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Community Survey Results for July released

From July 11, 2022 through July 20, 2022 residents of Troy were encouraged to fill out an online survey which broadly gauged their thoughts and feelings about the Troy community.

Right Track or Wrong Direction

Individuals were asked whether they felt the nation, the state and the community were headed on the right track, the wrong direction or whether they were unsure.

Nation State Community

Right Track 12.7% 25.4% 44.4%

Wrong Direction 76.2% 54.0% 35.0%

Unsure 11.1% 20.6% 20.6%

 

A majority of participants believed that both the nation and the state are headed in the wrong direction. Locally, there is no consensus to whether the community is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction. However, respondents gave a plurality of responses saying the community was on the right track.

 

Comparing the data from May 2022 to July 2022, the percentage of individuals who felt the nation is headed on the right track fell sharply (4.49%). Respondents were more unsure about the direction of the state, as the percentage of those that were unsure grew by 5%. Locally, a larger percentage of participants felt that the community was headed in the right direction (5.38%) and more people were less unsure about the direction of the community (1.25%).

Hope for the Future

Participants were asked how hopeful they were that conditions would change in the community over the next year. Most residents felt that things would improve over the next year by nearly a two-to-one margin; 19% felt things would probably or certainly get worse. Nearly 33% of respondents felt Extremely or Somewhat Confident that conditions would get better, however, 38% felt that there would be no change.

Do you feel confident that your community would be better off one year from now?

Extremely Confident 12.70%

Somewhat Confident 30.16%

No Change in One Year 38.10%

Somewhat not confident, things will probably get worse 15.87%

Not Confident at all, things will get worse 3.17%

 

In reviewing data between May 2022 and July 2022, there was no growth in those who were extremely confident that conditions would get better. The percentage of those that were somewhat not confident and not confident shrunk by 6.35%.

Challenges and Attributes

Challenges

Respondents were asked to provide what they believed were the three greatest challenges facing the community. Over 170 written responses were recorded and put into the following general categories: City Administration, Barriers to Employment, Covid-19, Crime and Public Safety, Diversity, Education, Historic Preservation, Jobs and Workforce Development, Leadership, Macro-Economic Concerns (Gas Prices, Inflation), Mental and Physical Health, Political Divisions, Poverty, Streets/Sidewalks/Infrastructure, and Urban Sprawl and Development Concerns.

The categories were created based on the amount of responses given and the subject matter contained within the responses. Of all categories, there were three categories that were seen in at least 10% of all responses.

Leadership was reported in 18% (a decrease of 7% over the May 2022 survey) of all responses, making this category the largest reported challenge the community is facing. Some of the comments received included:

Lack of respect for citizens

Lack of communication

Lack of trust in leadership

Streets/Sidewalks/Infrasturcutre Concerns were mentioned in 14% of all responses. Urban Sprawl and Development and Barriers to Employment each were listed in 10% of all responses. No other category received more than 10% of responses.

Attributes

Respondents were also asked to provide what they believed were the three greatest attributes of the community. Over 160 written responses were recorded and put into the following general categories: Activities and Events, Citizens and Neighbors, Business Community, Community Appearance, Community Culture, Diversity, Downtown, Economic Opportunity, Historic and Iconic Buildings, Leadership, Natural Features and Location, Non-Profit Community, Public Amenities and Services, Safety, and Youth and Education.

Within these categories, two categories received responses from at least 10% of all participants.

Community Appearance was listed in 14% of responses as one of the community’s top three attributes. Such comments received included:

Appearance

Beautiful Downtown

Very pretty town

Downtown was present in 13% of all responses, Downtown was listed in 12% of all responses and Public Amenities was listed in 10% of all responses. No other category received was noted by more than 10% of respondents.

Community Awareness

All participants of the survey reported that they have some awareness of issues facing the community.

How aware are you of issues facing your community?

Extremely Aware 34.92%

Very Aware 33.33%

Somewhat Aware 26.98%

Not So Aware 4.76%

Not Aware at All 0.00%

Community Affinity

When asked, over 88% of all respondents indicated that they either loved or liked the community, a decrease of 5% over the last survey.

How do you feel about your community?

I love my community 55.56%

I like my community 28.57%

I have no emotional attachment to my community 7.94%

I do not like my community 6.35%

I loathe my community 1.59%

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Survey Participants and Margin of Error

The survey was completed by 64 individuals. At a 90% confidence level, the margin of error for the survey is 10%.