MISSOULA — Residents in Missoula are generally pleased with the city's abundance of parks, trails, and open space, along with local educational and cultural programs.
But when it comes to the local economy, housing and community design, Missoula's favorability rating begins to fall.
The survey, which received 350 total responses by mail, was conducted between October and December. The open-participation survey netted more than 1,230 responses.
Mayor Andrea Davis said the survey will establish a baseline by which the city can measure its progress across a range of issues including safety, utilities, taxes, mobility, the economy and community design, among others.
“While it's not the sole factor in budget decisions, it certainly helps guide our approach,” Davis said. “As we approach the budget seasons, this will be an opportunity for us to dig a little deeper into the sentiments of our constituents.”
Brandon Barnett with Polco said the survey focused on the coming two years and had residents rate a number of issues on importance.
Of the 123 survey items scored with a value of ratings, 14 had ratings higher than the national benchmark, 61 received average ratings and 48 received lower ratings. Parks and recreation received the highest overall score.
“Missoula's parks and recreation opportunities are highly valued by Missoula residents with ratings higher than the national benchmark,” said Barnett. “Around eight in 10 residents expressed satisfaction with the quality of parks and recreational opportunities, and the availability of paths and walking trails.”
Economy lags and no more taxes
But while parks, the natural environment, and arts and culture all scored above 80% in terms of quality, the city's economy lagged with less than 26% rating it as good. At the same time, the economy scored as the top issue in terms of importance at 86%.
“Ratings related to the economy show some areas of opportunity,” said Barnett. “Around four in 10 residents gave Missoula positive ratings as a place to work, and roughly one-third provided similar ratings to economic development.”
Less than 27% of respondents rated the city's employment opportunities as good, and 26% also rated the city's overall economic health as good. Just 5% said the cost of living in Missoula was acceptable.
“The cost of living here is a major source of concern for our community. That isn't news to any of us,” said Davis. “The last 18 months there's been a lot of discussion about the displeasure of the economy nationally. While it's doing well on so many metrics, the question is, who is it doing well for?”
The survey also enabled the city to pique local opinions around tax reform. While it's an issue the city can't act upon without legislative allowance, the results found some support for various shades of tax reform.
Among them, when asked if cities should be allowed to create a tourist tax with voter approval in exchange for property tax relief, 41% of respondents voted with strong support, 30% for general support, 9% in opposition and 7% in strong opposition.
When asked if tax rates should be increased on homes valued at more than $2.5 million, 68% voted in strong support while 4% voted in strong opposition. Housing affordability served as a common theme throughout the survey.
“It's exactly why you just adopted the new Land Use Plan. It's exactly why we're underway with the unified development code. We're focused on building more missing middle in housing. We know that's a major need for our residents,” said Davis.
The survey also asked if residents would support a tax increase or tax reduction to fund programs currently funded by grants. If those grants were to end, most residents backed a tax reduction.
Of the seven categories, residents only supported a tax increase in two of them if outside funding was lost, including investments into the Afford Housing Trust Fund and maintaining access to indoor recreation.
If grant funding were lost, the majority of residents supported a tax reduction in homeless shelters, climate and sustainability programs, support for community organizations, building new sidewalks, and building new transportation infrastructure.
“Hearing directly from our constituents is very valuable. It helps us understand their perspectives and shape our community's future,” said Davis. “This feedback provides a crucial baseline, allowing us to gauge public perception of various aspects of our community, and compare our progress to other similar communities.”
