REPORT SHOWS PUBLIC OPINION ON SHARED PUBLIC SERVICES FOR MI MUNICIPALITIES

• Listen to the Interview of LPI Director by WJR Radio regarding this report. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2008

CONTACT:
Dr. Soji Adelaja
517.432.8800

Heidi Charron
517.432.8800 Ext. 109

REPORT SHOWS SURVEY RESULTS ON PUBLIC OPINION
ABOUT SHARED PUBLIC SERVICES FOR MICHIGAN MUNICIPALITIES
Eight Strategies to Relieve Fiscal Stress Voted on by Public

East Lansing, MI--Fiscal stress is likely to be an important problem confronting local governments in Michigan, so says a new report, titled "Support by Michigan Residents for Eight Common Strategies for Confronting Fiscal Stress in Municipal Governments," prepared for the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University by Dr. Jered Carr of Wayne State University on behalf of the Institute's Combining Local Government Services project.

Many municipalities face service costs that are rising at a much faster rate than the revenues available to support the associated services. Other stressors on municipalities include an out-migration of both population and tax base away from cities and suburbs, and property tax limitations that restrict the growth of local government revenues.

The report details findings from a 2007 survey conducted by Wayne State University of 660 randomly selected Michigan residents that gathered opinions on eight potential strategies to relieve the fiscal stress facing many municipalities related to local services. Respondents were asked to indicate their support for the use of these strategies, which are expected to maintain local public services at current levels.

The strategies examined fall into two broad categories: 1) Expanding local revenues to support the service through increases in local taxes or aid from the state or federal government; and 2) reducing the costs of producing the service by eliminating staff, reducing employee compensation, expanding the use of contracting, merging service operations with another local government, or transferring responsibility for the service to the county. The five services examined in this survey are: 1) Police street patrol; 2) fire fighting; 3) road and street maintenance repair; 4) trash collection; and 5) operation of parks and recreation programs.

The preliminary results of the survey indicate that only one of the eight proposed strategies received support from the general public--municipalities should seek aid from the federal and state government to maintain current levels of spending. In fact, respondents were clearly unenthusiastic about the use of any of the other proposed strategies. Survey findings show that when it comes to local services, the average respondent would rather increase local taxes to maintain spending on fire fighting and police street patrol than transfer these functions to another government. Respondents also preferred to increase taxes rather than lay off municipal staff or reduce their compensation.

The report incorporates a broad overview of the survey results and provides information on attitudes of Michigan residents toward the use of the eight proposed strategies to resolve fiscal stress in municipal governments. The report is intended to inform policy in the state about the need for better understanding of factors that shape public attitudes regarding fiscal stress within municipalities.

The downloadable report is available on the Land Policy Institute website at Eight Strategies for Confronting Fiscal Stress. Click on Combining Local Government Services for more information. Learn more about the Land Policy Institute at www.landpolicy.msu.edu.  

The MSU Land Policy Institute focuses on research and outreach related to land use and strategic growth in the New Economy. The Institute delivers innovative solutions, transitioning knowledge from land use experts to the community. The Land Policy Institute was founded in 2006.

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• Listen to the Interview of LPI Director by WJR Radio regarding this report.
• Download an electronic version of the report. 
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