Results of Beverly City Councilor Matt St. Hilaire's 2017 Citizen's Survey.

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Beverly Citizen's Survey - 2017
Sunday, May 07, 2017

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Date Created: Wednesday, April 19, 2017
276
Total Responses
Complete Responses: 276

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Key Findings
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Quality of Life
In general residents rate Beverly very high as a community in terms of quality of life. Below are
the categories that residents rated highest:
"Overall as a place to live" – 90.2% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good with 52.2% saying Very
Good.
"As a place to raise children" – 88.8% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good with 48.5 % saying Very
Good.
"Availability and diversity of dining options" – 86.7% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good with
45.4% saying Very Good
"Availability and diversity of recreational activities" – 77.0% rated Beverly as Good or Very Good
with 31.8% saying Very Good.
There are also some areas that residents didn’t rate as highly. Below are the categories that
residents rated lowest:
"Availability of affordable housing" – 43.0% rated Beverly as Average and 24.5 % rated Beverly as
Bad or Very Bad.
"Availability of job opportunities" – 47.4% rated Beverly as Average and another 7.8% rated Beverly
as Bad or Very Bad.

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Key Findings Continued…
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Most Important Issues
There are a number of issues that residents feel are important in Beverly. Below is a list of the
top 4 issues according to respondents:
"Funding our schools" – received the highest weighted score in terms of importance.
46.8% of residents rated this issue in their Top 3 and 24.8% rated this as the #1 issue
facing Beverly.
"Improving roads and sidewalks” was the second highest weighted score in terms of
importance. 33.8% of residents rated this issue in their Top 3 however only 8.8% rated
this as the #1 issue facing Beverly.
"Property taxes" – received the third highest weighted score in terms of importance.
35.2% of residents rated this issue in their Top 3 and 14.5% rated this as the #1 issue
facing Beverly.
“Overdevelopment" – received the fourth highest weighted score in terms of
importance however 42.5% of respondents rated this issue in their Top 3 and 20.6%
rated this as the #1 issue facing Beverly. “Funding our schools” was the only issue that
received more votes as the #1 issue in Beverly.

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Q1: Which neighborhood in Beverly do you live in?
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Q2: What is your age?
Answered: 270 Skipped: 6

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Q3: What is your gender?
Answered: 271 Skipped: 5

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Q4: Please rate Beverly as a community on each of the items below.
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Q5: Please rank the most important issues in Beverly?
Answered: 271 Skipped: 5

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Q6: Recently the Municipal Building Re-Use Committee evaluated several scenarios for the future use of the Briscoe Building and
also contemplated the future of Beverly's Police Station and City Hall. The Re-Use Committee recommended Scenario 1
below. Which scenario best describes what you would like to see happen?
Answered: 271 Skipped: 5

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Q7: Please check any of the following boxes that apply to your feelings
regarding development happening in Beverly.
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Q8: The City has begun a process to create a 40R Smart Growth Zoning District to allow a 61
unit Affordable Housing project at a site located on the corner of Sohier Road and Tozier
Road. Do you support this effort?
Answered: 271 Skipped: 5

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Q9: The Beverly School Department currently charges a $4,000 fee for full day kindergarten. Beverly is one of
65 districts (out of 335) in Massachusetts that does not offer free full day kindergarten and is one of only 33
districts (out of 335) with a fee over $3,500. How important is it for Beverly to offer free full day
kindergarten? (1 is not important and 10 is extremely important)
Answered: 269 Skipped: 7

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Q10: The City of Beverly has a practice of automatically building in a maximum 2.5% property tax increase
every year when forming the City Budget. Do you support this practice?
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Q11: How would you describe transparency in our local government since
the last election?
Answered: 273 Skipped: 3

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Q12: Would you say things in Beverly are generally headed in the Right
Direction or would you say things have gotten off on the Wrong Track?
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Q13: Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of your
elected officials in local government?
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2

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Sample of Open Ended Responses
Answered: 274 Skipped: 2
“The city does not seem to have a well thought out vision for downtown redevelopment,
particularly on Rantoul St., and is giving a private developer too much power in shaping that
vision.”
“Make police and fire a priority. They are our line of defense in today's society.”
“Way too much overbuilding. There's more traffic and it's changing the look and feel of the city
not for the better. Would love to see a restaurant finally on the water and new bathrooms/food
stand at Dane St. Lets make Beverly a place people want to come visit.”
“Need to strongly pursue free full day kindergarten, focus on redeveloping downtown, and pursue
pay as you throw trash with free weekly recycling. Should be a one barrel limit per week.”
“I'm bring priced out if my home town… Stop taxing to limit allowed by law.”
“Please focus on reducing the cost of kindergarten!”
“Way too much traffic between Danvers line and Cummings Center! Make it stop!!”
“I'm very concerned that Beverly's downtown is losing its historical character. I'd like to see more
balance and historic preservation, especially on Rantoul and Cabot Street.”