Transcript Public Opinion and Issues in Anne Arundel County: Leadership Anne Arundel Presentation – NLA Feb.

Public Opinion and Issues in
Anne Arundel County:
Leadership Anne Arundel
Presentation – NLA
Feb. 28, 2009
Dan Nataf, PhD
Director, Center for the Study of Local Issues
Anne Arundel Community College
101 College Parkway
Arnold, MD 21012
(410) 777-2733
(410) 777-4733 fax
[email protected]
www.aacc.edu/csli
1
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
The Center for the Study of Local Issues: Overview
• CSLI – Part of Sarbanes Center
for Public and Community
Service
• 1978-79 – 30th Anniversary
• Mission: Provide students
opportunities for engaged
learning, community outreach
• Main activity: Public interest and
client surveys/research each
semester
2
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 The Center for the Study of Local Issues: Overview
Surveys: Respondents randomly chosen from universe of
listed telephone numbers combined with computer
generated numbers
•
Typical sample size: 400-900 respondents; students used
as interviewers
•
Topics: Each survey includes demographic and
attitude/behavior questions, including such themes as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Economic conditions
Growth/Development
Transportation
Economic conditions
Education
Tax and spending preferences
Policy preferences
Visit CSLI’s web site for previous surveys
(www.aacc.edu/csli)
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LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 Main Issues for Today
– County - Right/Wrong direction
– Economic conditions
– Confidence in government
– Housing
– Growth
– Crime
– Education
– Immigration
– Tax and spending preferences
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LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
County – Right/Wrong Direction
County Trend - Right or Wrong Direction
57
54
58
62
66
60 61 62
55
58 58
Right 51
53
57 55
51 52 51 50 52
Right
Wrong
Fa '08
Sp '08
Fa '07
Sp '07
Fa '06
Sp '06
Fa '05
Sp '05
Fa '04
Sp 04
Fa 03
Sp 03
Fa 02
Sp 02
Fa 01
Sp 01
Fa 00
Sp 00
Fa 99
Wrong 34
33 32 31
31
29
29
27 25
27 26
27
26
25
24 23
24
23
21
20 19
20
20 21
19
19
18
18
18
Unsure
15
17
16
16 17 17
15 15 14
13
12
Sp 99
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Unsure
5
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns – Most Important Problem
40
38
35
30
Economy
25
23
22
18
16
15
15
14
10
10
8
8
7
10
12
9
7
Growth/development
16
12
10
8
16
15
13
12
17
16
15
14
13
Taxes – too high
21
20
12
9
8
7
Education
Traffic
5
congestion/problems
Crime
0
‘03
‘04
'04
‘05
‘05
‘06
'06
'07
'07
'08
‘08
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
Fall
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LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Perceptions of the
Local and National Economies 2002-2008
“Thinking about our county's economy, how would you rate economic conditions
in Anne Arundel County today -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?”
(Total percentage saying excellent and good)
80
74
76
74
74
70
56
20
10
71
71
69
56
55
Anne Arundel County
50
30
74
62
60
40
71
49
County 42
38
34
26 27
34
38
31
28
22
U.S.A
National
46
32
27
17
5
8
0
sp '02 fa '02 sp '03 fa '03 sp '04 fa '04 sp '05 fa '05 sp '06 fa '06 sp '07 fa '07 sp '08 fa '08
Now
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LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Perceptions of the
Local Economy Fall 2008 by Income Groups
“Thinking about our county's economy, how would you rate economic conditions
in Anne Arundel County today -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?”
120
100
80
49
56
Fair + Poor
48
45
60
40
49
20
Excellent + Good
44
52
55
$50-100,000
Over $100,000
0
Overall
0-$50,000
8
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Applicability of Specific Conditions
Spring/Fall 2008
80
Applies Spring 2008
71
Applies Fall 2008
70
60
56
59
50
58
47
61
50
40
40
32
30
35
30
21
20
15
11
11
10
0
6
4
0
Significant
Wages or
losses in stocks salaries are not
or retirement rising as fast as
accounts
Hard to afford
Hard to afford
cost of taxes
cost of utilities
Hard to afford
Health care
Facing the
Unable to find
Facing the
cost of
insurance is
possibility of
affordable
possibility of
such as
transportation unavailable, too unemployment
housing
the cost of
electricity or
expensive or
foreclosure or
house
living
gas
inadequate
loss
9
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Applicability of Specific Conditions Fall 2008
by Income Groupings and Gap (Poor-Rich)
Condition
Significant losses in stocks or retirement accounts
Hard to afford cost of utilities such as electricity or gas
Wages or salaries are not rising as fast as the cost of living
Hard to afford cost of taxes
Hard to afford cost of transportation
Health care insurance is unavailable, too expensive or inadequate
Unable to find affordable housing
Facing the possibility of unemployment
Facing the possibility of house foreclosure or loss
Overall
71
50
59
58
32
30
11
15
4
0-$50,000
57
75
66
62
43
39
21
24
11
$50-100,000 Over $100,000
72
81
54
36
64
51
59
57
36
22
26
24
11
7
15
10
3
2
Hard to afford cost of utilities such as electricity or gas
39
Hard to afford cost of transportation
21
Health care insurance is unavailable, too expensive or…
15
Wages or salaries are not rising as fast as the cost of living
15
Facing the possibility of unemployment
14
Unable to find affordable housing
14
Facing the possibility of house foreclosure or loss
9
Hard to afford cost of taxes
5
Significant losses -24
in stocks or retirement accounts
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
10
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Applicability of Specific Conditions Fall 2008
by Age Group
11
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: Applicability of Specific Conditions Fall 2008
by Race and Gender
12
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
Economic Concerns: What will the Future bring - 2004 looking to 2010
and 2008 looking at 2018
Worse
Better
About the
same
Fall 2004
BetterWorse
Fall 2008
The overall quality of life in the County
33
43
20
13
22
Spiritual or religious life
Economic conditions
Family life
General responsiveness of County
government to citizens’ needs
Ethics in local government
Public schools
Health care
Growth and development
Crime
Water and air quality
Local taxes
Traffic congestion
27
33
27
23
47
40
45
47
15
23
20
20
12
10
7
3
16
13
17
12
20
28
24
30
11
17
5
3
44
28
32
20
42
32
26
5
26
36
36
46
42
49
64
92
-6
-8
-12
-16
-31
-32
-59
-89
-1
0
1
0
-33
-30
-68
-82
13
Preparedness/
Confidence
Econ
crisis/
Feds
Fall
2008
Econ.
Environ.
Terror
Disaster
Very
5
8
7
11
11
Somewhat
40
45
38
42
49
Not very
53
41
50
44
36
No answer
2
7
6
3
4
14
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 How Prepared are Local Authorities in Event of Terrorist Strike – 20012006
60
50
54
47
48
30
37 Not very
prepared
40
30
20
10
13
22
Very prepared
5
0
Katrina
Somewhat
prepared
44
48
33
27
24
15
11
15
8
11
Unsure
12
6
3
3
01
02
04
05
04
06
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
l
l
l
l
g
g
ll
g
al
al
n
n
a
i
i
n
Fal
Fal
F
F
r
r
i
F
r
p
p
S
S
Sp
15
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 Housing - What is “Affordable Housing?” (asked Fall 2002)
Is the lack of affordable
housing in Anne Arundel
County a problem?
Yes
No
Don’t know
54%
34%
12%
Attribute cited
%
Purchase price
Median: $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%
16
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 Main Economic Challenge for the Next Decade (Fall 2005)
Transition to Managing Growth
Challenge
Managing growth/development
Providing affordable housing
Providing proper skills/education
for workers
Infrastructure, roads
Providing enough jobs
Govt. budget problems/services
Gas prices
Taxes
Other
% Citing
31
19
19
10
9
3
2
2
5
17
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 Economy and Growth: Effectiveness of
County Growth Policies (Fall 2004)
How effective have County policies been regarding growth and planning?
40
40
38
Very effective
35
Somewhat effective
30
Not very effective
25
20
16
Don't know
15
10
6
5
0
18
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 Economy and Growth: County Growth Choices – New Roads
or Mass Transit (Spring 2001)
To solve the transportation congestion issues that affect you the most, is
it more important to fund new mass transit projects or build new roads
and improve existing ones?
19
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 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
20
LAA Presentation – Feb. 28, 2009
 How well has County Performed? (Fall 1999)
Transition to Crime
I am going to
read you a list of
problems facing
the County.
Please tell me
how well you
think the County
has dealt with
these problems
over the
last year. Has the
problem gotten
better, stayed
about the same,
or gotten worse?
Gotten
better
Stayed
about the
same
Gotten
worse
BetterWorse
Improving the local economy
43
46
10
33
Improving the overall quality of life in
our County
34
52
14
20
Controlling crime
30
54
16
14
Improving the environment
35
39
26
9
Reducing poverty and homelessness
18
58
24
-6
Improving ethics in government
20
50
30
-10
Improving the efficiency of local
government
18
54
28
-10
Keeping taxes low
15
59
26
-11
Improving the academic performance
of our children
27
34
39
-12
Planning growth and development
25
30
45
-20
Reducing traffic congestion
15
16
70
-55
Issue
21
Crime Problem: % saying Major, Moderate, Minor
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
56
60
66
64
Major
Moderate
23
16
1999
18
26
11
2002
17
12
2005
16
Minor
2008
22
90
% Saying "Very Safe"
80
77
70
60
50
71
63
69
55
County
Neighborhood
40
30
30
20
19
29
22
18
10
0
1997
1999
2002
2005
2008
23
% Saying "Yes"
16
14
12
10
8
6
14
12
12
11
2005
2008
9
4
2
0
1997
1999
2002
24
25
One Thing to Most Improve Safety
26
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
Education – Perceived Value to Taxpayers?
 Spend More, Same or Less on Public Services? (Spring 2004)
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
Service
27
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 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
28
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Immigration Questions – Various (Spring 2008)
29
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Legal and Illegal Immigrants (Spring 2008)
80
76
68
70
60
50
40
30
22
20
16
8
9
10
0
They strengthen our country
They are a burden on our
because of their hard work
country because they take
and talents
our jobs, housing and health
No answer
care.
Legal
Illegal
30
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Personally Benefitting from Illegal Immigrants(Spring 2008)
Do you think that you personally have benefited from the services of
illegal immigrants for example in landscaping, construction, restaurants
or janitorial services?
31
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Personally Benefitting from Illegal Immigrants(Spring 2008)
By Political Party
32
Support
Oppose
Unsure
No
answer
Total
Environmental measures meant to
restrict development in critical areas?
84
11
3
1
99
Efforts by police to identify illegal
immigrants and refer them to federal
immigration services?
Increasing impact fees on new
construction in our county?
70
25
4
1
100
63
31
5
1
100
Creating or increasing fees to sports
leagues that use public parks to cover
the maintenance of those parks?
50
45
4
1
100
Increasing the tax on hotel stays from
7 percent to 10 percent
33
59
6
1
99
Decreasing the drinking age to 18
A $500 ambulance fee to help pay for
county services?
29
68
2
1
100
26
67
6
1
100
33
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Funding Government – cut programs or cut spending?
(Spring 2003, Fall 2003, Spring 2007)
Proposal
Spring 2003 Fall 2003 Spring 2007
Cut programs
40
34
31
Increase taxes
36
34
--
Other
--
18
8
(Combo – cut spending/ raise taxes)
--
--
54
Don’t know
24
14
7
100
100
100
Total
34
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Funding Government – Various Approaches (Fall 2003)
35
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Funding Government – % Favoring Raising Income Tax? (Fall 2003)
70
Lib, 62
60
50
40
Dem, 39
18-29, 32
30
30-44, 26
Mod, 25 Women, 25
Overall, 23
45-60, 23
Men, 22
Unaffil, 18
Rep , 14
Cons, 10
20
10
Over $100k, 26
Afr-Am, 23 Cauc., 23 0-$50K, 23
$50k-100k, 18
61+, 14
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
36
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 Funding Government – % Favoring Sales Tax? (Fall 2003)
50
Women, 49
61+, 49
Dem, 48
48
Mod, 47
Lib, 46
46
18-29, 45
Unaffil, 44
44
Overall, 43
Cauc., 43 0-$50K, 43
$50k-100k, 42
42
Rep , 41
Over $100k, 41
30-44, 40
40
45-60, 40
Cons, 39
Afr-Am, 38
38
Men, 37
36
34
32
30
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
37
LAA Presentation: Feb. 28, 2009
 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
100
85
Total
38