#FactsMatter, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan podcast

Michigan can and should encourage healthier, more livable communities, sustainable development, desirable affordable housing, and public transit by getting rid of parking mandates. Governor Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council established a need to 'create thriving, resilient communities' as part of a strategy to grow Michigan’s population and improve our economic prospects. Municipal parki...

Detroit Free Press reporter Arpan Lobo guest hosts the Facts Matter podcast, produced by the Citizens Research Council. Arpan, who recently wrote about Consumers Energy getting the OK to bury power lines in 6 Michigan counties, interviews Citizens Research Council analyst Eric Dennis, who issued a report this time last year about the benefits of undergrounding electrical lines but, that without a...

Over the 2020 to 2050 period, Michigan’s school-age population is expected to fall from 1.58 million to 1.48 million children. This will fuel a continuation of a two-decades-long decline in the number of students enrolled in public schools. As individual schools confront further enrollment declines and the exhaustion of one-time federal COVID relief aid at the end of 2024, many will face the prosp...

Michigan lawmakers recently approved $114 million from the state School Aid Fund to pay off the legacy debts of several local school systems that previously faced serious financial distress. Some districts received the relief, others did not. This represents a moral hazard, signaling to some districts that they will not be held responsible for solving any future financial problems. Taxpayers shoul...

Michigan is likely to continue to be rated as one of the worst states for government ethics, transparency, and accountability. Proposal 1, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2022, required the ethics reform (financial disclosure) legislation to be enacted by December 31. While the new law meets the bare minimum standards set by Proposal 1, Michigan is likely to continue to be rated a...

Maureen McNulty-Saxton talks to Citizens Research Council Research Associate for Local Affairs Chelsea Dowler https://crcmich.org/four-elements-of-better-housing-policy In a Nutshell - Many housing affordability and equity issues are rooted in car reliance, disinvestment in the urban core, and reliance on underfunded and inefficient federal housing programs. - A housing production program must tac...

Guest Host Estelle Slootmaker, who recently reported on this issue for SecondWave Media Michigan, interviews Research Council Analyst Karley Abramson. In a nutshell: - Health care to prisoners is a costly endeavor, yet the Michigan Department of Corrections does not adequately assess whether it meets its legal obligations to prisoners in the most cost-effective way. - Three important questions are...

While property tax relief for residents and businesses is needed, the split-rate tax proposal may fail to achieve its objective of added economic vibrancy. In its function as a penalty to land speculation, it may have the unintended effect that it worsens the city’s issue with abandoned and vacant land. - Currently, under consideration by the state Legislature is a bill that would permit Detroit t...

The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison commissioned Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum* to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of Michigan’s population, economic and environmental conditions to help answer a fundamental question: In what direction is Michigan heading? Citizens Research Council was thrilled to work with Bridge Michigan as guest hosts for this special series of...

The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison commissioned Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum* to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of Michigan’s population, economic and environmental conditions to help answer a fundamental question: In what direction is Michigan heading? Citizens Research Council was thrilled to work with Bridge Michigan as guest hosts for this special series of...

The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison commissioned Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum* to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of Michigan’s population, economic and environmental conditions to help answer a fundamental question: In what direction is Michigan heading? Citizens Research Council was thrilled to work with Bridge Michigan as guest hosts for this special series of...

The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison commissioned Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum* to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of Michigan’s population, economic and environmental conditions to help answer a fundamental question: In what direction is Michigan heading? Citizens Research Council was thrilled to work with Bridge Michigan as guest hosts for this special series of...

The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison commissioned Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum* to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of Michigan’s population, economic and environmental conditions to help answer a fundamental question: In what direction is Michigan heading? Citizens Research Council was thrilled to work with Bridge Michigan as guest hosts for this special series of...

Lawmakers insert historic $1.3 billion in hidden budget earmarks –or pet projects -- two-thirds at the last minute! How is this allowed? Detroit News Reporter Beth LeBlanc and Sr. Research Bob Schneider dive into the murky world of state budget earmarking

Local governments across Michigan have enacted ordinances regulating tenant screening, just-cause evictions, and providing the right to counsel for an eviction proceeding. The localization of tenant protections leave some renters vulnerable to eviction and housing instability. Can Michigan enact statewide tenant protections? Chelsea Dowler and Maureen McNulty-Saxton discuss on the Facts Matter pod...

Intimate Partner Violence is a serious public health concern for women in Michigan. Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the state and nationwide. Michigan has made efforts, but are there policy recommendations that could address both of these issues? Researcher Karley Abramson discusses with Maureen McNulty-Saxton on the Facts Matter podcast.

With Michigan's financial books for FY2022 now closed, a formal announcement came last week that the state income tax rate would drop from 4.25 percent to 4.05 percent for tax year 2023 due to a rate cut trigger added to state law in 2015. However, a new Attorney General legal opinion has determined that any rate cut would be temporary, with the rate returning to 4.25 percent for tax year 2024. Ou...

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan does not take positions on ballot issues. In analyzing Proposal 3 on the November 8 ballot, we hope to provide more information so that voters can make better-informed decisions in formulating their votes.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan does not take positions on ballot issues. In analyzing Proposal 2 on the November 8 ballot, we hope to provide more information so that voters can make better-informed decisions in formulating their votes.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan does not take positions on ballot issues. In analyzing Proposal 1 on the November 8 ballot, we hope to provide more information so that voters can make better-informed decisions in formulating their votes.

On this episode of Facts Matter, research associate Dr. Esmat Ishag-Osman discusses his recent report analyzing the FY2023 City of Detroit budget.

On February 25, the city got an update of just how much money the city budget is projected to have for the next fiscal year and annually through 2026. General Fund revenues are on course to exceed September projections by modest amounts due in part to favorably adjusted income tax revenue estimates. Projections show that the city’s fiscal recovery will benefit from employment rates of blue collar...

Research Associate Jill Roof discusses how Royal Oak Township provides an example of how the design of Michigan's municipal finance system has allowed certain local governments to use ad valorem special assessments to live beyond their property tax revenue raising means. However, Royal Oak's use of these assessments is largely a byproduct of the fiscal constraints placed upon it - it literally has...

We were glad to see that Governor Whitmer’s budget proposals largely take this approach and, importantly, maintain a structural balance between ongoing revenues and spending. However, the governor’s plan to use the $3.6 billion School Aid Fund surplus skews entirely towards spending and misses an opportunity to pay down some of the state’s largest and most expensive debts.

February 2020 marks the one-year anniversary of the Michigan Reconnect Program and the state of Michigan has pointed out that 91,000 Michiganders are on a tuition-free pathway to attain degrees and skills for new opportunities that lead to rewarding careers.