Poll Examines Public Attitudes about Local Government Taxes, Services

Below are the results of a poll conducted by the Eppstein Group* and released in September of 2004. The poll explored the public’s attitude towards property taxes and local governments and how the public values the services that local governments provide. Pollsters conducted 1001 interviews across the state, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2%.

• “Do you favor or oppose allowing the Texas Legislature to control city and county tax rates if you knew that local services such as police, fire, parks, and road repair would likely be reduced?”
  
  21%- Favor
  70%- Oppose
  10%- Undecided
   
• “ Would you favor or oppose allowing the Texas Legislature to control city and county tax rates if you knew there would likely be an increase in fees for water, sewer, garbage pickup and other local services?”
  
  13%- Favor
  81%- Oppose
  6%- Undecided
   
• “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “City and county tax rates should be set by locally elected officials and not the state legislature.”
  
  79%- Agree
  14%- Disagree
  8%-Undecided
   
• “Do you feel your county appraisal district is fair or unfair with its appraisal of home values in your area?”
  
  53%- Fair
  38%- Unfair
  9%- Undecided
   
• “Do you agree or disagree that property taxes should be based on the market value of a home?”
  
  76%- Agree
  17%- Disagree
  7%- Undecided
   
• “ Would you favor or oppose reducing the annual homeowner property tax appraisal cap from 10% to 5% if you knew it would likely result in funding cuts for public education and other local government services?”
  
  39%- Favor
  49%- Oppose
  12%- Undecided
   
• “ Would you favor or oppose reducing the annual homeowner property tax appraisal cap from 10% to 5% if you knew it would mostly benefit owners of expensive homes while increasing taxes on others such as renters, small business owners and farmers and ranchers?”
  
  21%- Favor
  69%- Oppose
  10%- Undecided
   
• “ Would you favor or oppose reducing the annual homeowner property tax appraisal cap from 10% to 5%if you knew it would result in homes with the same market value being taxed at different rates?”
  
  22%- Favor
  63%- Oppose
  15%- Undecided
   
• “Which of the following do you feel contributes the most to a homeowner’s overall property tax bill: school property taxes, county property taxes, city property taxes, or special district property taxes?”
  
  53%-School property taxes
  10%-County property taxes
  13%-City property taxes
  6%-Special district property taxes
  18%- Undecided

* The Eppstein Group is a national public relations firm specializing in political consulting, governmental affairs and opinion research. They have been incorporated in Texas since 1983 and have offices in Austin and Fort Worth.