Michigan Public Policy Survey Questions and Data Tables

Thinking about the next fiscal year, which action has your jurisdiction taken or is likely to take regarding employees’ share of contributions to retirement funds?

Thinking about your jurisdiction’s fiscal needs, overall, do you consider your jurisdiction’s unreserved/unassigned general fund balance to be too high, about right, or too low?

In your opinion, is your jurisdiction’s cash flow and its ability to pay bills in a timely manner a significant fiscal problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem, or not a problem at all?

In your best estimate, how often is there consensus among Board/Council members regarding votes on budgeting and fiscal policy?

Thinking about the overall fiscal stress of your jurisdiction today and what you expect it to be down the road - including any future financial obligations it may have - on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the best: perfect fiscal health and 10 is the worst: fiscal crisis, how would you rate your jurisdiction's overall fiscal stress today?

Thinking about the overall fiscal stress of your jurisdiction today and what you expect it to be down the road - including any future financial obligations it may have - on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the best: perfect fiscal health and 10 is the worst: fiscal crisis, how would you rate your jurisdiction's overall fiscal stress as you expect it to be five years from now?

How confident are you in your rating regarding your jurisdiction’s fiscal stress today?

How confident are you in your rating regarding your jurisdiction's expected fiscal stress five years from now?

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its impacts so far on public health in your community.

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its impacts so far on your residents’ welfare (food security, mental health, job security, etc.).

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its impacts so far on your jurisdiction officials’ and/or employees’ work-related experiences (morale, mental health, job security, etc.).

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its impacts so far on economic conditions in your community (businesses closing, unemployment, etc.).

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its impacts so far on continuity of your jurisdiction’s public services.

Thinking about the effects of COVID-19 in your community, please identify its overall impact on your community.

In your opinion, how effective or ineffective overall has the coordination on COVID-19 been so far between your jurisdiction and your county health department?

In your opinion, how effective or ineffective has the coordination on COVID-19 been so far between your jurisdiction and other units of the county government (e.g., sheriff, county human services)?

In your opinion, how effective or ineffective overall has the coordination on COVID-19 been so far between your jurisdiction and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)?

In your opinion, how effective or ineffective overall has the coordination on COVID-19 been so far between your jurisdiction and other units of the state government (e.g., Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity, State Police, etc.)?

Thinking about the resources necessary for your jurisdiction to address COVID-19, do you agree or disagree that, so far, your jurisdiction’s local government has gotten the public health resources it needs from the state or federal government?

Thinking about the resources necessary for your jurisdiction to address COVID-19, do you agree or disagree that, so far, your jurisdiction’s local government has gotten the financial resources it needs from the state or federal government?

If there were no restrictions on the use of the funds, how important do you think it would be to apply the American Rescue Plan Act money to assistance for individuals and households (e.g., emergency housing, food, mental health, etc.), if at all?

If there were no restrictions on the use of the funds, how important do you think it would be to apply the American Rescue Plan Act money to assistance for local businesses, if at all?

If there were no restrictions on use of the funds, how important do you think it would be to apply the American Rescue Plan Act money to general community-wide public services (e.g., public safety, parks, economic development, etc.), if at all?

If there were no restrictions on use of the funds, how important do you think it would be to apply the American Rescue Plan Act money to infrastructure investments or infrastructure debt repayment (e.g., water, sewer, broadband, etc.), if at all?

If there were no restrictions on use of the funds, how important do you think it would be to apply the American Rescue Plan Act money to your jurisdiction’s employees (e.g., preventing layoffs, increasing hiring, etc.), if at all?