Survey Finds Frayed Relations in Michigan Between Local Governments and State

Route Fifty: Relationships between Michigan’s local governments and the state are showing signs of strain, according to newly released results from a survey of local public officials.

Seventy percent of respondents said the state is taking away too much authority from local governments, about two-thirds said the state holds local jurisdictions to higher standards than it has for itself and 57 percent said the state favors some localities over others.

These and other findings were presented in the Fall 2016 Michigan Public Policy Survey, conducted by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan.

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