Five years ago, the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy launched an ongoing survey of the chief elected and appointed officials in every one of Michigan’s 1,856 counties, cities, townships and villages, large and small. One main goal: to identify their most pressing governance problems, including the impact of recession-era tax-revenue losses and troublesome barriers to economic development, as well as the steps local government leaders are taking to effectively overcome them.
Roughly every six weeks, the Michigan Public Policy Survey, conducted by the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), distributes findings to policymakers and others who can help community leaders overcome their obstacles says Tom Ivacko (MPA ’93), program officer at CLOSUP.
Findings go to Michigan-based economic development organizations, legislators and executive branch leaders, foundations and non-profits, the state’s local governance associations, and, equally important says Ivacko, back to the respondents themselves, who use the information for many purposes like understanding what their peers are doing to trim costs, raise revenue, and grow local businesses.
