Queen Annes County Economic Development Commission Survey Report (PDF)_201412300934062288

Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey Findings Conducted by: BEACON of the Franklin P Perdue School of Business At Salisbury University August 2013 Table of Contents Introduction Participant Demographics Importance of Issues to Queen Anne’s County 10 Recruiting, Retention, and Expansion Support 11 Business and Economic Issues 15 Workforce Issues 19 Infrastructure Issues 22 Government Planning and Management Issues 25 Social/Cultural Issues 28 Healthcare Issues 31 Environmental and Energy Issues 34 Education Issues 37 Growth and Change in the County 40 Queen Anne’s County’s Economy 43 Strengths and Challenges Analysis 47 Recommendations for Facing the Challenges 48 Vision for Queen Anne’s County 49 Appendix A-Survey 50 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey Introduction This survey, conducted by the Business, Economic, and Community Outreach Network at the Franklin P Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University, was commissioned by the Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission (EDC) The intent of the survey was gather input from the local community on issues related to the strategic planning of the County and to identify economic development priority in the County The survey was distributed to a sample of participants from the various industries in the County Furthermore, the survey was made available on the EDC’s website and publicized through local advertising media A total of 456 respondents completed the survey Of these, 21 participants were not residence of the county and were therefore excluded from the analysis of the results contained in this report The following results and findings give an overview of the responses to each question in the survey, as well as, a more detailed breakdown of responses by participant classifications Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey Participant Demographics Participants were nearly equally split between male (51.3%) and female (48.7%) Approximately 89% of respondents were white, Black or African American respondent comprised 2.1% of respondents, and all other ethnicities individually (American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, some other race) comprised less than 2.0% of respondents Furthermore, 8.4% of respondents did not wish to indicate their ethnicity Due to the low number of responses form non-white participants, responses to the survey questions were not able to be broken down by ethnicity The majority of respondents were over the age of 35 with 17.3% of respondents between the ages of 35 and 44, 26.6% of respondents between the ages of 45 and 54, 24%.2 of respondents between the ages of 55 and 64, and 24.0% of respondents 65 years and older Only 7.9% of respondents were below the age of 35 with the majority of those respondents between the ages of 25 and 34 (7.2%) The breakdown of respondents by education, identified by the highest level of school completed, is provided in the Chart below A total of 434 participants responded to this question Chart Respondents by Education (Highest Level of School Completed) 1, 0% 0, 0% 22, 5% Grade school or less (Grade 1-8) 9, 2% Some high school (Grade 9-11) 29, 7% 56, 13% 59, 13% 26, 6% 90, 21% High school diploma or equivalent (e.g., GED) Vocational/Technical/Trade School 142, 33% Some college but no degree Associate degree Bachelor degree Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey The breakdown of respondents by length of residence is provided in Chart A total of 447 participants responded to this question Chart Respondents by Length of Residence in Queen Anne’s County Less than years 40, 9% 51, 11% 5-9 years 36, 8% 64, 14% 10-19 years 44, 10% 20-29 years 76, 17% 136, 31% 30-39 years More than 40 years All my life (please indicate number of years) Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey The breakdown of respondents by household income is provided in Chart A total of 402 participants responded to this question Chart Respondent by Household Income 12, 3% 83, 21% 32, 8% 91, 23% $0-$24,999 $25,000-$49,999 $50,000-$74,999 94, 23% $75,000-$99,999 90, 22% $100,000-$149,999 $150,000 and up Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey The breakdown of respondents by sector of employment is provided in Chart A total of 413 participants responded to this question Chart Respondent by Sector Employment 10, 2% 44, 11% 35, 8% 148, 36% Public sector Private sector Non-profit 176, 43% I don't know Other The breakdown of respondents by industry of employment is provided in Chart All participants responded to this question Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey Chart Respondent Industry of Employment Arts, entertainment, or recreation 2% Agriculture, fishing, Transportation and Warehousing 1% Telecommunications 1% Software Scientific and 1% Technical Services Retail 4% 2% Religious 0% forestry, or hunting 6% Unemployed 0% Wholesale 1% Utilities 1% Broadcasting 0% Education - College, University, or Adult 2% Other 14% Education - Primary/Secondary (K12) 16% Education Other 2% Real Estate, Rental, or Leasing 6% Construction 6% Non-profits 6% Finance and Insurance 6% Manufacturing 4% Publishing 1% Government and Public Adiministration 8% Mining 0% Military 1% Legal Services 2% Hotel and Food Health Care and Social Services Processing Assistance 2% 0% 4% Information - Other Information - Services and Data Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 0% 2% Which of the following categories best describes your primary area of employment? Answer Options Homemaker Retired Student Unemployed Agriculture, fishing, forestry, or hunting Arts, entertainment, or recreation Broadcasting Education - College, University, or Adult Education - Primary/Secondary (K-12) Education - Other Construction Finance and Insurance Government and Public Administration Health Care and Social Assistance Hotel and Food Services Information - Services and Data Information - Other Processing Legal Services Manufacturing Military Mining Non-profits Publishing Real Estate, Rental, or Leasing Religious Retail Scientific and Technical Services Software Telecommunications Transportation and Warehousing Utilities Wholesale Other (please specify) Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey Response Percent 1.8% 19.2% 0.5% 0.0% 5.3% 1.5% 0.3% 2.0% 14.6% 2.3% 5.6% 5.6% 7.1% 3.3% 1.8% 1.8% 0.0% 0.3% 2.0% 3.3% 0.5% 0.0% 5.6% 0.8% 5.3% 0.0% 2.0% 3.5% 0.5% 0.8% 0.8% 1.0% 1.3% Response Count 76 21 58 22 22 28 13 7 13 22 21 14 3 52 Importance of Issues to Queen Anne’s County Participants identified the level of importance for a number of key issues within the County A summary of the overall responses to each question is provided, as well as, a breakdown of participant categories that differed from the overall response set A participant category (by occupation, gender, age, education, length of residence in the County, income level, and sector of employment) is determined to differ from the overall response set if the majority of the given category of participants selected a response that was two options away from (on the Likert scale from Very Important to Not Important) the overall response Following the graphical display of the results for each question the weighted scores for each issue are provided in a table format The issues are sorted in order of the issue scored as most important to respondents to those rated as least important To calculate the weighted score of each issue, each response option was given a weight with “very important” or “excellent” a higher score (either a 4, 5, or depending on the total number of response options) More negative response options were scored lower and “no opinion” was given a weight of zero Thus, the issue with higher weighted scores indicated that a higher percentage of respondents indicated that the issue is very important and fewer indicated that the issue is unimportant Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 10  Engaged Chamber and government committees Challenges Challenges respondents feel the County currently faces include:                                  Traffic congestion, particularly during the summer months Inadequate commercial tax base; lack of growth in tax base Drug use High taxes Costs of government Dichotomy between no-growth sentiment and pro-growth sentiments Dichotomy between those who want more environmental protection and those who feel there is too much environmental protection Lack of vision Improving infrastructure Poor long-range planning Balancing growth with the cost of needed services Lack of well-paying jobs and jobs for recent graduates Political opposition at the local level Acceptance of diversity Loss of agricultural land Recycling Availability of affordable housing Controlling sprawl/Smart Growth Competition Livable wages School overcrowding Funding for education Clean bays and waterways Anti-business sentiment Lack of entertainment venues in the County Too much government regulation Lack of encouragement and incentives to reuse vacant commercial sites Ensuring proper infrastructure for growth Inadequate public services Lack of economic growth Lack of high speed internet access Fear of development Population growth without comparable business growth Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 47         Need to capitalize on tourism in the County Remaining green Lack of transparency Cost of compliance with state and federal regulations Lack of public transportation Need to have a louder voice at the State level Discrimination The need to attract clean industries and high tech industries Recommendations for Facing the Challenges In order to address the above identified challenges participants offered recommendations The following is a summary list of recurring themes in the recommendations provided by participants                    Proactive, long-term, strategic planning with input from citizens Staggered terms for local government leadership Increased funding and focus on education Utilize available commercial properties prior to growth Incentivize businesses and industry to come to the County that bring high-pay jobs and career opportunities Increase transparency and accountability of local government Capitalize on tourism industry Market the County for its strengths and unique offerings o Brand the County Higher utilization of voting by citizens Improve efficiency of government operations Active economic development outreach by trained professionals Increase opportunities for collaboration between different stakeholder groups Encourage communication and collaborative efforts across communities in the County and with other counties in the region Ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place prior to growth Increased communication from local government to citizens through a variety of media channels Incentivize business activity in existing infrastructure Ensure compliance to the vision and Comprehensive Plan developed for the County Increased ability, through broadband and telecommunication services, and incentive for residents to telecommute Learn from other successful counties and regions Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 48 Vision for Queen Anne’s County Lastly, participants were asked to identify their vision for Queen Anne’s County Below is an overview of the recurring themes provided by participants                        A balance between land conservation and appropriate growth A desirable place to work, live, play, and visit o The ability for citizens to work within the County rather than across the bridge at well-paying jobs o The ability to spend their money locally rather than in neighboring counties for goods and services A place where future generations will want, and be able to afford, to return to after college Increased base of high-paying jobs Reduced residential tax burden with an increased commercial tax base A high quality of life for residents of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds Respect for all Renewal and revitalization of towns Towns as vibrant cultural centers Full utilization of existing infrastructure (empty commercial spaces) Increased health and mental health services, particularly for lower income classes More vocational training for youth and young adults A focus on reduced energy usage, renewable energy sources, green technology, and sustainable agricultural practices Strong support for the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay The County as a leader rather than a follower o In education o As a model for beautiful neighborhoods o For balancing rural aspect and the need for growth More reaction and housing opportunities (senior housing and assisted living facilities) for seniors within the County Increased trust within the County Reduced regulation A place where the natural environment of land and water are celebrated in conjunction with a variety of agricultural practices including organic production, CSAs, and farmers markets A place where diversity is celebrated Realization of the vision set forth by the citizens in the 2010 Comprehensive Plan A County where there is a desire to be involved A destination for tourism rather than a pass-through to the beach Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 49 Appendix A- Survey Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 50 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 51 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 52 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 53 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 54 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 55 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 56 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 57 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 58 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 59 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 60 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 61 ... residence in the county, or sector of employment Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 31 200 187 50 37 64 82 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 140 170... issue as not important Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 16 50 150 91 68 45 65 109 80 47 110 23 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 137 208 300 134... more frequently Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 19 50 147 110 103 37 25 19 165 143 79 73 66 55 49 22 Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission Survey 131 130