Poll: Residents pleased
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published Jan. 17, 2007

If traffic is your biggest problem, things must be pretty good, right?

A random-sample telephone poll of 317 Westlake registered voters identified traffic as the city’s biggest problem. The results of the poll, conducted in November by the Huron-based Impact Group, were released during a City Council committee meeting Jan. 10.

Tom Speaks of The Impact Group said the survey’s results show residents are largely satisfied with Westlake’s municipal services and political leadership.

“People are generally quite pleased,” Speaks said.

The poll gave Mayor Dennis Clough a 73 percent approval rating, with 42 percent saying he was doing a very good job and 31 percent a good job. Fifteen percent said average, while 4 percent said poor and 5 percent very poor.

City Council’s approval rating was 65 percent: Very good, 23 percent; Good, 42 percent; average, 18 percent; poor, 3 percent; very poor, 2 percent; didn’t know, 12 percent.

Eighty-five percent said the city was moving in the right direction, according to the poll, with 56 percent strongly agreeing it was.

In several questions, respondents were asked to rate a particular city service on a scale from one to five, with one being “excellent” and five representing “poor.”

The city’s safety forces received the highest level of praise from the responents. The Westlake Fire Department’s protection services were rated excellent or good by 91 percent of the poll respondents. The Police Department received excellent or good ratings from 89 percent.

Ninety-three percent rated the city as either very safe or safe.

Fifty-one percent gave the city’s snow removal services a top grade of excellent, with 30 percent more giving a ranking of two. Twelve percent gave a neutral rating while only 4 percent gave a negative rating.

Street maintenance services were given the top two ratings by 79 percent of those responding to the survey. Leaf pick-up service was rated excellent by 55 percent and good by 28 percent. Sixty-seven percent said rubbish collection, now outsourced to Allied Waste, was excellent and 23 percent said it was good.

The city’s recreation department received either of the top two marks from 81 percent of those polled.

Two departments saw a high number of people saying they didn’t know much about what those departments did.

While 31 percent said the city’s building inspections department was doing an excellent job and 23 percent a good job, another 31 percent responded that they didn’t know enough about what the department does.

Forty-three percent said they didn’t know enough about the city’s community services department, which handles many senior services and activities. But 52 percent gave the department positive marks — excellent or good — for its services.

Speaks suggested city officials do more to promote the activities of these departments.

“It’s just a matter of getting the word out,” he said.

Seventy-one percent said they were unaware the city has a radio station while only 29 percent were aware. In 2005, City Council approved appropriations for a low-power radio station to provide residents with emergency information. The radio station, which broadcasts community information 24 hours a day on 1680 on the AM dial, was chosen over a Reverse-911 phone system.

Mayor Dennis Clough suggested the city partner with a sponsor and distribute to residents free portable radios with the frequency of the Westlake station printed on it.

The schools and the quality of housing were the answers most often given by respondents when asked what the best thing about living in Westlake was.

Thirty-five percent cited traffic as the city’s biggest problem, followed by growth and development, cited by 14 percent.

Mayor Clough’s bimonthly newsletter received high praise from poll respondents, with 89 percent saying they read the mail-delivered publication. The newsletter was the method of communication preferred by most residents — 72 percent according to the poll. Other communications methods such as the city Web site, an e-mailed newsletter and a government cable access channel all received only single-digit support.

“People love the newsletter,” Speaks told council.

Clough’s opponents, along with a Feb. 19, 2006 article in The Plain Dealer, were critical of the mayor’s use of the newsletter during his reelection campaign, saying it was thinly disguised campaign literature.

Ninety-two percent said the city did a good job keeping residents informed about the community. Only 7 percent said it did not.

Cited by 71 percent of respondents, newspapers were the top resource used to get information about the community. Second was the mayor’s newsletter, cited by 42 percent. (Respondents were allowed to select more than one option.)

Speaks repeatedly expressed amazement at the high levels of approval the city received in the poll.

“Getting (approval) in the 80s and 90s is really outstanding,” he said.

“I can state confidently this is one of the better communities we’ve surveyed.”

Council President Michael Killeen said while he was pleased with the high approval ratings, he would like to know more about where the city can improve.

“George Bush would like these numbers,” Killeen said.