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County
Government
Many residents express a lack of confidence in county government, even as the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history has become a fleeting memory. These results are largely unchanged from a year ago. One in four residents says the county government does an excellent or good job of solving the county's problems, with 2 percent saying it does an excellent job and 24 percent saying a good job. Half say the county government does a fair job and one in five give it a poor rating. Fifty-six percent say county government leaders pay attention to what the people think when they are deciding what policies to adopt, but only 6 percent say they pay "a lot" of attention, while 50 percent say they pay only some attention. Forty-two percent say county leaders pay little or no attention to residents. Even after the budget cuts following the bankruptcy and financial crisis, four in 10 residents say the county government wastes a lot of taxpayers' money. Another 44 percent say the government wastes some tax money, and only 11 percent say it wastes little or none. These three measures of confidence in county government are unchanged from a year ago. Registered voters are as likely as other residents to give county government positive ratings for problem-solving and paying attention to the concerns of residents. However, voters are more likely than others (42% to 35%) to say the county government wastes a lot of the taxpayers' money. There are no significant differences between Democrats and Republicans in attitudes toward county government.
People 35 and older are more likely than others to give the county government poor ratings for problem-solving (23% to 16%) and to say the county government wastes a lot of money (44% to 35%). Central County residents (28%) are more likely than those from South County (21%) or other regions (16%) to say the county government does a poor job of solving problems. Non-Hispanic whites are more likely than Latinos (44% to 38%) to say the county government wastes a lot of the money it receives in taxes. Otherwise, there are no differences in attitudes toward the county government by age, income, region, or ethnicity and race. |
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