UTSA poll finds roads, public health and funding county services top budget priorities in Bexar County

The UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research presented a countywide budget-priorities survey to Bexar County Commissioners Court on June 23. Dr. Brian Gervais described a probability-based panel fielded May 1–12 (roughly 1,300 invited, 47% response), weighted to Census benchmarks and reporting a margin of error of ±2.7%. The survey asked residents how the county should address a revenue-expense gap, how to handle reserves and debt, and where spending should change across services and the ten-year capital plan.

Gervais summarized headline results: a plurality (about 47%) said they preferred cutting spending if there were a revenue/expense gap, another 41% favored a mix of cuts and revenue, and only about 6% supported raising taxes. When asked top financial priorities, 52% selected funding county services and programs; roads and bridges and flood-control projects ranked highest among capital priorities. ‘‘About 47% of plurality chose reduction of spending,’’ Gervais told the court, describing the sample and top-line shares. County Judge Peter Sakai cited those results in framing the coming budget year and urged the court will use the data as a starting point for fall budget decisions. Commissioners asked whether precinct-level breakdowns and digital-access concerns skew responses; Gervais said precinct breakdowns are feasible with larger samples and the center uses mixed recruitment methods (random-digit dialing, address-based sampling) to reduce digital bias.

Provenance: topicintro SEG 949, topfinish SEG 1776

Speakers: ["Brian Gervais, UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research","Peter Sakai","Tina Smith Dean"]