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Community Survey copy

Between March 1, and 2022-April 30, 2022, Travis County residents were invited to participate in a survey that asked about the importance of different issues. The survey was available in multiple languages, including Español, Tiếng Việt, 中文 (简体), 中文 (繁體), 한국어 , العربية, اُردُو and हिन्दी. People could take the survey online, by phone, or in person at a number of events.

2,477 people completed the survey.

The survey asked two key questions about a list of issue areas, shown below. The first question asked people to rate the level of importance—from not at all important to very important—for each issue area. The second question asked people to choose which were the five most important issue areas.

 

 Access to Food Access to Internet  Action on Climate Change Better Roads in my Neighborhood
 Bike Lanes  Child Care  Criminal Justice Reform  Dependable Water Source
 Dependable Septic or Wastewater System  Drainage and Flooding  Health Care Services (Physical Health)  Homelessness
 Home Ownership  Jobs with a Living Wage and Job Training  Mental Health Care Services  Parks & Open Spaces
 Preparing for Emergencies & Disasters  Public Transportation (buses, rail)  Rental Housing  Resources for Small Businesses
 Sidewalks  Substance Use Services  Traffic  

 

The issues that were ranked as “very important” by 50% or more of survey participants were:

  1. Dependable Water Source (75%)
  2. Dependable Septic or Wastewater System(62%)
  3. Access to Internet (59%)
  4. Access to Food (58%) 
  5. Jobs with a Living Wage & Job Training (55%)
  6. Health Care Services- Physical (53%)
  7. Mental Health Care Services (50%)

The top five priorities selected by different racial, ethnic, or other identity groups are shown in the table below:

 

Issue Area Total pop White Hispanic/Latinx Black/AA Asian Native American Other Did Not Respond to Race LGTBQ+ Have a Disability
Dependable Water Source 51% 53% 43% 33% 46% 49% 53% 65%   44%
Access to Food 45% 44% 48% 57% 45% 62% 52% 37% 48% 50%
Jobs with a Living Wage & Job Training 32% 31% 40% 43%   41%     42% 35%
Traffic 32% 31%     36%   32% 46%    
Access to Internet 29%         38% 33%     32%
Homelessness 29%   28%   30%   36%   47%  
Action on Climate Change   31% 28%   31% 38%     37%  
Mental Health Care Services     28% 33%           34%
Criminal Justice Reform       36%         40%  
Health Care Services (Physical Health)                   32%
Parks and Open Spaces               36%    
Dependable Septic & Waste System               35%    

  

The top five priorities selected by residents who live west or east of Interstate 35 were:

 

Top 5 Priorities West of I-35 Top 5 Priorities East of I-35
1.Dependable Water Source(56%) 1.Access to Food (51%)
2.Access to Food (42%) 2.Dependable Water Source (42%) 
3.Traffic (33%) 3.Jobs with a Living Wage & Job Training (38%)
4.Access to Internet (30%) 4. Traffic (29%)
4. Action on Climate Change (30%) 5.Access to Internet (27%)
4.Parks & Open Spaces (30%)  

 

Find a slide show presentation of survey results here. Watch the presentation of survey results to Travis County Commissioners Court on June 7, 2022 here, starting at 1:27:29 of the video recording.

 

Survey participants also had the opportunity to leave open comments on the 2022 Travis County Community Survey. Thirty two percent of all survey participants left a comment.

Many of the comments went in-depth on multiple policy areas. Fifty percent of all 784 comments focused on 10 policy areas: housing affordability, taxes, public safety, homelessness, criminal justice reform and the Trauma Recovery Center, political opinions, public education, traffic, economic development, and public transportation. Below, a visual snapshot of how all the comments were categorized by their proportion to the total comments received:

policy area count

Find a slide show presentation of survey comment results here. Watch the presentation of survey results to Travis County Commissioners Court on December 13, 2022, here starting at 7:20:43 of the video recording.

700 Lavaca, Suite #1560

Austin, Texas 78701 (Map)

Jessica Rio,
County 
Executive for
PBO

Travis Gatlin,
Budget
Director

Christy D.
Moffett,
EDSI Director

Budget Staff

EDSI Staff

Phone: (512) 854-9106
Fax: (512) 854-4210

TAX RATE: TRAVIS COUNTY ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR’S TAX RATE. THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 3.5 PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $9.12.