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Residents give county high marks

Hillsborough comes out ahead of other governments, such as Philadelphia's, in a poll.

By BILL VARIAN
Published December 15, 2005

TAMPA - Hillsborough County government, maligned in editorials and by other bay area elected officials, nevertheless got favorable marks from residents in a survey it commissioned.

An overwhelming majority of residents rated Hillsborough as a good place to live generally and said the government does an above-average job of serving its citizens. In fact, the company that conducted the $10,600 survey said Hillsborough on average came out ahead compared with other governments reviewed in similar surveys, such as Philadelphia and the county that includes Portland, Ore.

"The assessment is that residents of Hillsborough County like Hillsborough County very much," said Harry N. Handley, president of Bamberg-Handley Market Horizons in Winter Haven, which conducted the phone survey in late November. "Significantly more so than in other cities and counties nationwide."

It was not all roses for Hillsborough commissioners, who received the report during their annual retreat Wednesday. County government received some of their worst scores in its handling of transportation issues, from car travel to providing bike lanes.

Only a little more than half of the 403 survey participants gave the county favorable marks in traffic safety and street repairs. Meanwhile, fewer than half gave the county favorable marks in how it deals with growth and development, and in the availability of affordable housing.

Not coincidentally, those are some of the areas commissioners have targeted as their major areas of concentration.

"I thought it was very consistent actually with areas we have identified in our strategic plans as areas where we need to focus," said County Administrator Pat Bean. "We know that we're working very hard to become the best county government in the nation, but we've got work to do."

Overall, 78 percent of residents surveyed gave Hillsborough "above average" marks as a place to live, while 68 percent scored government service as above average, according to Bamberg-Handley. The numbers were slightly higher among residents who live in unincorporated areas and slightly lower for those who live within the city of Tampa.

The surveyors had a generous definition of what they labeled "above average."

People who responded to the survey were asked to rate the county and various government services on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being either "worst" or "poor" and 10 being the "very best" or "excellent." They were not told that five would be considered average.

So when the survey indicates that 73 percent rated Hillsborough as above average as a place to raise children, that means those respondents gave a score of six or better. For many of the questions, detailed results show the heaviest concentration of scores on many subject areas in the five to eight range.

Hillsborough Commission Chairman Jim Norman said the depiction of the results nevertheless reflects what he hears from residents when he regularly walks neighborhoods around the county.

"Everywhere I go, I get a real positive spin on county government," Norman said. "It (the survey) validates what I believe."

[Last modified December 15, 2005, 00:32:19]