1. Wolverine Caucus: Taking the Pulse of Local Government Leaders on Fiscal Health: Slow Recovery From the Great Recession Poses Concerns About the Future

    Mark Rivett posted February 11, 2020

    Tuesday, February 25th, 2020

    MI Senate Binsfeld Office Building
    5th floor, room 5550, 201 Townsend St, Lansing, MI 48933
    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    RSVP Here

    Public Engagement and Impact Article Here

    The Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) has been tracking Michigan local government fiscal health since it was launched near the end of the Great Recession in 2009. This presentation will highlight long term fundamental trends identified in the surveys, including a slow and halting recovery since the Recession, along with local leaders’ concerns about the future. The MPPS is conducted by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at U-M’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, in partnership with the Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Municipal League, and Michigan Townships Association. It is the nation’s only census-style survey of every unit of general purpose local government across an entire state, and routinely receives responses from more than 70% of Michigan’s local governments..

    Tom Ivacko, Interim Director of CLOSUP

    Tom Ivacko joined CLOSUP at its founding in the fall of 2001 and currently serves as interim director of the Center. He also oversees the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) program and has been a co-author on more than 75 MPPS publications covering a wide range of state and local government policy topics. He previously served as study manager, program manager and administrator for 11 years with the American National Election Studies at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Outside of work, Tom serves as a board member and past president of a nature area non-profit organization that focuses on stewardship and elementary school environmental educational opportunities in Ann Arbor, MI. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public administration, both from the University of Michigan.

    Debra Horner, Project Manager of CLOSUP

    Debra Horner is a project manager in U-M’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) where she helps run the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) program, an ongoing annual survey of local government officials across the state. In addition, she directs the undergraduate internship program for U-M’s Political Science Department and periodically teaches a course on Michigan politics and policy at the Ford School. She received her doctorate in Political Science from the University of Michigan and has experience with survey research projects both in academia and in the private sector. Debra’s primary areas of research focus on individuals’ political attitudes and political participation, as well as policymaking at the state and local levels in Michigan.