong Track and local official Job

Approval
60.1% of residents feel that Beverly is headed in the "Right Direction" and only
21.3% indicate that they feel that Beverly is going down the "Wrong Track". 18.5%
of respondents are "Not sure".
Additionally, 71% of residents "Approve" of the job performance of their local
elected officials. 21% "Disapprove" and 7.5% are "Not sure".
Combined, these results are a good indication that residents feel that Beverly is
going down the right path and that they believe their local officials are performing
well. There are clearly a lot of big issues facing the city and a number of issues that
we need to continue to work on but overall it seems that residents feel that Beverly
is a great place to live and that our future is bright.
Sample of the Verbatim Responses
I don't think there is a single better use of City dollars than funding schools and libraries.
We shouldn't be in a position of raising taxes every year. Property taxes keep going up and up, it needs to
stop.
This middle school is crucial to the continued success of the Beverly Public schools
I oppose this mostly because I do not have children, so I see no benefit for the project. If this is going to
cost the city 61 million dollars, how much of that will go to the tax payers? I cannot afford my taxes as it
is, adding this additional burden is not something I agree with.
I hope that the existing Briscoe School is repurposed. It is historically significant.
Fifth graders should remain in the elementary school setting.
Education should always be the top priority within our community and society as a whole. The children
are our future.
Please save the city we used to know!! Too much construction. More residences and commercial
properties increase traffic. This city is becoming too populated. Certain areas are too conjested. Its gotta
stop!!
I would love to know exactly where my property tax dollars are going. Roads continue to be a mess
(although some have improved), my taxes go up every year to the point where I am being taxed out of my
home, yet I don't see much benefit.