Published October 22 2015
Ninety-two percent of residents say the quality of services provided by the city of Bellevue exceed expectations, according to a resident survey. By comparison, an average of 72 percent of residents nationally rate their city services so highly, while the Puget Sound average is 68 percent.
Ninety-eight percent of residents said the quality of life here exceeds their expectations, also according to the 2015 Bellevue Performance Survey report, released on June 30.
"Staff consistently performs at a high level," City Manager Brad Miyake said Wednesday. "It's great to see that translate into quality services that residents recognize and appreciate."
The city conducts a performance survey annually to gauge residents' satisfaction with services. The 2015 survey, performed by Northwest Research Group for the city between Jan. 30 and Feb. 28, offers statistically valid results for all 134,000 residents, with a representative sample of 516 people interviewed.
In addition to the survey report, the city publishes an Annual Performance Report, which contains a snapshot of each department's key metrics, comparing their performances against targets and also to three previous years of performance. According to the 2014 performance report, "Moving in the Right Direction," Bellevue departments met, exceeded or came within 5 percent of the target on 112 of their 134 measures.
The city performed well on key measures in 2014, including:
- Patrol response time: 3.08 minutes (target: 3.30 minutes);
- Fires confined to room of origin: 91 percent (target: 85 percent);
- Cardiac arrest survival: 58 percent (target 50 percent); and
- Residential street pavement: 87 out of 100 (target: 72).
"Bellevue is an amazing city with an extremely bright future," Miyake noted. "With a new comprehensive plan complementing a council vision adopted in 2014, we have a road map for continued success, and the means to measure our progress. We are on a continuing path toward high performance, and use data to inform our decision-making at all levels of government, from work groups to the City Council."
Accompanying the performance report is a four-page report focusing on Bellevue's "Vital Signs," the data for 16 key operational and survey measures that, when looked at together, provide a snapshot of the city's overall health.
Residents can also see dashboards with real-time performance data.
The city has emphasized performance management for years, and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has given Bellevue its highest award for performance analytics every year since 2002.
The city of Bellevue is committed to excellence, with a mission to "provide exceptional customer service, uphold the public interest and advance the community vision."