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Independent survey: 94% of Dayton residents rate quality of life favorably; growth and taxes top concerns
Summary
A 400‑respondent, projectable telephone survey presented to council found 94% favorable ratings on quality of life, growth as the leading concern, strong valuation of public safety and parks, and rising property‑tax pressure; staff received the report and will include full comparisons in the written report.
Peter Leatherman of Morris Leatherman Company presented results of a 400‑sample telephone survey of Dayton residents, explaining methodology and headline findings and answering council questions.
Key findings presented: 94% of respondents rated Dayton’s quality of life favorably (about 35% rated it excellent); growth was the most commonly named serious issue; public safety, parks and schools were ranked as top contributors to quality of life; 44% of respondents had lived in Dayton less than 10 years, and the median respondent age was about 45. The consultant emphasized the sample was projectable to the community with a ±5 percentage‑point margin of error at 95% confidence and described efforts to match census demographics.
On priorities and tradeoffs, respondents showed strong support for maintaining public safety and parks, but concern about property‑tax increases has grown (a majority calling taxes “high” or “very high” compared with prior years). On city‑managed curbside collection, responses were statistically split and indicated no clear consensus for changing the current open‑market approach.
Why it matters: the survey gives council a data baseline on resident priorities (safety, small‑town character, parks) and flags tensions between desire for enhanced services and sensitivity to property taxes. Council asked for additional comparisons to prior survey years and for the full written report; the consultant said those comparisons will be included in the final packet.
Representative quote: "This 400 sample is always projectable to plus or minus 5 percent in 95 out of a 100 cases," the presenter said, noting telephone sampling reduces self‑selection bias compared with online or mail surveys.
Next steps: the consultant will provide the full report with comparative tables and the council will use the data to inform budgeting and priority settings.
