fiscal health

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...

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

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

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.

News

U-M develops free tool to empower municipalities, modernize financial reporting

May 19, 2025

Free webinar June 4 will demo the Excel to iXBRL Conversion toolA free, open-source tool designed by the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy is now available to help local governments make financial data more accessible. Developed ...

U-M develops free tool to empower municipalities, modernize financial reporting

Alumni spotlight, State & Hill

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

May 9, 2025

When Congress passed the Financial Data and Transparency Act (FDTA) in 2022, it required all municipalities in the U.S. to modernize and digitize their financial reports. This is a heavy lift for small towns and school districts, most of which still ...

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

Publication

CLOSUP’s second annual report analyzes local government fiscal health

Mar 27, 2025

“Local governments provide services—clean water, plowed streets, courts, elections—that keep our economy and democracy working smoothly. Just like we get regular health checkups to take good care of ourselves, we should also regularly check the ‘vita...

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...

In the Media

Report: Locals Fiscally Sound During COVID, Long-Term Unclear

Apr 12, 2024 Gongwer

Local governments generally found themselves fiscally sound during the coronavirus pandemic due to one-time infusions of federal aid, but long-term fiscal health is more varied and could be tough to navigate due to constraints on fiscal policy, a rec...

CLOSUP Updates

New Fiscal Health Project Report: The Fiscal Health of Michigan Local Governments 2021 - 2022

Apr 8, 2024

Following local government’s unprecedented responsibilities as first responders to the COVID-19 pandemic and their subsequent infusions of aid from the federal government, a new report from CLOSUP's Fiscal Health Project checks in on the fiscal healt...

Michigan local governments face ARPA spending challenges with inflation and supply chain issues

MPPS in the news

Short Term Aid Doesn't Cure Fiscal Stress, Local Leaders Say in U-M Study

Feb 12, 2024 Gongwer

A recent survey of local leaders around the state found that short-term injections of "major financial aid" don't make a great difference in addressing municipal fiscal problems.

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Report: Survey of Michigan local leaders finds that a major short-term boost in financial aid doesn't change fundamentals of fiscal stress

Jan 23, 2024

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. These findings are based on statewide surveys ...

MPPS in the news

U.P. local government leaders identify challenges in getting state and federal grants

Dec 7, 2023 Rural Insights

Over the past few years, federal legislation such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has made available unprecedented levels of funding for local government projects and investments.

In the Media

XBRL US Hosts GovFin 2023: Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting, November 9, 2023, Washington, DC

Jul 24, 2023 WDTN Channel 2 News

XBRL US announced that they will be hosting a one-day conference, GovFin 2023: Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting, in Washington, DC, on Thursday, November 9, 2023. This educational forum will focus on the passage of legislation including ...

In the Media

Detroit's credit rating climb shows a city healthier than in decades

Jul 13, 2023 Crain's Detroit Business

Detroit is poised to mark the 10th anniversary of its historic bankruptcy by tapping the municipal bond market for $100 million of financing, most of which will go toward its program of reviving blighted neighborhoods.

In the Media

Detroit Marks Bankruptcy Anniversary by Borrowing Big to Tackle Blight

Jul 12, 2023 Bloomberg

State & Hill

Quantum leap

May 3, 2023

City of Flint and CLOSUP work toward transparency in municipal financial reporting By Daniel Rivkin When City of Flint CFO Rob Widigan looks at his required annual financial reporting to the state of Michigan, he sighs. His department needs to com...

In the Media

Flint, Michigan's finances stable but fragile as citizens get closer to state settlement payout

Mar 23, 2023 The Bond Buyer

Flint, Michigan's fiscal condition remains stable but fragile with some positive signs on the horizon as its citizens move closer to receiving compensation for the 2014 water contamination crisis, with a $600 million state-backed settlement clearing ...

In the Media

Machine-readable disclosure has 'revolutionized' Flint's financial reports, CFO says

Jan 25, 2023 The Bond Buyer

For Flint, Michigan, new machine-readable disclosure standards which have sparked controversy across the muni market represent a "quantum leap" for the city's finances, its CFO said. "If you're asking me, it's about time that we modernize and digitiz...

MPPS in the news

Local Governments Report Less Fiscal Stress, But Wary

Dec 19, 2022 Gongwer News Service

Local government leaders report they are better able to financially meet their needs this year than in 2021 though remain concerned about long-term fiscal trends, according to a survey released last week. The Michigan Public Policy Survey from the Un...

Publication

Local government fiscal outlook in Michigan a mixed picture: near-term improvement, long-term challenges

Dec 14, 2022

A majority of Michigan local leaders' assessments of their fiscal stress this year remain essentially unchanged compared to both 2021 and 2020, despite significant infusions of federal and state aid in recent years. The findings come from the spri...

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

CLOSUP Updates

Michigan local leaders report near-term improvements in fiscal health, especially in large jurisdictions, yet long-term concerns increase

Dec 14, 2022

A new 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. The findings are based on responses from 14 statewid...

MPPS in the news

Report highlights perspectives on democracy, fiscal health among Michigan administrators

Dec 14, 2022 American City and Country

Politically driven incidents over the last few years at all levels of government have fundamentally shaken public perception about the health of America’s democracy. Administrators have likewise been impacted. A new study from the University of Michi...

In the Media

A Chance to Make Government Financial Data Transparent and User-Friendly

Dec 7, 2022 Governing.com

Federal legislation requiring machine-readable reporting has its critics, but it would go a long way toward modernizing how data is collected, used and shared. It also could lower borrowing costs for states and localities.

In the Media

Financial reporting bill in Senate has muni lobby on edge

Sep 19, 2022 The Bond Buyer

The municipal market is rattled by legislation pending before the Senate that would require governments to standardize their financial reports, with opponents warning it would be onerous and costly and ultimately could shrink tax-exempt supply. Suppo...

In the Media

Leiser on building a better local government financial reporting system

Aug 23, 2022 The Bond Buyer

Through a Michigan pilot program, Stephanie Leiser and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy are building a taxonomy for machine-readable local government financial documents. "Transparency into local government fiscal health is needed to ...

Stephanie Leiser: Helping local goverments in Michigan become healthier and more resilient

In the Media

The University of Michigan moves to modernize government financial reporting

Jun 17, 2022 Reason Foundation

In 2002, three academic researchers proposed applying eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to state and local government financial reporting to make municipal data more digestible and publicly available. Now 20 years later, the University of...

In the Media

University of Michigan and XBRL US Launch Public Review of Government Data Standards

Jun 16, 2022 Bloomberg.com

XBRL US, a nonprofit standards organization, and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, announced the publication of digital financial data standards for local govern...

In the Media

University of Michigan and XBRL US Launch Public Review of Government Data Standards

Jun 16, 2022 Yahoo!

In the Media

Two-decade review of Flint finances by U-M shows consequences of lack of investment, legacy costs

Jun 9, 2022 Spot On Michigan

The turmoil surrounding the city of Flint-most notably stemming from its lead-tainted water crisis-has become a cautionary tale for other Rust Belt cities struggling to balance their budgets, provide services and attract new business.