6-28-2024_PW SS Briefings - Laserfiche WebLink

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RESEARCH Summary & Observations 2 Kittitas County voters are evenly split on the direction the county is headed.While there is no consensus on the county's trajectory,voters are clearly concerned about overpopulation and development, with nearly a quarter identifying it as the most important issue facing the county today; a sentiment that is consistent with findings from focus group research conducted in April. Voters rate the county's management of roads and bridges positively.Sixty-nine percent of voters rate the job the county is doing maintaining roads and bridges as "good" or better.While these positive perceptions represent a vote of confidence in the county's road maintenance, such perceptions can also pose a challenge for Public Works.A public that views the transportation system as well-maintained may not understand its vulnerabilities and may be less receptive to communications about road and bridge maintenance funding challenges. Voters view snowplowing, bridge safety, road maintenance and resurfacing as top transportation priorities.When it comes to specific road and bridge maintenance activities, Kittitas County voters place especially high value on activities that keep people safe. Connecting the levy to continued safety in Kittitas County should resonate with voters. Given just the basic details of the levy,a majority of voters are unsupportive of the tax increase. Over a third of voters say they are"certain"that they would vote "no" in an initial test. All tested support messages receive positive marks from voters. For each reason tested, 58%to 74%of voters rate it as a very good or good reason to vote "yes" on the road levy. After learning more about the levy and its potential impacts through the support messages, voter support rises to from 43%to 53%.With this 10-point increase, support outweighs opposition by a 9-point difference.The informed levy test indicates that effective messaging, specifically the messages that highlight voter priorities such as snowplowing and are targeted at likely supporters, has the potential to shift public opinion in favor of the levy. • By observing vote progression from the initial levy test to the informed test, likely supporters and those who are likely to change their vote after learning more information("movers")tend to be from groups such as those ages 18-29 or 65+, Democrats,those who identify with liberal ideologies, Lower County residents, and renters. Recommendations & Next Steps • Build communications and outreach around your base of likely supporters,as well as movers (those persuaded by messaging). • Hard-to-get voters are unlikely to sway from their positions of opposition or uncertainty, making them unlikely to be worth spending significant resources on—particularly voters ages 30-44.They also lean Republican, prefer not to share their income, live in Upper County, describe themselves as conservative,and are homeowners. 4 1 DHM Research I Consor Kittitas County Public Works Survey I May 2024