"Security a top priority in California"

Friday, October 4, 2002

Homeland security a top priority in state
Survey says slim majority of Californians would even pay higher taxes to
ensure it
By Ryan Alessi
The Ventura County Star, CA


A year after the Sept. 11 attacks and subsequent anthrax scare,
Californians still consider homeland security a top priority for local
governments, and a slim majority is even willing to pay higher taxes to
ensure it, according to a survey released today. 

About 52 percent of 2,014 adult Californians said they would favor an
increase in sales tax if it would help local governments fortify police,
fire and health departments, says a Public Policy Institute of
California telephone poll conducted in August. 

"This is not a state where you do public opinion surveys and you very
often see a majority support tax increases," said Mark Baldassare, the
institute's research director and co-author of the survey report. "But I
think unlike other areas where people complain about government services
or programs they feel this area (security) is needed." 

The survey also revealed a greater concern for security by the Latino
population, with 38 percent of California Latinos surveyed saying they
thought terrorism and security was "a big problem" in California. Only
23 percent of Californians surveyed overall said it was a big problem. 

Predictably, people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area -- which
included responses from Ventura County -- responded that they were most
concerned out of all the regions with possible terrorist activities. 

Baldassare said the combination of the L.A. area's size and the presence
of major ports of entry -- Port Hueneme, Long Beach and Los Angeles
International Airport, to name a few -- make it the most likely
terrorism target. 

A separate poll of California city officials revealed that, in many
cases, California's local governments and their residents are on the
same page when it comes to homeland security. Poll results for both
officials and residents were similar in terms of what types of places
are most likely targets and what needs to be done to prevent attacks. 

For example, a majority of city officials said they think the top
priorities for protection should be city water supplies, government
buildings, transportation facilities and schools and universities.
Likewise, California residents said they worried most about strikes
against power plants, water supplies, airports and high-rise buildings. 

Also highlighting a shift in government culture, most local officials
said communication and cooperation with other government agencies --
from neighboring cities to federal bureaus -- had increased over the
last year. 

"I think this is all very encouraging news for residents that their
government can put aside their differences that they have about who pays
for what and so forth and really work together on something that is of
the utmost importance for people's safety," Baldassare said. 

Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley
and Ventura were among the 317 cities that returned their surveys. 

>From a countywide perspective, County Supervisor Judy Mikels said she
has noticed an increased cooperation among governments but -- like the
rest of the country -- still awaits a decision from Congress on whether
a Homeland Security Department will be born. 

Once that happens, she said, roles of each level of government will
become more defined. That also might mean more funding, she added. 

In the meantime, she said, the county has not discussed any plans to
raise taxes. She was only slightly surprised to hear that a majority of
Californians would favor tax increases. 

"It surprises me in one way because tax initiatives are very difficult
to pass, especially locally," she said. "But on the other hand when you
think of the trauma people are still feeling from Sept. 11, it's
understandable." 

Instead, the county's department of health and sheriff's department are
relying heavily upon federal grant money that will help provide for a
new bioterrorism response team, as well as state-of-the art protective
gear. 

On the Net: 

Complete report: www.ppic.org


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