John Curtis became Mayor of Provo in 2009. Mayor Curtis received an unusually high rating from Provo residents, in a survey conducted by Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. (Chris Bunker)
Provo is known for being a college town with a hip downtown area, a variety of food establishments and an active music scene. However, non-student residents also call Provo home, and they think their home is great.
Brigham Young University recently administered a survey for non-student residents of Provo. Political Science students, under the direction of Professor Quin Monson, Ph.D, administered the survey to around 15,000 residents in April this year and received approximately 1,500 responses from Provo residents.
Survey respondents were asked to rank their satisfaction on a variety of Provo entities, programs, and their overall satisfaction with the city and its officials.
The results showed that non-student residents have positive attitudes about Provo. Nearly 74 percent of respondents believe that Provo is headed in the right direction for the future, as opposed to the wrong direction, or not knowing which direction the city is headed.
Provo's quality of life shines, with an average rating of 82, out of a scale from zero to 100.
Residents of the city also showed a high level of approval for their local elected leaders, within the survey by giving Mayor John Curtis a 94 percent approval rating.
In comparison, Salt Lake City's Mayor Ralph Becker received an approval rating of 73 percent in Fall of 2014, in a survey conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.
'Our residents are very supportive of us and what we do,' said Curtis, who felt humbled by the response from the survey, saying that the high approval rating comes from a team effort, within the city of Provo.
Curtis also felt a large part of his success comes from being accessible and open to the people of Provo and delivering on his promises — which has helped to breed confidence with the residents, according to the city official.
An example of a fulfilled promise is the Provo Recreational Center. Since its opening in 2013, one third of the respondents have used the facility at least once a month.
Other city programs that received high ratings from the BYU conducted survey, were the Provo Library and the Provo Fire Department.
Provo parking and the Provo Senior Citizen Programs, were given the lowest ratings from respondents.
When asked what he thought the future of the city was, Curtis said, 'It's one day at a time. I don't get lost in what's ahead for me, it's what's ahead for the city.'