26 - North Shore News — Wednesday, May 3, 2000 Most residents satisfied with NVD FOR the third time in a row, garbage, fire and library services have topped the polls in a survey conducted by North Vancouver District. This is the third community survey conducted by the dis- wict. A total of 915 residents were polled, cither by tele- phone or mail, about areas such as satisfaction with services; communication with the pub- lic; goals and __ priorities, approaches to funding; and value of services provided rela- tive to taxes paid. Residents were chosen at random and each area of the district (Capilano, Lynn Valley and Seymour) was represented equally. “We're pleased with the results of the survey,” said North Vancouver District Mayor Don Bell. “The results show where we're on track and, more importantly, also gives us a good indication of areas for improvement. It is an excellent gauge to check our progress ’ Satisfaction with ievel of ser- : vice is high. Some 88% of ndents were cither satis- fe or very satisfied with ser- “vice received from the disvict and 80% rated acceptable or better the value of district ser- vices relative to taxes paid. “-. When asked which priorities - the district should address, the. overwhelming response was This was top P issues (40%). ‘This was top priority: in each area of the ds distict and is of par- ticular concern to Seymour res- idents. Other: priorities. are planning,” environment — and. ~ Fecycling i issues. : Communication on district “ matters also ranked high on the “survey. The leading source for information on district issues is community newspapers (press releases, ads, District ‘: Dialogue), ‘brochures or other mail-ouss. * Information on how moncy is ‘spent: was the top request of followed. . by.. those who would like more information on district matters, followed by requests for com- munity information and district planning. Previous community. sur- veys were conducted in 1992 and 1996. Complete results of the 1999 District Community Survey can be found on the District Web Page (www.dnvworg), or copies can be viewed at district hall. Highlights trom the dis- trict’s 1999 community survey include: @ communications — 50% of respondents had contacted the district within the past [2 months. Much of the contact was on specific issues, depend- ing on time of year (utility bill, property taxes, “garbage collec- tion, and snow removal). The level of citizen-initiated com- munication is unchanged from the level found in the 1996 sur- vey; @ most popular method of communication with the dis- trict was telephone (73%), fol- lowed by in-person (56%); B leading source of informa- tion for respondents on district matters is community newspa- pers — press releases, articles, ads, District Dialogue (85%), followed by brochures, flyers or other mail 148%); @ 78% of respondents own a computer. Of those, 85% have access to Internet; 23% have accessed the district Web page (Infoweb}, 36% want more information/services online; @ information on how moncy is spent (22%) was the top request of those who would like more information on dis- trict matters, followed by ests for community infor- mation (17%); district planning (13%) and everything (13%); B® satisfaction with district ser- vices — 88% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the level of services pro- vided by the district; a 80% of respondents rated ble or better the value of ict services relative to taxes id drinking drivers have appeared i in North ° “ing and driving related . offences cee Warren Dale Chase, 45, ‘of North : Vancouver, . was fined * $600" and: on his driver's leaded gle duly level greater than .08. : Robert Bruce Chaski, 30, of Vancouver, was fined $25 and had his licence ee ded for 12 months for failing to comply with a breathalyser demand, Albert Edward Forshaw, 58, of Lions Bay, was fined $400 and had his driver’s licence suspended for three months after he pleaded guilty to having a blood alcohol ; level greater than..08.: IB the top five rated district ser- vices are garbage collection, fire services, library, recreation facilities and recycling; @ approaches to funding — when faced with increased costs to maintain services, respon- dents felt the preferred funding option was to increase user fees (40%), followed by increase user fees and taxes (30%); Bi when considering building new facilities, respondents felt the preferred funding option was public/private partnerships (36%), followed by pay as you go, funded through a self-sus- taining fund (31%); @ cop five district services respondents would support improvements to through tax increases are: police protection, environmental protection, parks, fire services, libraries. Police protection/crime prevention topped the list for the 1999, 1996 and 1992 sur- veys; @i district goals and priorities — 89% maintain /improve existing services; 88% environmental stewardship; 86% limit tax increases; 84% maintain com- munity with plans and bylaws; 83% improve — corporate accountability and involve resi- denrs in decision making. The sample size for mail and telephone respondents was 915. A sample size of 915 can services be expected to be accurate at least plus or minus 3.2 percent- age points 19 times out of 20. 2000 Suzuki [ety Dow Esteem Wagon &; New 1.8 l engine North Van Suzuki 3 | 983-2088 | FREE PHOTOS FRL MAY 5", 4-8PM; SAT. MAY 6", 12- 4PM; SUN. MAY7™, 12- 4M y Make Mother’s Day special with a FREE 5x7 photo for Mom. Get a picture of we the kids, mom and kids, grandma and kids—or all of you together. 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