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CLOSUP's MPPS shows that Washtenaw County fiscal health remains steady.

CLOSUP's Stephanie Leiser reflects on local democracy in Michigan

The likelihood of a shutdown is difficult to predict, said Stephanie Leiser, who leads the Michigan Local Government Fiscal Health Project at the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy and has worked as a tax policy analys...

“It’s almost as if instead of leading with, ‘OK, what’s our job in this jurisdiction in this county? What services do we provide?’ – and then sort of taking the cues from citizens and policy from there – it’s like a flipped script,” said Stephanie Le...

Stephanie Leiser, Accounting Today: "There's an enormous amount of municipal government financial data locked up in PDF documents. Unlocking that data has the potential to radically improve transparency and dramatically enhance our ability to underst...

Stephanie Leiser, XBRL US: "Making government financial data open and accessible to all is the right thing to do, and it is long overdue. Financial transparency is absolutely essential to maintaining trust between governments and the public. Equally ...

Through a Michigan pilot program, Stephanie Leiser and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy are building a taxonomy for machine-readable local government financial documents. "Transparency into local government fiscal health is needed t...

Michigan Radio reports that disinvestment in Michigan's local governments has had a direct effect on the deterioration of basic infrastructure, especially water and sewage systems. Stephanie Leiser, who leads the Michigan Local Government Fiscal ...

Many Americans use the analogy of a pie to think about the government budget. But, Sarah Leiser, lecturer of public policy and leader of the Michigan Local Government Fiscal Health Project at CLOSUP, says there's another way to think about it. "I...

As the state of Michigan could receive as much as $10 billion from the Biden administration stimulus package, officials are planning how to allocate the resources in the best way. “It’s hard to exaggerate how big of a deal it is,” Brideg Michigan quo...

As Pennsylvania considers legislation to cut the state's property taxes, which are some of the highest in the country, Stephanie Leiser commented that people need to consider property taxes when moving: "Every family will have different preferences a...

In a Bridge Michigan op-ed, Leiser and Ivacko call for COVID relief to foster greater cooperation, trust in government built at the local level.  "Across the country, nearly three quarters of U.S. adults say they have a "great deal" or a "fair am...

Stephanie Leiser discusses the importance of property taxes for personal financial decision-making and implications for policy. "Most economists agree that property taxes are the best tax base for local governments. Compared to other types of taxes, ...

An article in Bridge magazine about funding for replacing lead pipes notes that,  "Often, the communities with the biggest backlog of upgrades and fixes are the least-equipped financially to pay for them. As a result, they must raise rates. That make...

Stateside: Absentee ballot debate continues; what record shops are spinning; road bonds explained