Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS)

Looking forward to the next fiscal year, do you expect your jurisdiction will completely eliminate any particular service(s), and it will no longer be provided at all?

Looking forward to the next fiscal year, do you expect your jurisdiction will completely eliminate any particular service(s), but it will be provided by another entity?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by lack of funding?

Looking forward to the next fiscal year, do you expect your jurisdiction to not completely eliminate any particular service?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by lack of technical expertise among jurisdiction personnel?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by lack of technical skills among your citizens?

Does your jurisdiction adopt single-year budgets or multi-year budgets?

How likely is it that your jurisdiction will adopt formal multi-year budgeting in the next 12 months? (Among those jurisdictions reporting using single-year budgets)

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by no particular leaders among jurisdiction personnel pushing for adoption?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by resistance among jurisdiction personnel?

In your current fiscal year, has your jurisdiction had to make any significant mid-year adjustments due to an inaccurate budget forecast?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by lack of interest among citizens?

Different local jurisdictions manage their unreserved general fund balances in different ways depending on their specific circumstances. Despite these differences, we're interested in tracking overall changes in these balances over time. Approximately what was your jurisdiction's unreserved general fund balance as a percentage of general fund expenditures at the end of its last fiscal year?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by issues of privacy/security?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by issues concerning compliance with the Open Meetings Act and/or the Freedom of Information Act?

Has your jurisdiction's use of technology for citizen engagement been discouraged by lack of "high speed" Internet connections in the community?

During the next twelve months, do you think your community will have good times financially, or bad times financially?

Thinking about your jurisdiction's fiscal needs, overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's unreserved general fund balance to be too high, about right, or too low?

Would you say that your unit of government is less able or better able to meet its financial needs in this fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year?

In your opinion, is your jurisdiction's cash flow and its ability to pay bills in a timely manner a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all?

Do you anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the current fiscal year?

Would you say that your unit of government is less able or better able to meet its financial needs in the next fiscal year compared to this fiscal year?

Do you anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the upcoming fiscal year?

Do you not anticipate that your jurisdiction will have property tax charge-backs from your county government in the current or upcoming fiscal year?

In your opinion, are potential property tax charge-backs to your jurisdiction a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all? (Among those jurisdictions that reported anticipating property tax charge-backs in the current or upcoming fiscal year)

Does your jurisdiction have one or more special taxing authorities, such as a Downtown Development Authority (DDA), a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, or another similar authority?

In your opinion, overall, have your DDA and/or other special taxing authorities been an asset, a liability, or neither to your jurisdiction's fiscal health to date? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities)

In your opinion, how likely is it that one or more of your special taxing authorities will have serious difficulty repaying their current debt? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities)

In your opinion, are the special taxing authorities' debt obligations a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all for your jurisdiction's fiscal health? (Among those jurisdictions that reported having one or more special tax authorities and did not report them having no debt)

Overall, do you consider your jurisdiction's pay rate(s) for new hires to be too high, about right, or too low?