Using a scale from 0 to 10, residents assessed the importance they believe should be placed on a host of issues affecting their community. The topics ranged from health care to the economy and taxes to community services.
In 2007, residents of Columbia County place a much higher premium on issues that affect their pocketbooks, namely the cost of health care and taxes, than they did five years ago. Affordable health care is now the leading priority for the county followed by reducing taxes, and making health insurance easier to get. This reflects a considerable shift particularly with regard to taxes which ranked ninth in 2002.
Columbia County residents ranked health care issues highly in 2002 but they considered the quality of public education to be the leading community priority. Today, schools rank fourth followed by keeping businesses in the area.
People in Columbia County are also more concerned about the affordability of housing than they were five years ago. Although residents do not place this issue among their most pressing priorities, it is noteworthy that the need for more affordable housing is now among residents’ top ten most important concerns. Today, it receives an average score of 7.0 and ranks tenth. In 2002, it had an average rating of 6.3 and ranked thirteenth.
