Local government leaders in Michigan report their employees' unions made more concessions in negotiations this year than the jurisdictions did, according to a University of Michigan survey.Among the 26 percent of Michigan's local governments that...

The fiscal health of Michigan's local government units has improved, but many—particularly small jurisdictions—still struggle to meet their financial needs, according to a University of Michigan survey.Overall, 29 percent of jurisdictions say they...

More than a third of local jurisdictions reported using "placemaking" as an economic development strategy in 2013, up from 21 percent in 2009, according to the latest Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy poll.Placemaking is a community and...

Five years ago, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy launched an ongoing survey of the chief elected and appointed officials in every one of Michigan's 1,856 counties, cities, townships and villages, large and small. Among the survey's goals?...

Despite concerns about Detroit's bankruptcy, 56 percent of local government officials in Michigan said it was the right thing to do, according to a poll by the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. More than half of local leaders...

"It's no overstatement to say that property tax revenues are really the lifeblood of local government. So what do local leaders think about the tax-exempt properties within their borders—the ones that take up municipal services, but are exempt from...

Ford School Professor Barry Rabe was cited in Howard Gleckman's June 2 Forbes article "Could EPA's New Greenhouse Gas Rule Open the Door to a New State-based Gas Tax?" "The proposed EPA rules, which Brookings senior fellow Barry Rabe describes as...

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) hosted the four declared candidates in Ann Arbor's mayoral race on Wednesday, April 16. The forum focused on the future of public transportation and prospects for economic development of Ann...

Members of the Ford School community—welcome, and welcome back! Summer tends to send us all around the globe—for family vacations, for research projects, for service engagements, for internships and jobs—but I love this time of year, when we...

Contact: Greta Guest, (734) 936-7821, [email protected] ANN ARBOR—For the first time in six years, more Michigan communities report that they are better able to meet their fiscal needs this year than those who say they are less able to do so. A...