Dublin’s reputation as a place to live, work and go to school recently received some significant recognition at the national level.

The city topped more than 300 communities as the best place to live in a national independent survey of residents conducted by the National Research Center. On the heels of that announcement, Dublin was named one of the top seven finalists for the Intelligent Community of the Year award by the Intelligent Community Forum.

“It is particularly gratifying to have such prestigious recognition from independent organizations for the work we are doing in Dublin,” says Dublin City Manager Terry Foegler. “These rankings affirm that our services to residents, our planning and our direction as a community are on track to advance Dublin as a place to live and to do business for many years to come.”

Dublin ranked first out of 306 communities in the survey when residents were asked to rate their community as a place to live in the National Citizen Survey. Dubliners rated their community higher than people from any other surveyed jurisdiction on overall appearance, overall image and reputation and services provided by the city.

The National Citizen Survey was performed in late 2009 by the National Research Center, Inc., in partnership with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). In Dublin, 1,200 surveys were sent to a random selection of households with 466 – about 40 percent – responding.

The city’s scores are significantly higher than the norm for such surveys, according to Tom Miller, president of the National Research Center, Inc. based in Boulder, Colo., the organization that conducted the survey.

“I have reviewed Dublin’s findings and found them uncommon in that the community is in the top five jurisdictions in our entire database in more than 50 key measures. Clearly something remarkable is happening in Dublin, demonstrated by empirical evidence that residents truly appreciate so many aspects of community quality,” Miller says.

Dublin rated consistently above the national benchmark in all 30 community characteristics and in all 36 government-provided services for which comparisons with other communities are available.

Dublin’s state government representatives agree the accolades the city received are well-deserved.

“Dublin has long had a reputation for being an excellent community in which to live and work, and the outstanding results of the recent National Citizen Survey are further proof that families and business owners continue to hold the city in high regard,” says Ohio Sen. Jim Hughes of the 16th District. “Although Dublin – like many other cities across Ohio – is facing certain challenges due to the economy, I am pleased to see city leaders working together to find solutions that are in the best interests of the entire Dublin community.”

Ohio Rep. John Patrick Carney of the 22nd District agrees.

“‬‪While it may come as a surprise to the National Citizen Survey that Dublin received such outstanding marks on their questionnaire, it really is not a shock to anyone who has spent any time in Central Ohio's own Emerald Isle,” he says. “Dublin's people, parks, schools and amenities make it an incredibly desirable place for people of all ages to live, work and play.”

Ohio Rep. Cheryl Grossman of the 23rd District says Dublin’s work-together attitude is exemplary.

“The residents of Dublin have much to be grateful for. They are fortunate to have a dedicated group of city leaders who have been innovative and proactive to guide Dublin to be in a strong position today and in the future,” she says. “The collaboration of all of the important partners through the city, schools, businesses and other organizations is reflective of what can be done when important goals are shared together.”

The city received the second-highest ranking nationally as a place to work and for its public school system.

“These rankings by our residents emphasize the value of our partnerships with the Dublin business community and the Dublin City Schools and reinforce the importance of our continuing collaborations with these groups,” Foegler says.

Intelligent Community Forum Founder Lou Zacharilla also commented on the relationship between the city and its business partners during a recent visit to Dublin.

“This is a true, open source community, where people from the government are talking with people from the private sector,” he says.

In addition to being ranked by residents as the best place to live, categories in which the City rated higher than any other community nationally included economic development, street repair, sidewalk maintenance, traffic light timing and the quality of new developments.

The Intelligent Community Forum also considers the opinion of residents regarding their community.

“(The communities) all have to be very, very focused on making sure when they (residents) get home and get in bed, they think ‘I’m glad I live here,’” Zacharilla says.

“Dublin conducts regular surveys of our residents to use the community’s standards as a measurement of our service delivery and of our City Council’s priorities,” Foegler says. “Such surveys also provide a benchmark of our performance over time and a comparison of Dublin’s performance with that of other communities nationwide.”

He adds the results of the National Citizen Survey mirror survey results from Dublin’s biennial community satisfaction survey, last performed in 2008. In that survey, 99 percent of residents rated Dublin as an excellent or good place to live. The results of the 2008 city survey also indicate almost all residents who interacted with City of Dublin employees rated their experience as excellent or good. The city performed that survey again in February with complete results expected in April. Results will be available at www.dublin.oh.us.  

Foegler says the city will use the results of both surveys to plan and make improvements and enhancements to support and continue its high-quality service delivery.

Communities taking the National Citizen Survey were able to select which questions would be included in the questionnaires sent to their residents. Not every community included every question in their surveys. As a result, the number of comparable jurisdictions varies by question. Complete National Citizen Survey results, including benchmarks with other communities, can be viewed at www.dublin.oh.us/ncs.  

BONUS:

Categories in which Dublin residents ranked their community higher than residents of any other community in the country:

- Dublin as a place to live
- Street repair and maintenance
- Sidewalk maintenance
- Traffic light timing
- Quality of new development
- Overall appearance of Dublin
- Code enforcement
- Economic development
- Courts
- Emergency preparedness
- Storm drainage
- Affordability of quality health care
- Availability of preventative health care
- Overall image or reputation of Dublin
- Services provided by the City of Dublin