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Public Opinion and Issues in Anne Arundel County:
A Leadership Anne Arundel Presentation
November 15, 2006
by
Dan Nataf, Ph.DDirector, Center for the Study of Local Issues
Anne Arundel Community College101 College Parkway
Arnold, MD 21012(410) 777-2733
(410) 777-4733 fax
ddnataf@aacc.edu
www2.aacc.edu/csli
2
The Center for the Study of Local Issues: Overview
• CSLI conducts public interest and private surveys each semester (since 1978)
• Respondents randomly chosen from universe of listed telephone numbers combined with computer generated numbers
• Typical sample size: 300-525 respondents; students used as interviewers – Fall, 2006 – 382 respondents
• Each survey includes demographic and attitude/behavior questions, including such themes as:
– Growth/Development– Transportation– Economic conditions– Education– Tax and spending preferences– Policy preferences
• Visit CSLI’s web site for previous surveys (www2.aacc.edu/csli)
3
The Center for the Study of
Local Issues: Web Site
- Homepage
www2.aacc.edu/csli
4
Most Important Issues Facing AA County Residents – 1995-2006 - Trends for Major Issue Areas
Most Important Issue - Trends
28
19 19 20
1315
1013
97 6
8 9 8
1513
24
31
26
31 30 30
25
29
2118
3128
36
25
34
Crime
Crime 31%
9Taxes
Growth/Transp
Education
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Sp ‘97
Fa ‘97
Sp ‘98
Fa ‘98
Sp ‘99
Fa '99
Sp ‘00
Fa ‘00
Sp ‘01
Fa '01
Sp '02
Fa '02
Sp '03
Fa '03
Sp '04
Fa '04
Sp '05
Fa '05
Sp '06
Fa '06
5
• Economic optimism – “Thinking about our county's economy, how would you rate economic conditions in Anne Arundel County today -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?”
Focus on the Economy: Opportunities with Inflation and Growth Management Anxieties
Economic Conditions: Local and National
3826 27 22
34 34 31 28 38 41
7474717474
625655
74 76
0
20
40
60
80
100
Spring2002
Fall 2002
Spring2003
Fall 2003
Spring2004
Fall2004
Spring2005
Fall2005
Spring2006
Fall2006
AACounty -Exc+Good
Nation -Exc+Good
National
County
6
Economic Optimism - Perception of Issues in 2010
Negative expectations for all major issue areas except economy
Better
About the same
Worse
Fall 2004 Better-Worse
The overall quality of life in the County
33 43 20 13
Spiritual or religious life 27 47 15 12 Economic conditions 33 40 23 10
Family life 27 45 20 7 General responsiveness of County
government to citizens’ needs 23 47 20 3
Ethics in local government 20 44 26 -6 Public schools 28 28 36 -8
Health care 24 32 36 -12 Growth and development 30 20 46 -16
Crime 11 42 42 -31 Water and air quality 17 32 49 -32
Local taxes 5 26 64 -59 Traffic congestion 3 5 92 -89
7
Economic Anxiety - Concerns about the cost of living
Cost factor Very serious
Somewhat serious
Not very serious
No answer
The cost of housing 65 23 11 0
The cost of utilities such as
electricity or natural gas
63 29 8 0
The cost of gasoline 62 30 8 0
The cost of health care 58 28 11 2
Not having enough money for retirement
57 24 16 3
The cost of education 51 29 16 5
The cost of property taxes 49 37 12 2
8
Anxiety unevenly spread: Income and % saying “very serious”
Housing Cost 0-$50,000
$50,001 to
$100,000
$100,001 and over
Overall
Health Care 79 63 46 60
Money for Retirement
73 64 43 59
Gasoline 70 62 53 62
Education 64 54 47 54
Housing 76 66 61 65
Property taxes 53 55 40 50
Utilities 65 65 55 64Poorest-Richest
10
13
15
17
17
30
33
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Utilities
Property Taxes
Housing
Education
Gasoline
Money for Retirement
Health Care
9
Age and % saying “very serious”
18-29 30-44 45-59 60 + Overall
Utilities Cost 52 57 64 77 64
Property Taxes 43 44 50 61 50
Gasoline 65 56 59 69 62
Housing 67 66 63 65 65
Health Care 66 55 59 62 60
Money for Retirement
65 62 52 58 59
Education 67 48 48 58 54Oldest-Youngest
-9
-7
-4
-2
4
18
25
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Education
Money for Retirement
Health Care
Housing
Gasoline
Property Taxes
Utilities
10
Gender and % saying “very serious”
Item Women Men Overall
Gasoline 70 54 62
Money for Retirement
63 53 59
Utilities Cost
68 59 64
Housing 69 61 65
Education 57 50 54
Health Care
62 56 60
Property Taxes
53 48 50
5
6
7
8
9
10
16
0 5 10 15 20
Property Taxes
Health Care
Education
Housing
Utilities
Money forRetirement
Gasoline
11
Race and % saying “very serious”
African-Americans
Whites Overall
Gasoline 78 59 62
Health Care 73 58 60
Money for Retirement
69 57 59
Housing 71 64 65
Education 57 53 54
Utilities Cost
67 64 64
Property Taxes
50 48 50
Af-Am/Whites and Costs
2
3
4
7
12
15
19
0 5 10 15 20
Property taxes
Utilities
Education
Housing
Money for Retirement
Health Care
Gasoline
12
Attribute cited Percentage
Purchase priceMedian: $150-175,000
39%
A type that is lacking in AA County
20%
Housing type – apartments, townhouses, section 8
19%
User type – low income, poor 9%
Other 12%
Total 100%
What is “affordable housing?” Fall 2002
Is the lack of affordable housing in Anne Arundel County a problem?
Yes 54% No 34% Don’t know 12%
13
Main Economic Challenge for the Next Decade (Fall 2005)
Challenge % Citing
Managing growth/development 31
Providing affordable housing 19Providing proper skills/education for workers
19
Infrastructure, roads 10 Providing enough jobs 9Govt. budget problems/services 3Gas prices 2Taxes 2Other 5
14
Effectiveness of County Growth Policies (Fall 2004)
How effective have County policies been regarding growth and planning?
6
4038
16
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40 Very effective
Somewhat effective
Not very effective
Don't know
15
Approaches for Managing Growth/Transportation (Fall 1998)
Approach to growth and transportation Yes No
Build or upgrade highly congested roads and intersections in the county
77 13
Create a local jitney bus service 71 21
Increase bus availability to major cities (Balt/DC) 69 22
Make it easier to get o MARC trains 67 20
Make it easier to find other people with whom to carpool 63 26
Severely limit new residential development – higher impact fees
54 33
Put moratorium on new residential development in your area 53 35
Reduce fares on public transportation 52 28
Allow more intense development of areas well served by public transportation
43 45
16
Confidence in/perceived preparedness of local authorities – meet challenges or terrorist strike/natural disasters (Fall 2005)
Preparedness/
Confidence
Econ. Environ. Terror Disaster
Very 8 7 11 11
Somewhat 45 38 42 49
Not very 41 50 44 36
No answer 7 6 3 4
17
1015 12
52 4942
46
3022 24 27
44
33 32
94 7 9121513 15
11
Very prepared, 16
4854
4847Somewhat prepared
Not very prepared
37
611
5 8Unsure , 30
10
20
30
40
50
60
Public Opinion in Anne Arundel County: Recent Trends
How prepared are local authorities in event of terrorist strike – 2001-2006
Katrina
18
Crime Problem 1999-2005
Crime Problem: % saying Major, Moderate, Minor
23
11 1217
56 6066
1626
010203040506070
1999 2002 2005
Major
Moderate
Minor
19
Crime: Safety and Security in County and Neighborhood (2005)
19 18
3022
5563
7771
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1997 1999 2002 2005
% S
ayin
g "
Ver
y S
afe"
County
Neighborhood
20
Crime: Been a Victim of Crime? (1997-2005)
% Saying "Yes"
14
12
9
12
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1997 1999 2002 2005
21
Crime: Improve Safety (Average 1997-2005)
One Thing to Most Improve Safety
5
6
6
7
8
9
37
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Traffic, catch speeders
Deal better with minors , in schools , youth activities
Improve police training, methods, follow-up
Harsher sentences , lock up criminals
Deal with drug problems
More prevention, neighborhood patrols
More Police, Vis ibility
22
Education – Perceived Value to Taxpayers? Spend more, same or less on public service? (Spring 2004)
Service More%
Same%
Less %
Don’t% know
Public schools 71 23 5 1
Police 60 35 4 1
Fire 53 43 2 2
Community college 46 44 7 3
Seniors’ services 44 45 7 4
Roads 43 49 6 3
Average percentage 41 46 11 3
Environmental programs
39 44 15 2
Social services 34 43 17 5
Health department 32 54 9 5
Libraries 26 67 6 1
Parks and recreation 26 57 16 2
Planning and zoning 13 42 39 7
23
Would proposals help, hurt or have no effect on the quality of public schools
(Spring 1996) Help Hurt No effect
Help Hurt No effect
Add Teaching Aides in Classrooms
91 1 7 Increase Local Community Control over Schools
69 11 20
Reduce Class Size 89 2 9 Provide More Elective Courses in Higher Grades
66 13 21
Give Teachers More Power when Dealing with Disruptive Students
86 8 7 Allow more variety in the curriculum
60 15 24
Emphasize a "Return to Basics" Approach to Education
86 5 9 Change the School Board selection process
60 8 33
Provide More Assistance to Special Education
85 4 10 Provide More Financial Assistance to Schools doing Poorly on Standardized Tests
55 13 31
Encourage Flexibility in Teaching Methods
83 9 8 Add some Specialized Programs 52 15 33
Increase Teacher Salaries 82 3 15 Introduce School Prayers 52 17 31
Start some Countywide "Magnet" Schools
79 7 14 Place Some Schools on a Year Round Schedule
49 24 27
Create a Special High School for Disruptive Students
76 13 12 Redistrict schools more frequently
26 39 36
24
How to pay for all the public wants government to do?If the County ends the year with a surplus, which of the following would you
prefer to see happen? (Fall 2005)
Proposal %
The County spends it on high priority areas 28
The County keeps it for a ‘rainy day’ when it might be needed, such as an emergency
19
The County sends it back to taxpayers as a tax refund 15
The County uses it to lower taxes next year 30
Other answer 5
No answer, unsure 2
25
General orientation – cut programs or cut spending? (Spring 2003, Fall 2003)
Proposal Spring 2003 Fall 2003
Cut programs 40 34
Increase taxes 36 34
Other -- 18
Don’t know 24 14
Total 100 100
26
Revenue enhancement – Income taxes (Spring 2003, Fall 2003)
Approach Favor Oppose Unsure
Increase income taxes for everyone
An increase in state income taxes 26 72 3
Increasing the County’s local income tax rate 24 72 5
Increase income taxes on business and the “rich”
Increasing the corporate income tax rate by 1 percent
63 35 2
Placing a 3 percent surcharge on the income tax of people who make $500,000 or more annually
73 26 1
27
Revenue enhancement – Sales/gasoline taxes (Spring 2003, Fall 2003)
Favor Oppose Unsure
Increase the state sales tax by 1 percent, from 5 to 6 percent
31 66 2
An increase in the general sales tax 46 53 2
An increase in the state gasoline tax 29 69 2
Higher taxes on gasoline to encourage use of more fuel efficient vehicles (Fall 2005)
20 76 4
28
Revenue enhancement – User/Specific Fees (Fall 2003)
Approach Favor Oppose Unsure
Creating specific taxes to fund County public safety such as fire & police County
53 43 5
Increasing impact fees on new housing development in AA
65 30 5
Creating a $2.50 surcharge on monthly sewage fees to help upgrade waste water treatment plants
65 31 4
Legalizing slot machines in Maryland 62 33 6
29
Expenditure reduction (Spring 2003)
Approach Favor Oppose Unsure
Postponing fully funding the Thornton Plan for public education
32 47 20
Layoffs of state and County employees 26 69 6
Reducing salaries of state employees 14 81 5
Cutting back on state services 16 77 7
Reducing financial support for higher education
18 78 4
30
Expenditure reduction – Identify ways to cut govt. spending (open-ended) (Spring 2003)
Approach (N=85) Favor Cases
Reduce government salaries 15 13
Reduce politicians salaries 12 10
Reduce government perks 7 6
Cut waste, administration 11 9
Cut back on specific programs 39 33
Other miscellaneous 16 14
Total 100 85
31
Politics of Taxes and Expenditures) (Support for County Executive Candidates’ on Certain Issues (Fall, 2006)
24 25 24 24
1922
24
30
24
14
24
17
26
22
2926
16 16 17
11
52
59
5154
52 52
60
54
59
75
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Johnson
Leopold
Undecided
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