CLOSUP

Staff

Debra Horner

Senior Program Manager

Debra Horner is on staff with the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) where she is a Senior Program Manager on the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) program. She has been a regular lecturer in U-M's Political Science…

Publication

Michigan's local leaders express lingering pessimism, entrenched partisanship about state's direction

Jul 22, 2025

Despite improvement since the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of Michigan local officials say the state is on the wrong track.These findings are from the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted by the University of...

Publication

Michigan's local leaders support database tracking police misconduct, far fewer favor public access to it

Jul 8, 2025

Michigan's local leaders strongly support a law enforcement database for keeping track of officer misconduct, though far fewer are in favor of that database being accessible to the public.That's a key finding from the latest installment of the...

News

Local Officials: Residents trust police more where there are policies to improve relations

May 22, 2025

More Michigan communities are adopting policies to improve police-community relations, and local officials see increased trust among residents for law enforcement officers where certain practices were in place.The latest Michigan Public Policy...

News

U-M develops free tool to empower municipalities, modernize financial reporting

May 19, 2025

Free webinar June 4 will demo the Excel to iXBRL Conversion toolA free, open-source tool designed by the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy is now available to help local governments make financial data more accessible. Developed...

Photo of a stone building with a large "City Hall" sign

Publication

Many local officials in Michigan uncertain about the use of AI or other predictive policing tools

Apr 23, 2025

The Michigan Public Policy Survey, conducted last spring by U-M’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, found most officials are unsure about the accuracy of public safety risk assessments made by automated tools such as AI. However, sheriffs...

Publication

CLOSUP’s second annual report analyzes local government fiscal health

Mar 27, 2025

In March, CLOSUP released its second annual report analyzing the fiscal health of local Michigan governments. Using financial data reported to the State of Michigan in 2023, the researchers developed a set of indicators to look at cash, budgetary,...

News

Lacking a playbook for dealing with economic decline, leaders of smaller cities opt for pragmatism, flexibility

Mar 10, 2025

The challenges facing big cities such as Detroit and Cleveland have been widely examined by experts over the decades, as each has dealt with the loss of population and major industries. Stephanie Leiser chronicled the situations in small- to...

News

Most Michigan law enforcement officials back some use of mental health workers, others in 911 response

Feb 26, 2025

Most of Michigan’s county sheriffs and local police chiefs support some type of alternative or hybrid approach for responding to 911 calls beyond traditional law enforcement officers.However, a majority of them believe it would be difficult to...

News

Nearly half of Michigan law enforcement officials concerned about funding, according to U-M survey

Jan 23, 2025

Among Michigan law enforcement agency leaders, concerns about funding levels are widespread, with almost half of chiefs of police and county sheriffs saying the local governments they serve do not provide sufficient money for their...

News

Rabe retires from the University of Michigan, plans for more scholarship and policy work

Dec 9, 2024

Distinguished environmental scholar and political scientist Barry G. Rabe will retire from the University of Michigan as of December 31, 2024.He is currently the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor,...

News

Majority of local officials in Michigan lack confidence in ‘red-flag law’ aimed at reducing gun violence

Oct 31, 2024

A majority of local government and law enforcement officials in Michigan say they lack confidence the state’s new “red-flag law” aimed at reducing gun violence will do so, according to a University of Michigan survey.Further, those officials...

Wayne County Courthouse in Detroit, Michigan

Publication

Local leaders in Michigan sound alarms over hiring, keeping law enforcement officers

Sep 17, 2024

Concerns about hiring and keeping law enforcement officers have skyrocketed among local government officials in Michigan in the past decade.Local law enforcement officials themselves are even more pessimistic about recruitment and retention within...

Publication

Fewer local leaders in Michigan feeling positive about how democracy is functioning in state, U.S.

Aug 15, 2024

Local leaders in Michigan are slightly less optimistic in their views on the health of democracy at the state and national levels, according to an ongoing survey by the University of Michigan.Although assessments of civic health at the national...

Photo of an American flag backed by a gray sky

Publication

More Michigan communities developing renewable energy goals, CLOSUP survey finds

Jul 17, 2024

The percentage of Michigan local governments that say they have or are considering renewable energy goals has doubled since 2019.Local officials also report that a variety of energy issues, such as energy infrastructure zoning and planning for...

News

CLOSUP categorizes ‘a tsunami’ of public input to help redraw Michigan districts

Jul 10, 2024

Students working with the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) have created a system to help a Michigan commission collect and analyze public comments about drawing Michigan’s congressional and state legislative...

A blue map of Michigan layered over a blue neighborhood map

Publication

Most local officials support rooftop solar, a majority opposes nuclear power

May 22, 2024

Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power.Those are among the key findings in the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey...

Publication

More local officials see relevance of electric vehicle planning

May 2, 2024

Local officials across Michigan increasingly view electric vehicle infrastructure planning as relevant for their governments, though many cite too few public charging stations and costs associated with adding them as barriers to expansion.The...

Gray Electric Car Parked on a Charging Bay

News

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

May 1, 2024

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), a team of researchers from the Ford School will conduct a study into how Michigan’s education governance system can be improved for the benefit of public school students.“An effective...

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Kamissa Camara chaired the Bipartisan Senior Study Group for the Sahel at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The study group’s comprehensive report critically assesses opportunities for peace, security, and economic development in the Sahel.Charlotte...

(Top row, left to right) Fullerton Rico, Hills, Holz, Jacob, and Leiser (Bottom row, left to right) Morenoff, Raimi, Shipan, Spencer, and Stevenson

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Red, white, and blue balloons and stars with a large white checkmark

News

Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

Dec 11, 2023

Michigan local leaders’ assessments of democracy at the national level have improved marginally for two years in a row after a sharp decline in 2021, largely due to fewer local officials rating American democracy as poorly functioning. Similarly,...

News

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

Nov 10, 2023

Over half of Michigan local officials currently rate their jurisdiction’s overall relationship with the State government as just fair or even poor, while 34% of local officials say it is either good or excellent. It is an important relationship...

News

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Oct 11, 2023

As unprecedented state and federal funding opportunities have emerged over the past 18 months with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Michigan local government leaders have expressed their concern...

In the Media

Leiser on the far-right shift in the Ottawa County government

Oct 5, 2023 MLive

“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...

Publication

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

Sep 14, 2023

Michigan local officials are reporting alarm at the lack of housing options across the state. Those concerns include single-family homes and multi-family units, and cut across affordable, entry-level and mid-level housing availability. The...

In the Media

Ivacko on trust in local government

Sep 6, 2023 Democrat & Chronicle

Tom Ivacko, Democrat & Chronicle: Political scandals have long contributed to declining trust in all levels of government, stretching back to the days of Watergate, said Tom Ivacko, who heads the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at the...

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...

Group of PPIA students posing in front of Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy courtyard

News

Michigan local government leaders’ views on their employee unions: few changes in relationships or impacts as Right-to-Work comes and goes

Jul 26, 2023

Pluralities of local government leaders across Michigan say the state’s recently repealed "Right-to-Work" law had no impact on issues such as community business growth, the ability of their local government to lure or keep public sector employees,...

News

CLOSUP and Poverty Solutions to examine Michigan’s approach to criminal justice reform

Jul 20, 2023

In the wake of racial justice movements across the country, the State of Michigan and some of its communities have been implementing new public safety and criminal justice policies. The perspective of Michigan's local government, public safety, and...