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New Albany survey: majority rate city highly, consultant warns mode change affects trend comparisons
Summary
Consultant Marty Stapperson presented the 2024 New Albany community survey showing strong overall satisfaction but cautioned that switching to a mixed telephone/online sample makes some year‑to‑year comparisons potentially methodological artifacts.
Consultant Marty Stapperson presented the results of New Albany’s 2024 community survey to the City Council on July 2, saying the study finds high resident satisfaction even as changes in data collection complicate trend comparisons.
Stapperson said the current study combined 154 telephone interviews and 146 self‑administered online questionnaires and widened the sampling frame from registered voters to all adult residents for whom contact information was available. “This research gives New Albany residents a voice,” he said during his presentation, and explained that online responses tend to be more critical than phone interviews, creating a measurable interviewer effect.
The survey found that roughly 6 in 10 residents rate New Albany an “excellent” place to live and that more than eight in 10 say the city is heading in the right direction. Stapperson highlighted strong approval for city services such as snow removal, leaf collection and neighborhood parks — many items register satisfaction in the 80–90 percent range. He also reported that roughly one in three residents attended a new series of city events (Juneteenth, Diwali, Miracle League family fun day and free concerts) and that nearly 7 in 10 of attendees said they had a “spectacular” experience.
Council members asked for the disaggregated phone and online cross‑tabs; Stapperson said staff would receive the detailed tables and that the combined file was weighted to reflect census demographics. He urged caution when interpreting small changes from prior surveys, noting the shift in methodology could be a new baseline rather than a substantive decline. “It is likely therefore that at least some of the findings in this study that differ from those in the earlier studies . . . are likely to be methodological artifacts,” he told the council.
Why this matters: city officials said the data will inform budget and planning priorities, including a notable increase in residents who list controlling growth as a top priority and growing interest in more dining options in Market Square and the Village Center. Councilmembers requested staff provide the full cross‑tabs and the separate phone/online results so the council can track consistent trend lines going forward.
The council did not take any formal action on the survey at the meeting; Stapperson said staff would receive the full dataset and cross‑tabs for distribution.
