Public Services - Fall 2003

 

Locally, a majority of state residents (57%) are satisfied with the overall quality of services that their property tax dollars buy. More specifically, almost nine in 10 people (87%) are satisfied with police services and 89% are satisfied with fire protection services. The majority of respondents (84%) believe that the quality of police and fire protection services will get better or remain the same in the future.
Three out of five people are satisfied with the quality of services they get from the state income tax dollars, even though barely one third (34%) are satisfied with the level of those taxes.
Perhaps as a result of their low satisfaction with taxes, two thirds of respondents think that less government regulation would contribute a great deal or somewhat to their quality of life.
Summary While citizens are no happier about paying the bills, they continue to value the services they get from state and local government. Satisfaction with local services increases with age. While 43% of 18- to 34-year-olds are satisfied with local services, 61% of 45- to 54-year-olds and 70% of people age 65 or over are satisfied. These differences disappear when state residents define their satisfaction with state services.