Citizen Satisfaction Sags with Georgia Economy.Citizen Survey of Georgia Communities Reveals High Impact Improvement Areas LANSING, Mich. -- The economy stifles local community satisfaction, but local officials can lift scores in other areas, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new study. The 2009 Georgia Baseline Study of the Cobalt Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CCSS CCSS Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (Costa Rican Social Security Institution) CCSS Center for Civil Society Studies CCSS Commodity Command Standard System CCSS Common Channel Signaling System ) posted a 62 on a 100-point scale. Citizen satisfaction with Georgia's local communities is significantly higher than the national score of 58. Community scores for all states studied lag below other sectors measured by the ACSI ACSI Association of Christian Schools International ACSI American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI Association Canadienne des Sciences de l'Information (French) ACSI American Communications Services, Inc. . The nonprofit survey program is emerging as a leader in measuring local government satisfaction and performance. It employs the scientific methodology of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a leading indicator of consumer behavior, measuring the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. The ACSI interviews approximately 80,000 Americans annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and (ACSI). "The national economy gets the headlines, but local economies are feeling it and it shows," said Xavier Quenaudon, vice president with CFI CFI abbr. cost, freight, and insurance Group and head of analysis for the study. "In many communities, rising unemployment, depreciating de·pre·ci·ate v. de·pre·ci·at·ed, de·pre·ci·at·ing, de·pre·ci·ates v.tr. 1. To lessen the price or value of. 2. To think or speak of as being of little worth; belittle. home values, and a shrinking tax base make it tough for communities to fully support important local initiatives. It's a real challenge for leadership." The Cobalt Citizen Satisfaction Survey measures 15 community characteristics and local government services. Georgia citizens are most satisfied with Library (79), Utility Services (79) and Fire Department (77). Areas that require the most improvement: Economic Health (53), Local Government Management (57), and Transportation Infrastructure (56). Under Local Government Management, citizens were dissatisfied with how they believe their tax dollars are being spent (48) and communication with the public (56). The lowest scoring component for Economic Health was quality of jobs (44). The lowest scoring component for Transportation was public transportation options (31). Overall satisfaction is a helpful performance measure for local leaders. "Building higher citizen satisfaction means stronger support for local leaders, greater commitment to and investment in the community, and a stronger position for growth," said William SaintAmour, executive director of the nonprofit Cobalt Community Research. "Tracking and acting on community satisfaction is vital to effective community leadership." The Georgia study reveals a clear relationship between citizens' satisfaction and support for the community. There is a practical link with remaining in the community, recommending it to others, volunteering, and encouraging business startups. The Cobalt Citizen Satisfaction Survey program helps individual communities optimize limited resources by measuring the effect each community component has on citizen satisfaction and quality of life. It delivers a high-quality, affordable benchmark that local governments can use annually to plug into budget and planning efforts. "Not all priorities are created equal, so it is important to identify where communities will get their biggest bang for the taxpayer buck," said Quenaudon. "Citizens are essentially telling us that community leadership is falling short in economic health, spending decisions, and communication. Improvement is easier said than done. Knowing where to put your resources is a start." "The Cobalt Citizen Satisfaction Survey provides local officials with credible, fact-driven feedback that supports quality decision-making," said SaintAmour. "Such citizen-based data support local governments' efforts to engage citizens in the strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. and budgeting process. It also promotes accountability citizens are calling for. While this study is a statewide benchmark, communities can improve only if individual communities participate." The free report is available for download at www.cobaltcommunityresearch.org/CCSS or at www.cfigroup.com. About Cobalt Community Research Cobalt Community Research (www.cobaltcommunityresearch.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. with a mission to provide research and educational tools that help local governments and other non-profit organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Cobalt is located in Lansing, MI. About CFI Group CFI Group (www.cfigroup.com) turns "voice of the customer" survey data into customer satisfaction improvement strategies. Inventors of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), CFI Group is able to apply this technology to identify product and service improvements that will maximize ROI (Return On Investment) The monetary benefits derived from having spent money on developing or revising a system. In the IT world, there are more ways to compute ROI than Carter has liver pills (and for those of you who never heard of that expression, it means a lot). . For over twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. , CFI Group has applied ACSI best practices worldwide to help clients drive customer loyalty, recommendations, and firm value. CFI Group's clients include the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, , Arrow Electronics, AT&T South, Best Buy, British Telecom, Barclay's Bank, DIRECTV, Home Shopping Network “HSN” redirects here. For other uses, see HSN (disambiguation). The Home Shopping Network (HSN) is a mostly 24-hour shopping network that is seen on cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the United States. , Toys 'R Us, UPS, NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , and Yahoo! |
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