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Executive Summary <br />Is Eugene Headed In The Right Direction? <br />Respondents were asked if things in the community are generally going in the right direction, or <br />I generally heading in the wrong direction. Positive community perceptions about Eugene's <br />i ~ direction have remained largely stable for the past four years. Fifty-nine percent of respondents <br />feel Eugene is headed in the right direction, showing a slight upward trend over the last three <br />j years. However, there was also an increase since 2003 in respondents who felt that the city was <br />' going in the wrong direction (33% this year, up from the 23% reported in 2003). <br />Most Important Problem Facing Eugene <br />Economic development, homelessness and poverty, and government are the top problems <br />identified by respondents. Thirteen percent mentioned economic development, up from 9% in <br />2003. Eleven percent of respondents also mentioned homelessness and poverty, which was <br />unreported in 2003. Seven percent are concerned with unemployment, a drop from 12% last <br />year. <br />Like Most about Living in Eugene <br />Community atmosphere tops the list of what people like most about living in Eugene, <br />mentioned by 13% of respondents. Environment is second with 11%, followed by friendly <br />people (10%), diversity (8%), and climate/weather (8%). <br />Satisfaction with Services Provided by City of Eugene <br />Over three-quarters of respondents (79%) are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the <br />overall level of services provided by the City of Eugene in 2004, similar to numbers reported in <br />the last two years. <br />Community Outcomes: Importance and Performance <br />Respondents were asked to rate 17 community outcomes, for importance and how well the <br />community is doing at achieving the outcomes. All of the outcomes were rated on a five-point <br />scale. Ratings closer to five indicate higher levels of importance or performance evaluations <br />closer to excellent, with lower numbers indicating lower importance or performance ratings. <br />At the top of the list for importance is "providing good value for tax dollars spent" at 4.6 and <br />top-ranked for performance is "minimizing loss of life and property due to emergency" at 4.3. <br />Every outcome tested received higher or equal scores for importance than for performance <br />'' except "providing recreational opportunities," "supporting the arts," and "achieving compact <br />~. urban growth." The largest gap between importance and perceived performance occurred for <br />"developing job, opportunities" and "providing good value for tax dollars spent," and <br />"preventing crime." <br />~a <br />I Population Growth in Eugene <br />~ Respondents were asked if population growth and development during the past ten years has <br />---, OREGON SURVEY RESEARCH LABORATORY, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON <br />i <br />I '' CITY OF EUGENE, FEBRUARY 2005 Page 3 <br />