The local government fiscal crisis—driven largely by state revenue sharing cuts, falling tax revenues, and rising costs to provide services—has pushed jurisdictions in Michigan to search for operational efficiencies and cost savings. Performance...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

Although many jurisdictions across the state continue to struggle with fiscal stress, the Spring 2012 MPPS finds local leaders' assessments of fiscal health are at their most optimistic levels overall since the MPPS began tracking these issues in...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state’s emergency manager law, officially called the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (Public Act 4 of 2011). This law provides for...

Local policies aimed at reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change are growing in popularity in the United States, but progress on reducing vehicle emissions remains incremental. Cities are slowly shifting away from zoning policies...

Since the 1980's international climate negotiations have occurred more frequently and with increasing importance. Research on international climate agreements has largely been limited to their effectiveness, with very few considering the formation...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ public employee unions. The findings in this report are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Spring 2012 and Spring 2011 waves of...

A combination of rapid population growth, lack of proactive water management policy, and prolonged drought have put Cape Town, South Africa on the verge of becoming the first major, global city to effectively run out of water, a crisis projected to...