CLOSUP publications

This policy brief presents the views of Michigan's local government leaders regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, across the State of Michigan, and across the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide...

This policy brief presents local government officials’ assessments of the relationship between their jurisdiction and Michigan’s state government. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the spring 2023 wave of...

This policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ views on their jurisdiction’s capacity for pursuing external grant funding from the state and federal governments. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government...

This report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders on local housing issues, including housing capacity and condition in their community, and awareness of various state-level housing programs available to local communities. These...

This policy brief presents the views of Michigan local government leaders on a range of issues regarding public employee unions in their jurisdictions, including their governments’ relationships with their employee unions, whether their unions are...

This policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ views on the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), including plans for spending the funds, problems the jurisdiction is facing, and expectations for benefits from the funding. These...

This policy brief presents Michigan local leaders’ views on the composition of their local government’s workforce compared to their community’s population.  These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the spring 2022...

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 Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature. These...

This report—the third in a series on recycling issues in Michigan communities—presents Michigan’s local government leaders’ assessments of support for recycling programs among various groups within their jurisdictions. In addition, it looks at local...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on a range of issues regarding their jurisdictions’ workforce, including recruitment, retention, and retirement turnover. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local...

This policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders' assessments regarding their governments’ employee pay and fringe benefit rates. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the spring 2022 wave of the...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they plan to take in the coming year given their financial situations. The findings are based on responses from 14...

This report presents local government leaders’ views regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, the State of Michigan, and the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in...

To learn more about the views of former state legislators—many of whom were term-limited out of office—a survey was conducted in 2020 and 2021. This policy brief highlights key findings about the former legislators’ lessons from serving in Lansing...

This policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on Michigan’s new approach to electoral redistricting and the performance of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). These findings are based on...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is, as well as their assessments of civic relationships among elected...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s township and city leaders on issues related to election administration in their jurisdictions, including confidence in election security and expected problems their jurisdictions might encounter. These...

This case study examines the fiscal health of Pine River Township, Michigan, a mostly rural community in central Michigan, using data from the Township’s audited financial reports. We find that Pine River Township has a sizable and growing General...

This case study examines the fiscal health of Ogemaw County, Michigan, a mostly rural county in the northeast lower peninsula of Michigan, using data from the County’s annual audited financial reports. We find that while Ogemaw County has struggled...

This policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ experiences with public harassment, threats, or even violence as part of their role in local government. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding a variety of issues related to recycling programs, policies, and practices in local government and communities across the state of Michigan. Topics include...

This policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ views on the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), including plans for spending the funds, problems the jurisdiction is facing, and expectations for benefits from the funding. These...

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 Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature. These...

Over the past twenty years, few cities have experienced as much fiscal stress as Flint, Michigan. After decades of economic decline, two periods of state receivership, the water crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Flint is trying to shore...

Every decade the decennial US census is followed by a tumultuous process of redrawing state voting maps. This process gives states an opportunity to update their voting districts to account for shifting population distributions. In many states, this...