Center For California Studies
Civic Engagement and
Local Fiscal Attitudes: 2013
Survey of Californians
David Barker, Director, Institute for Social Research
Kim Nalder, Director, Project for an Informed Electorate
Additional Survey Team Members
Michael Small
Research Analyst, Institute for Social Research
Edward Lascher
Dean, Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies
Professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration
Kelly Nelson
Graduate Research Assistant
Institute for Social Research
Ted Ryan
Graduate Research Assistant
Institute for Social Research
Research Questions
•At the municipal level, do Californians tend to prioritize balanced
budgets, low taxes, or public services?
•What specific municipal services do Californians prioritize over
others?
•How knowledgeable and sophisticated is the average Californian
when it comes to municipal budgets (e.g. where the money goes)?
•How engaged and participatory are Californians in local politics
and civic affairs?
•How do civic knowledge and engagement – individually and in
conjunction – influence fiscal attitudes/priorities?
Methodology
• Random Digit Dialing Phone Survey (30% cell);
• April 4th-May 8th, 2013;
• 938 interviews of California city/town dwellers, from 30
cities/towns;
• Randomized counties from four regions (southern-coastal,
northern -coastal, southern-inland, northern-inland);
• Randomized cities and towns for inclusion from within
each county -- weighting according to size and population
patterns;
• Excluded residents of non-incorporated areas.
Methodology, Continued
• Obtained public information regarding fiscal solvency of
each city/town:
(a) 2012 expenditures-revenues
(b) overall debt
Demographics
Age, Residence, Education, and Income
Our average respondent:
 is 50 years old
 has lived in his/her town for 20 years
 has “some college” experience
 earns $49,000 per year
Demographics
Gender, Race, Ethnicity
• 56% of sample respondents are women
• 53% are non-Hispanic Whites
• 30% are Hispanic
• 4% are African American
• 5% are Asian American
• 2% are Native American
• 7% are Multi-Racial
Demographics
Party ID (self report)
• Democrats
45%
• Republicans
26%
• Independents
29%
Leaners
• Democrats and Democratic “Leaners”
48%
• Republicans and Republican “Leaners”
33%
• “Pure” Independents
19%
What do People Prefer?
Low Taxes vs. Balanced Budget
What Do People Prefer?
Services vs. Balanced Budget
Summary:
Balanced Budget vs. Low Taxes /Investment in Services
• Surprisingly few differences by party identification,
attentiveness to local news, or gender.
• 35% prioritize balancing the budget over either other
priority
• 35% prefer either option (keeping taxes low OR
maintaining services) over balancing the budget.
• 30% prefer budgetary balance to one option but not
the other.
Spending on Public Safety:
Spending on Infrastructure, Like Roads:
Spending on Public Enrichment, Like Parks:
Spending on Public Employee Benefits,
Like Pensions:
On What Do People Want to Spend?
Spending on Economic Development, Like Business Subsidies
Local Sales Taxes: Too High or Too Low?
Fiscal Attitudes and Priorities: Local
Spending
When summing the five spending priority items:
• 58% want to increase spending, on balance.
• 24% want to cut spending, on balance.
Also
• 23% illogically want a tax cut and more spending.
• 35% pick the liberal option – no tax cut and increased services.
• 21% want no change.
• 21% want the conservative option of a tax cut and no spending
increase.
Municipal Civic Engagement
• 67% reported voting in the last election (likely inflated due
to social desirability bias).
• 20% reported having contacted a local public official either
by letter, phone, or e-mail in the last year.
Municipal Civic Attitudes
• Approval of Public Officials
• Trust in Local Public Officials
• Perceived Competence of Local Officials
• Efficacy (the sense that citizens can
influence outcomes)
Approval: City Council, Mayor,
Governor
50
45
46
45
39
40
City Council
35
29
30
Mayor
26
24
25
22
Governor
20
16
15
15
11
10
5
4
5
6
4
5
0
Strongly
Approve
Approve
Disapprove
Strongly
Disapprove
Not Sure
Trust in City Officials
Competence
Efficacy (Disagree = Efficacious)
Attentiveness
• 62% claim to have followed local public affairs in the news
on at least 5 days “last week.
• 52% claim to have done do on 6 or more days.
• 48% claim to have followed local news every day last
week.
• Only 11% admit to not following local news at all last
week.
--- We suspect that these numbers are inflated.
Fiscal Knowledge
We asked five questions to gauge fiscal political knowledge:
• Is your city budget in surplus, deficit, or balance?
• What is your city’s sales tax rate, roughly?
• Was the state budget last year in surplus, deficit, or balance?
• Has this year’s state budget improved, stayed the same, or
gotten worse?
• A spending jurisdiction question with only one right answer.
We then constructed an index for local knowledge (3 questions)
and overall fiscal knowledge (all 5 questions).
Fiscal Knowledge
• 25% correctly identified their city/town budget
situation.
• 65% were within a few points of getting the
sales tax question correct (defined as between
7% and 10%).
• 57% knew that the state’s budget was in deficit
last year.
• Only 17% knew that the state’s budget situation
has improved in 2013.
Fiscal Knowledge: Spending
Local Fiscal Knowledge
Overall Fiscal Knowledge Index
Patterns: Civic Fiscal Knowledge
 More Knowledge
More Engagement
 More Knowledge/ More Engagement
Sm. Pref. Less Spend
• More Knowledge
Prefer Higher Taxes
• More Knowledge
City/Town in Deficit
• When in Deficit, Knowledge/Engagement
Fiscal Conservatism
– Weaker when Informed but not Engaged
– Non-existent when Engaged but not Informed
• Knowledge
when in Deficit
Logical Consistency Across Questions, especially
Other Patterns
• Engagement
Less Logical Attitudes
(Among Those Living in Deficit)
• When Deficit, Fiscal Conserv.
Mayor/Council Disapproval.
Questions?