Michigan Public Policy Survey Questions and Data Tables

Which of the following groups within your jurisdiction, if any, are you concerned may be hard to count in the 2020 Census? (check all that apply)

g. Residents with no/little internet access

Which of the following groups within your jurisdiction, if any, are you concerned may be hard to count in the 2020 Census? (check all that apply)

h. Residents with a secondary home where they live a significant amount of the year (e.g., snowbirds, summer cottage owners, etc.)

Which of the following groups within your jurisdiction, if any, are you concerned may be hard to count in the 2020 Census? (check all that apply)

i. Don't know

At this time, how confident overall are you that there will be an accurate 2020 Census count in your jurisdiction?

At this time, how confident overall are you that there will be an accurate 2020 Census count statewide in Michigan?

Thinking more generally about the tone of discussion and communication that takes place around local policy issues, how would you describe the general state of public discourse among elected officials themselves within your jurisdiction?

Thinking more generally about the tone of discussion and communication that takes place around local policy issues, how would you describe the general state of public discourse between elected officials and residents within your jurisdiction?

Thinking more generally about the tone of discussion and communication that takes place around local policy issues, how would you describe the general state of public discourse among residents themselves within your jurisdiction?

Would you say the tone of discussion and communication among elected officials themselves is more or less civil than it was five years ago?

Would you say the tone of discussion and communication between elected officials and residents is more or less civil than it was five years ago?

Would you say the tone of discussion and communication among residents themselves is more or less civil than it was five years ago?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that your jurisdiction lacks sufficient volunteers for a local planning commission? (Among cities, townships, and villages which do not have any Master Plan)

How would you describe current levels of citizen engagement with your jurisdiction? Overall, would you say citizens in your jurisdiction are…

To what extent do you feel your jurisdiction offers opportunities to citizens for engagement with your jurisdiction in its policymaking and/or operations?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that you make opportunities for engagement available, but your citizens rarely take advantage of them?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that some of your best engagement with citizens happens informally around the community (such as at the grocery store or in a restaurant, etc.)?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that most citizens you hear from are more interested in complaining than in finding solutions?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that citizens in your jurisdiction want access to information about the government's finances and operations?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that most citizens aren't willing to take the time to become well-informed on issues facing the jurisdiction?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that your jurisdiction reaches out to groups that typically might not engage in our policymaking processes (e.g., low-income or racially diverse populations)?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that citizens tend to only be engaged on issues that affect them directly and not on issues affecting the community overall?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that your jurisdiction’s decision-making is transparent to your citizens?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that you struggle to find enough citizens to serve on your jurisdiction’s appointed boards/commissions or elected offices?

In terms of their engagement in your jurisdiction’s policymaking and/or operations, how much of the time do you think you can trust the citizens in your community to be responsible participants?

One way of thinking about the proper role for citizen engagement in local policymaking is along a spectrum from low engagement to high engagement. At the low end, citizen engagement would focus just on keeping citizens informed about issues. At the high end, citizens would actually make decisions for the jurisdiction. While it might differ depending on the issue, in general, what do you think the majority of your jurisdiction’s citizens believe is the proper role for citizen engagement in local governance?