CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Michigan local governments making progress on best practices in budgeting

May 6, 2026

A new MPPS report presents assessments by Michigan's local government leaders of local budgeting processes, including the prevalence of multi-year budgeting, capital improvement plans (CIPs), and long-term financial planning, as well as views on the ...

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New MPPS Policy Brief: Many Michigan local governments struggle to find residents willing to run for office or serve on boards

Apr 8, 2026

A new MPPS policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan's local government leaders on resident engagement in their communities. One significant area of concern is resident representation on local elected and appointed boards.

CLOSUP Updates

New Fiscal Health Project Report: The Fiscal Health of Michigan Local Governments 2024

Mar 16, 2026

A new report from CLOSUP's Fiscal Health Project provides an annual update on Michigan local government fiscal health.

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Challenges to Michigan local government budgeting

Feb 4, 2026

A new MPPS policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan's local government leaders on a set of eight specific challenges that they might be facing in their jurisdiction's budgeting process, including technical or procedural financial management cha...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Smaller and more rural Michigan local governments are struggling with increased fiscal stress

Dec 17, 2025

A new MPPS 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.

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New MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders trust residents less, but say that local democracy remains strong

Nov 19, 2025

A new MPPS report presents Michigan local government leaders’ trust in their residents and their assessments of the tone of discussion in local politics, as well as their views regarding the overall functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions. Th...

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New MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders report alarming declines in resident engagement

Oct 28, 2025

A new MPPS report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding resident engagement with their local governments, including assessments of the opportunities their local governments provide for engagement, residents’ overall leve...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Growing consensus among Michigan local government leaders on revenue inadequacy, but declining support for local tax options

Sep 23, 2025

A new MPPS report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding local revenue policy, including whether the state’s current system of funding local government will allow them to maintain or improve services, their preferences fo...

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New MPPS Policy Brief: Many Michigan communities concerned about the loss of federal and state funding, but uncertain how to prepare

Aug 12, 2025

A new MPPS policy brief presents the assessments of local government leaders from around the state regarding whether the winding down of funds from sources such as ARPA, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), or...

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New MPPS Policy Brief: A majority of Michigan local officials continue to say the state is on the wrong track, reflecting partisan affiliation and growing uncertainty

Jul 22, 2025

A new MPPS policy brief 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. ...

CLOSUP Updates

Michigan Leaders Back Police Misconduct Database, Not Access

Jul 9, 2025 Mirage News

Michigan's local leaders strongly support a law enforcement database for keeping track of officer misconduct, though far fewer are in favor of that database being accessible to the public. That's a key finding from the latest installment of the Michi...

CLOSUP Updates

Report: Local lawmakers, law enforcement officers want access to misconduct reports, internal investigations

Jul 8, 2025 Gongwer

There is widespread support among local government and law enforcement for the creation of a statewide misconduct database for law enforcement officers, according to a report from the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State and Urban Policy....

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Michigan local government and law enforcement leaders’ nuanced views on police accountability issues

Jul 8, 2025

A new MPPS report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders, local chiefs of police, county sheriffs, and county prosecutors regarding accountability in law enforcement, including opinions on a nationwide officer misconduct database, ...

Local Officials: Residents trust police more where there are policies to improve relations

CLOSUP Updates

Report: more localities implementing policies to improve relationships between communities and police

Jun 2, 2025 State Affairs

Michigan communities have increasingly adopted techniques to improve relations between their residents and local police, a study from the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy found, but have seen less movement on making t...

CLOSUP Updates

Navigating the Complexities of Trust in US Policing: A Holistic Approach to Community Engagement, De-escalation, and Independent Oversight

May 23, 2025 Forward Pathway

Your sharp-tongued editor is here to tackle the thorny issue of public trust in U.S. law enforcement, or, as it’s increasingly known, the public distrust in U.S. law enforcement. Because, oh, brilliant, it seems that after years of national conversat...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: More Michigan communities using policies to improve police-community relations

May 20, 2025

A new MPPS policy brief presents the views of local government leaders from around the state, who were asked about policies and practices associated with police-community relations on both the Fall 2015 and Spring 2024 waves of the Michigan Public Po...

CLOSUP Updates

June 4, 2025 Webinar | A new tool for digitizing municipal financial reporting

May 19, 2025

On June 4, 2025, the University of Michigan’s CLOSUP team and the Michigan Open Source Software (MOSS) initiative hosted a Zoom webinar on Digitizing municipal financial reporting: A new open source tool for Excel - XBRL conversion. The speakers were...

magnifying glass over part of a balance sheet, with calculator and pen

CLOSUP Updates

Michigan Public Policy Survey suggests uncertainty among local officials on AI police surveillance technology

May 12, 2025 The Michigan Daily

Since 2009, the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy has conducted the Michigan Public Policy Survey, a biannual survey of local government leaders across the state. This year’s report, “Mich...

CLOSUP Updates

Michigan Law Enforcement Expands Tech Use, but AI Adoption Remains Uncertain

May 1, 2025 Babl

Michigan’s law enforcement agencies have significantly expanded their use of surveillance technology over the past decade, though uncertainty remains high around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to a new report from the Univer...

CLOSUP Updates

Energy Experts Highlight Broader Implications

May 1, 2025 Thumbwind.com

Industry analysts note that the repeal could have significant ripple effects. Sarah Mills, senior research specialist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, pointed out in a recent report that Michigan’s clean ener...

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Survey: Law enforcement surveillance technology is rapidly progressing, but AI raises concerns

Apr 29, 2025 Michigan Advance

Usage of surveillance technology by law enforcement agencies in Michigan has exploded in the last decade, but a recent survey conducted by the University of Michigan found that as artificial intelligence tools are developed, law enforcement and local...

CLOSUP Updates

U-M Survey: Michigan Officials Warry Of AI Or Other Predictive Policing Tools

Apr 26, 2025 MITechNews.com

While law enforcement surveillance technology use has boomed, some Michigan officials are wary of adopting newer AI-driven policing tools, according to a University of Michigan survey. The Michigan Public Policy Survey, conducted last spring by U-M’s...

CLOSUP Updates

The AI Wave in US Law Enforcement and Legal Systems: Potential, Challenges, and Regulatory Uncertainty

Apr 24, 2025 Forward Pathway

Ah, Michigan. Always a bit of a puzzle, isn’t it? Especially when it comes to embracing the shiny new toys of technology. Your low-key editor is here to tell you that according to a recent survey out of the University of Michigan, local officials in ...

CLOSUP Updates

Police apprehensive about AI as surveillance tech grows, Michigan study shows

Apr 24, 2025 StateScoop

While the use of surveillance technology by local law enforcement agencies across Michigan has increased over the last nine years, many agencies said they were wary of using artificial intelligence tools in policing, according to a survey released We...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Michigan local government leaders report significant increases in police surveillance technology, uncertainty about AI introduction

Apr 23, 2025

A new MPPS report presents the assessments of Michigan’s local government leaders, local chiefs of police, and county sheriffs on the use and value of a range of law enforcement equipment and technology such as body and dashboard cameras, drones, aut...

CLOSUP Updates

Eviction in the U.P. Deserves a Closer Look

Apr 9, 2025 Iron County Reporter

MARQUETTE — As of March 2023, The Eviction Lab reports that Michigan’s eviction filing rate jumped from historic pandemic-era lows to become the fifth worst in the nation, at 16.7%. Read more

CLOSUP Updates

New Fiscal Health Project Report: The Fiscal Health of Michigan Local Governments 2023

Mar 26, 2025

Using financial data reported to the State of Michigan in 2023, a new report from CLOSUP's Fiscal Health Project provides an annual update on Michigan local government fiscal health. This report analyzes local government data to develop a set of indi...

Building tech to support small towns: U-M team develops digital tool for SEC compliance

CLOSUP Updates

Amplifying local voices: Michigan Public Policy Survey shares insights, experiences of Michigan’s township officials

Mar 21, 2025 Township Focus

For more than 15 years, a statewide survey of local government officials has helped to garner the opinions, experiences and insights of thousands of public leaders. These efforts, in which MTA is a partner, glean important information to help inform ...

CLOSUP Updates

Law enforcement leaders want specialized response programs, new survey says

Feb 27, 2025 Michigan Public

About eight out of every 10 Michigan county sheriffs and local police chiefs support having some type of specialized emergency response that would include professionals in fields like mental health and social work for some 911 calls, according to Mic...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders’ views on policing co-response and alternative response teams

Feb 26, 2025

A new MPPS report presents presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders, local chiefs of police, and county sheriffs on alternative approaches to traditional policing that might involve other professionals, such as mental health profe...

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