Fiscal Health
- Good or Bad Times in the coming year?
- Better or Less Able to meet jurisdiction’s needs this fiscal year than last
- Better or Less Able to meet jurisdiction’s needs next fiscal year than this
Changes from the Last Fiscal Year to the Current Fiscal Year
- Change in jurisdiction’s revenue from property taxes
- Change in jurisdiction’s revenue from fees for services, licenses, transfers, etc
- Change in amount of federal aid to jurisdiction
- Change in amount of state aid to jurisdiction
- Change in jurisdiction’s tax delinquencies
- Change in jurisdiction’s population
- Change in jurisdiction’s amount of home foreclosures
- Change in jurisdiction’s public safety needs
- Change in jurisdiction’s infrastructure needs
- Change in jurisdiction’s human service needs
- Change in jurisdiction’s number of employees
- Change in jurisdiction’s employee wages and salaries
- Change in jurisdiction’s cost of employee pensions
- Change in jurisdiction’s cost of current employee health benefits
- Change in jurisdiction’s cost of retired employee health benefits
Expected Changes from the Current Fiscal Year to the Next Fiscal Year
- Projected change in property tax rates
- Projected change in charges for fees, licenses, etc.
- Projected change in reliance on general fund balance
- Projected change in reliance on “rainy day” funds
- Projected change in amount of services provided
- Projected change in actual public safety spending
- Projected change in actual infrastructure spending
- Projected change in actual human services spending
- Projected change in funding for economic development programs
- Projected change in amount of debt
- Projected change in sale of public assets
- Projected change in privatizing or contracting out services
- Projected change in number and/or scope of interlocal agreements or other cost-sharing plans with other governments
- Projected change in jurisdiction’s workforce hiring
- Projected change in jurisdiction’s workforce layoffs
- Projected change in jurisdiction’s filling vacant positions
- Projected change in amount of employee compensation
- Projected change in employees’ share of premiums, deductibles, and/or co-pays on health insurance
- Projected change in employees’ share of contributions to retirement funds
- Projected change in retirees’ share of premiums, deductibles, and/or co-pays on health insurance
Furloughs and Four-day work weeks
- Jurisdiction utilized employee furloughs this year
- Jurisdiction utilized a four-day work week this year
- Likelihood that jurisdiction will utilize employee furloughs next year
- Likelihood that jurisdiction will utilize a four-day work week next year
Elimination of services
- Jurisdiction completely eliminated service(s) this year that are now no longer provided at all
- Jurisdiction completely eliminated service(s) this year that are now provided by another entity
- Jurisdiction plans to completely eliminate service(s) in coming year and no longer provide it at all
- Jurisdiction plans to completely eliminate service(s) in coming year that will be provided by another entity
Budgeting processes
- Jurisdiction does formal single year or multi-year budgeting
- Jurisdiction had to make any significant mid-year adjustments because expenditures were higher than expected
- Jurisdiction had to make any significant mid-year adjustments because revenues were lower than expected
- Jurisdiction did not have to make any significant mid-year adjustments because expenditures
- Don’t know if jurisdiction had to make any significant mid-year adjustments
Citizens’ knowledge of local finances and their tax preferences
- Knowledge of jurisdiction’s citizens regarding jurisdiction’s finances
- Jurisdiction’s citizens more likely to choose higher taxes or service cuts
General Fund Balances
- Jurisdiction has written policy regarding the required minimum level or its general fund balance or cash reserves
- Jurisdiction’s unreserved general fund balance as a percentage of general fund expenditures last year
- Level of jurisdiction’s unreserved general fund balance
Employee wages and benefits
- Level of jurisdiction’s employee pay rate
- Jurisdiction’s current employee fringe benefit package(s)
- Level of jurisdiction’s contributions to employee health care benefits
- Health insurance plan provided to active employees - HMO
- Health insurance plan provided to active employees - PPO
- Health insurance plan provided to active employees - traditional
- Health insurance plan provided to active employees - high-deducible
- Health insurance plan provided to active employees - self-funded
- Don’t Know what type of health insurance plan provided to active employees
- Type of pension plan jurisdiction offers
- Likelihood jurisdiction will introduce a defined contribution plan in the next 12 months
- Jurisdiction’s pension obligations as a fiscal health problem
Other post-employment benefit liabilities (GASB 45)
- Jurisdiciton in the process of or has it completed an actuarial study to determine/quantify liability
- Jurisdiction increased cost-sharing for retirees
- Jurisdiction negotiated with unions to changed benefits
- Jurisdiction reduced no-union benefits
- Jurisdiction increased the age at which retirement benefits are available
- Jurisdiction increased the years of service required to receive retirement benefits
- Jurisdiction financed liability through bonds
- Jurisdiction’s retiree health care obligations is a fiscal health problem
Economic Gardening
- Jurisdiction currently involved in economic gardening activities
- Jurisdiction conducted workforce development or training programs as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction developed traditional infrastructure as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction developed IT infrastructure as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction fostered networking among local businesses as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction helped local businesses with social networking online as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction provided or fostered information access to markets, customers, or competitors as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction provide or fostered access to capital as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction granted tax abatements or deferments as economic gardening
- Jurisdiction developed a local currency or a "buy local" campaign as economic gardening
- Agree or disagree that economic gardening can be an effective economic development strategy for jurisdiction
Response to possible changes in revenue sharing
- Agree or disagree with tying state revenue sharing to certain base-level local services while allowing local governments to raise additional taxes for additional services
- Likelihood jurisdiction would increase its property tax millage if it had the authority to do so
- Likelihood jurisdiction would introduce or expand a local income tax if it had the authority to do so
- Likelihood jurisdiction would introduce or expand a local sales tax if it had the authority to do so
- Likelihood jurisdiction would participate in a regional tax authority if it had the authority to do so
U.S. Census
- Jurisdiction done anything to encourage citizens to complete U.S. Census form
Redistricting
- Favor or oppose proposal to redraw Michigan state legislative electoral districts
The Federal Stimulus Package
- Amount the Recovery Act has helped community’s economy to date
- Amount the Recovery Act will improve community’s economy in long term
- Amount the Recovery Act has helped Michigan’s economy to date
- Amount the Recovery Act will improve Michigan’s economy in long term