Lake Mary, Fla., Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey, which collected responses from over 5,000 Americans spanning all states and backgrounds, CentralSquare found that two thirds of respondents identified infrastructure improvements as their top priority if they ran their city. Among the top-identified focus areas, three in five respondents called out the need for more timely repairs, while half expressed dissatisfaction with permitting services and road conditions. Additionally, one in three cited concerns over the quality of their town’s drinking water.
To address infrastructure issues, all respondents showed interest in using technology to solve these problems. In today’s hyper-connected world, technology has created a desire for engaging and immediate interactions in most aspects of daily life, and citizens are now demanding their local governments keep pace:
- 90% of respondents want a public-facing government portal
- 89% of respondents want high-tech city services
- 38% of respondents want faster turnaround for requested services
- 35% of respondents want easier and more modern ways to access and request services
Even more concerning is how these differing opinions can influence public officials, as 55% of respondents said they would fire a city leader for failing to upgrade their city software to a modern solution.
“The line between what people expect as consumers and as citizens is constantly getting blurred,” said Simon Angove, CEO of CentralSquare. “In a world where consumer interactions with businesses are becoming seamless and efficient, citizens are also expecting local government leaders to bring innovative and amazing experiences to public life.”
Take a more in-depth look at the CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey findings online here.
About the CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey
CentralSquare commissioned a blind survey of 5,035 U.S. citizens 18 and older distributed across all 50 states. The results of this study will be released as part of an ongoing series examining the state of American citizens. Responses covered all ethnicities, gender identities and income levels to provide an accurate sampling of the U.S. population. Findings have a margin of error of +/- 1%.
About CentralSquare
Formed by the merger of Superion, TriTech along with Zuercher, and the public sector and healthcare business of Aptean, CentralSquare is an industry leader in public safety and public administration software, serving over 7,650 organizations from the largest metropolitan city to counties and towns of every size across North America. Its technology platform provides solutions for public safety, including 911, computer-aided dispatch, records management, mobile, citations, evidence management, and corrections. For public administration agencies, CentralSquare provides software for finance, human capital management, payroll, utility billing, citizen engagement, asset management, regulatory compliance, and community development. For hospitals and clinicians, it provides patient information, compliance, and analytics software. CentralSquare’s broad, unified and agile software suite serves 3 in 4 citizens across North America. More information is available at CentralSquare.com