Debra Horner

Publication

Michigan's local governments make progress on budgeting, but many lag on long-term planning

May 6, 2026

In a time of economic volatility, relatively few local governments in Michigan report they are doing long-term financial planning—though many say they'd like to be doing more. The findings come in the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy ...

Michigan's local governments make progress on budgeting, but many lag on long-term planning

State & Hill

25 years of CLOSUP

Apr 11, 2026

When the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission faced a tidal wave of public input—more than 30,000 comments—the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Ford School students stepped in. Their analysis helped the commiss...

News

Government of, by and for people? Sure, but it needs more people to serve, U-M survey finds

Apr 8, 2026

Abraham Lincoln famously spoke of a government of, by and for the people. Yet it's getting harder to find people to serve in government, according to a survey of local leaders across Michigan. The findings come in the latest installment of the Michig...

Government of, by and for people? Sure, but it needs more people to serve, U-M survey finds

News

Concerns about elected officials’ budgeting expertise emerges from survey of Michigan community leaders

Feb 4, 2026

A majority of Michigan city and village officials say they are concerned about the lack of budgeting expertise among the elected officials in their communities as they deal with rising economic and political uncertainty and challenging state and fede...

Concerns about elected officials’ budgeting expertise emerges from survey of Michigan community leaders

Publication

Fiscal stress rising among Michigan communities, particularly in small, rural towns, U-M survey finds

Dec 17, 2025

Fewer than half of Michigan's smaller and more rural communities report good fiscal health, reflecting a trend of rising financial stress among local governments across the state and growing concerns about having enough money to keep up with increase...

Fiscal stress rising among Michigan communities, particularly in small, rural towns, U-M survey finds

Policy Matters

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

Nov 20, 2025

Recent years have seen increasing concerns over the state of democracy in the US, with a majority of Americans believing it to be under threat. Using data from an annual survey, Stephanie Leiser, Debra Horner, and Natalie Fitzpatrick find that local ...

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

News

Trust falls among Michigan’s local officials that residents can be responsible partners in policymaking

Nov 19, 2025

The trust Michigan's local leaders have that the residents they serve can responsibly participate in the policymaking process has eroded to alarmingly low levels. Further, the officials' assessments of the tone of civil discourse among residents has ...

Publication

Local officials in Michigan report plummeting engagement with residents despite myriad methods

Oct 28, 2025

From voicemail to email, social media to snail mail—even bulletin boards in public places—there’s no lack of newfangled and old-school ways for local leaders to reach residents in their communities. Still, officials across Michigan report alarming de...

Local officials in Michigan report plummeting engagement with residents despite myriad methods

Publication

Many local Michigan officials say services threatened by faltering local government funding system

Sep 24, 2025

Michigan’s local officials are growing more pessimistic about their ability to maintain—let alone expand—services under the current local government funding system, according to a University of Michigan study. That’s the main takeaway from the latest...

Many local Michigan officials say services threatened by faltering local government funding system

Publication

Local governments in Michigan concerned about problems spurred by state, federal funding cuts

Aug 13, 2025

Many of Michigan’s local government officials—especially at the city and county level—believe a temporary or permanent loss of public funding will cause financial problems, though fewer are preparing for such cuts. The findings come from the latest i...

Local governments in Michigan concerned about problems spurred by state, federal funding cuts

Publication

Michigan's local leaders express lingering pessimism, entrenched partisanship about state's direction

Jul 22, 2025

Despite improvement since the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of Michigan local officials say the state is on the wrong track. These findings are from the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted by the University of Michig...

Michigan's local leaders express lingering pessimism, entrenched partisanship about state's direction

Publication

Michigan's local leaders support database tracking police misconduct, far fewer favor public access to it

Jul 8, 2025

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...

News

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

May 22, 2025

More Michigan communities are adopting policies to improve police-community relations, and local officials see increased trust among residents for law enforcement officers where certain practices were in place. The latest Michigan Public Policy Surve...

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

Publication

Many local officials in Michigan uncertain about the use of AI or other predictive policing tools

Apr 23, 2025

Survey researchers describe a ‘Wild West’ phase, express hope for clarity, regulationWhile law enforcement surveillance technology use has boomed, some Michigan officials are wary of adopting newer AI-driven policing tools, according to a University ...

Many local officials in Michigan uncertain about the use of AI or other predictive policing tools

News

Most Michigan law enforcement officials back some use of mental health workers, others in 911 response

Feb 26, 2025

Most of Michigan’s county sheriffs and local police chiefs support some type of alternative or hybrid approach for responding to 911 calls beyond traditional law enforcement officers. However, a majority of them believe it would be difficult to imple...

Most Michigan law enforcement officials back some use of mental health workers, others in 911 response

News

Law enforcement leaders view pretrial diversion programs as a source for positive change

Nov 20, 2024

A majority of Michigan sheriffs, police chiefs and county prosecutors support programs that allow certain offenders to participate in alternative paths to standard criminal prosecution, according to a new University of Michigan study. The broad suppo...

Law enforcement leaders view pretrial diversion programs as a source for positive change

News

Majority of local officials in Michigan lack confidence in ‘red-flag law’ aimed at reducing gun violence

Oct 31, 2024

A majority of local government and law enforcement officials in Michigan say they lack confidence the state’s new “red-flag law” aimed at reducing gun violence will do so, according to a University of Michigan survey. Further, those officials express...

Majority of local officials in Michigan lack confidence in ‘red-flag law’ aimed at reducing gun violence

Publication

The functioning of democracy at the local level

Oct 29, 2024

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has released a new resource that summarizes Michigan local government leaders' views on democracy and democratic governance. The findings come from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), a pr...

The functioning of democracy at the local level

Publication

Local leaders in Michigan sound alarms over hiring, keeping law enforcement officers

Sep 17, 2024

Concerns about hiring and keeping law enforcement officers have skyrocketed among local government officials in Michigan in the past decade. Local law enforcement officials themselves are even more pessimistic about recruitment and retention within t...

Nearly half of Michigan law enforcement officials concerned about funding, according to U-M survey

Publication

Fewer local leaders in Michigan feeling positive about how democracy is functioning in state, U.S.

Aug 15, 2024

Local leaders in Michigan are slightly less optimistic in their views on the health of democracy at the state and national levels, according to an ongoing survey by the University of Michigan. Although assessments of civic health at the national leve...

Fewer local leaders in Michigan feeling positive about how democracy is functioning in state, U.S.

Publication

Most local officials support rooftop solar, a majority opposes nuclear power

May 22, 2024

Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power. Those are among the key findings in the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey conducte...

Most local officials support rooftop solar, a majority opposes nuclear power

News

Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

Dec 11, 2023

Michigan local leaders’ assessments of democracy at the national level have improved marginally for two years in a row after a sharp decline in 2021, largely due to fewer local officials rating American democracy as poorly functioning. Similarly, the...

Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

News

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

Nov 10, 2023

Over half of Michigan local officials currently rate their jurisdiction’s overall relationship with the State government as just fair or even poor, while 34% of local officials say it is either good or excellent. It is an important relationship becau...

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

News

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Oct 11, 2023

As unprecedented state and federal funding opportunities have emerged over the past 18 months with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Michigan local government leaders have expressed their concern about...

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Publication

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

Sep 14, 2023

Michigan local officials are reporting alarm at the lack of housing options across the state. Those concerns include single-family homes and multi-family units, and cut across affordable, entry-level and mid-level housing availability. The results...

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

News

Michigan local government leaders’ views on their employee unions: few changes in relationships or impacts as Right-to-Work comes and goes

Jul 26, 2023

Pluralities of local government leaders across Michigan say the state’s recently repealed "Right-to-Work" law had no impact on issues such as community business growth, the ability of their local government to lure or keep public sector employees, or...

News

CLOSUP and Poverty Solutions to examine Michigan’s approach to criminal justice reform

Jul 20, 2023

In the wake of racial justice movements across the country, the State of Michigan and some of its communities have been implementing new public safety and criminal justice policies. The perspective of Michigan's local government, public safety, and p...

News

Most Michigan local officials believe their government workforce reflects their community, though less so in urban areas

Jun 26, 2023

Statewide, two-thirds of local government leaders say their government’s workforce is generally reflective of the community’s racial and/or ethnic composition and three-quarters say it is reflective of the community’s gender makeup. These assessments...

News

Most Michigan local officials continue to say state is on the wrong track, though outlook slightly improved

May 17, 2023

Despite a two-year trend of improvement, nearly 60% of Michigan's local government leaders say the state is on the wrong track in 2023, according to a recent University of Michigan survey. Specifically, 59% see the wrong track, less than the 62% i...

In the Media

Horner analyzes use of social media by local governments

Apr 9, 2023 Daily Telegram

Debra Horner, The Daily Telegram: "Back in 2012, only about 18 percent of local officials told us their governments used social media (including 48 percent of jurisdictions with more than 30,000 residents). In 2021, that was up to 29 percent (includi...