Survey: Voters in Benton County Are Positive About Present, Future

Voters were positive about the performance of the Benton County Commissioners and give Benton County high ratings for its efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

Benton County Courthouse Photo By: Tim King

(CORVALLIS) - A survey of Benton County voters has found that the most important priorities for local government should be: affordable health care, illegal drugs, child and domestic abuse, jobs and the economy, and law enforcement and public safety.

Two potential levy measures to fund Benton County government received majority voter support. An "affordable health care and law enforcement" levy is supported 58-32% and a "drug and alcohol" levy is supported 61-30%. Generally speaking, funding proposals that reach 60% support in initial polling are considered viable.

The most popular potential components of a levy include:

The levy includes funding for a program for youth age 15 and under who are at risk of becoming serious and chronic delinquents. 82% of participants in this program have improved school attendance and 92% have reduced substance abuse The levy includes funding for prevention and early intervention services to families whose children are at risk of meth abuse, chemical dependency and school failure Meth is the major law enforcement problem in the county today. It is estimated that more than 80% of the crimes, 80% of the child abuse and 80% of the domestic violence cases in the county today are meth-related The levy includes funding for affordable health clinics The levy includes funding for programs to help young people avoid meth abuse and dependency After hearing the potential levy components, the levy to fight illegal drug and alcohol problems receives 72% support, while the affordable health care and law enforcement levy receives 62% support.

Voter Mood and Issue Concerns

A majority of voters are optimistic about the direction of Benton County. Specifically, 60% say things are headed in the right direction, while 22% say things are headed off on the wrong track. The remaining 18% have no opinion. Voters are more optimistic today than in an October 2003 survey, when 43% said things were headed in the right direction and fully 40% said things were off on the wrong track. There is consensus agreement among all voter subgroups throughout the county that things are headed in the right direction.

When asked what is the most important problem facing the county, leading concerns included "jobs/economy/economic stability" (13%) and "education" (12%). These concerns were followed by "school funding" (8%), "high taxes/taxes/property taxes" (6%), "affordable housing" (5%), "government" (4%) and "drugs/meth" (4%). No other issue was mentioned by more than 3% of voters and nearly one-in-five (19%) had no opinion. Comparing issue concerns today with those from an October 2003 survey, we find voters are more concerned about education today than in 2003 and are less concerned about funding and taxes.