Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS)

How would you rate the overall effectiveness (whatever "effectiveness" means to you) of public comment opportunities at other jurisdictional meetings (e.g., planning commission, etc.) for engaging citizens in your jurisdiction's policymaking and/or operations? (Among jurisdictions that reported using public comment opportunities at other jurisdictional meetings (e.g., planning commission, etc.))

How effective or ineffective do you think revenue sharing incentives designed to encourage collaboration would be in encouraging or supporting intergovernmental collaboration?

How would you rate the overall effectiveness (whatever "effectiveness" means to you) of public comment opportunities at jurisdiction's main governing Council/Board meetings for engaging citizens in your jurisdiction's policymaking and/or operations? (Among jurisdictions that reported using public comment opportunities at jurisdiction's main governing Council/Board meetings)

How would you rate the overall effectiveness (whatever "effectiveness" means to you) of cable TV broadcasts and/or online streaming of government meetings for engaging citizens in your jurisdiction's policymaking and/or operations? (Among jurisdictions that reported using cable TV broadcasts and/or online streaming of government meetings)

How would you rate the overall effectiveness (whatever "effectiveness" means to you) of local government performance dashboards or reports for engaging citizens in your jurisdiction's policymaking and/or operations? (Among jurisdictions that reported using local government performance dashboards or reports)

Do you feel things in your jurisdiction are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten off on the wrong track?

We know there are regular assessments of many public roads using formal scoring methods, however, we are interested in your personal evaluation of the overall condition of roads and bridges within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries. In your opinion, how would you rate the overall current condition within your jurisdiction of bridges, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

We know there are regular assessments of many public roads using formal scoring methods, however, we are interested in your personal evaluation of the overall condition of roads and bridges within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries. In your opinion, how would you rate the overall current condition within your jurisdiction of local unpaved roads?

We know there are regular assessments of many public roads using formal scoring methods, however, we are interested in your personal evaluation of the overall condition of roads and bridges within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries. In your opinion, how would you rate the overall current condition within your jurisdiction of local paved roads?

We know there are regular assessments of many public roads using formal scoring methods, however, we are interested in your personal evaluation of the overall condition of roads and bridges within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries. In your opinion, how would you rate the overall current condition within your jurisdiction of state trunk lines and county primary roads?

How would you rate the way the Michigan Legislature is performing its job?

How would you rate the way Rick Snyder is performing his job as Michigan's governor?

Do you feel things in the state of Michigan are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten off on the wrong track?

How would you rate the way your jurisdiction's governing board is performing its job?

We know there are regular assessments of many public roads using formal scoring methods, however, we are interested in your personal evaluation of the overall condition of roads and bridges within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries. In your opinion, how would you rate the overall current condition within your jurisdiction of roads, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose easing credit rating-based restrictions so more jurisdictions could issue bonds for funding retiree health care benefits? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose creating a state-wide bonding pool for funding retiree health care benefits to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose facilitating the creation of private health care exchanges (like the public exchanges in the federal Affordable Care Act) for Michigan's local governments to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose creating a state-pooled retiree health care benefits system to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose creating a state-wide Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) or assisting jurisdictions in creating VEBAs to shift control of retiree health care benefits to employees and/or retirees themselves to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose setting hard caps (i.e., percentage or dollar figure) on jurisdictions' contributions to retiree health care costs to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Thinking about the following actions the State of Michigan could take to help local governments address retiree health care obligations, to what extent, if any, would you support or oppose prohibiting jurisdictions from providing retiree health care benefits for future retirees to help your jurisdiction better meet or reduce its retiree health care obligations? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

Looking ahead, how concerned are you, if at all, that your jurisdiction will not be able to fulfill its health care benefit obligations to its retirees? (Among those jurisdictions that reported offering some kind of retiree health care benefits)

In your opinion, where would you say the majority of your jurisdiction’s business community would rank the need for road and bridge maintenance and improvement compared to other public service priorities (e.g., public safety services, economic development, public health, trash collection, etc.) for your local government?

Now, if the state legislature increases funding for roads and/or bridges in your jurisdiction by some amount, which of the following, in your opinion, would be closest to meeting your jurisdiction’s needs to improve the roads and bridges, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

Now, if the state legislature increases funding for roads and/or bridges in your jurisdiction by some amount, which of the following, in your opinion, would be closest to meeting your jurisdiction’s needs to maintain the roads and bridges, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

If the state legislature does not significantly increase funding for roads and/or bridges in your jurisdiction, in your opinion, how much of a problem, if at all, would it be to improve the roads and bridges, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

If the state legislature does not significantly increase funding for roads and/or bridges in your jurisdiction, in your opinion, how much of a problem, if at all, would it be to maintain the roads and bridges, in general, within your geographic boundaries?

Some counties or localities have had to resort to grinding up paved roads that they can no longer afford to maintain. As far as you know, has this been done to one or more paved roads within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries during the past five years?

In some local jurisdictions, the focus of road and/or bridge maintenance and improvement is on long-term asset management. In other jurisdictions, the focus is necessarily on short-term repairs and “band-aid” fixes. Which of the following, in your opinion, best describes the current approach to road and/or bridge maintenance and improvement within your jurisdiction’s geographic boundaries? (Please respond to the best of your knowledge, even if your jurisdiction does not control local road policy.)