Natalie Fitzpatrick

Staff

Natalie B. Fitzpatrick

Research Area Specialist

Natalie Fitzpatrick joined CLOSUP in June 2015 as a research area specialist. She is responsible for data operations and management for the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) and the National Surveys on Energy and the Environment (NSEE). She receiv...

Policy Matters

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

Nov 20, 2025

CLOSUP's Stephanie Leiser, Debra Horner, and Natalie Fitzpatrick discuss the Michigan Public Policy Survey and how it has shown that, although there is concerns over the state of democracy in the United States, democracy remains strong at the local l...

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

Publication

Local officials in Michigan report plummeting engagement with residents despite myriad methods

Oct 28, 2025

Officials across Michigan report alarming declines of engagement with their constituents despite more widespread use of various outreach methods and activities in the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey.

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 t...

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 conducte...

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 about...

News

Most Michigan local officials continue to say state is on the wrong track, though outlook slightly improved

May 17, 2023

Despite a two-year trend of improvement, nearly 60% of Michigan's local government leaders say the state is on the wrong track in 2023, according to a recent University of Michigan survey. Specifically, 59% see the wrong track, less than the 62%...

News

Michigan local government leaders report increased problems with workforce recruitment and retention

Feb 22, 2023

The number of Michigan local government leaders reporting problems retaining their jurisdictions’ workers nearly doubled in 2022 compared with five years earlier. In addition, jurisdictions of all types and sizes have faced increased difficulty recru...

News

Michigan local government officials: public employee workforce wages increasing, room for improvement

Jan 24, 2023

Michigan’s local governments report a long trend of increasing employee pay, but a third of local leaders say wages are still too low. The issue is relevant for their finances as 92% of Michigan local governments report having some type of paid emplo...

Publication

Local government fiscal outlook in Michigan a mixed picture: near-term improvement, long-term challenges

Dec 14, 2022

A majority of Michigan local leaders' assessments of their fiscal stress this year remain essentially unchanged compared to both 2021 and 2020, despite significant infusions of federal and state aid in recent years. The findings come from the sp...

News

Michigan local government officials cite good rapport with each other and public, despite divisive discourse

Oct 13, 2022

Michigan’s local government leaders report generally good relationships among officials and residents, despite well-documented examples of coarsening discourse and antagonism in public gatherings, according to a new University of Michigan report. ...

News

More than half of Michigan local governments report personnel harassed, abused for doing their jobs

Sep 8, 2022

A majority of Michigan's local governments are experiencing some form of harassment or other abuse from the public, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Michigan. Officials from 53% of jurisdictions report harassment, t...

Publication

CLOSUP survey reveals Michigan communities' priorities for spending COVID-related federal relief funds

Jul 28, 2022

A survey of Michigan local government leaders on the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and uses finds the top spending priorities are on capital improvements, infrastructure and public safety. Further, the state's largest jurisdictions ar...

Photo of a "Road Work Ahead" sign in the foreground with cars driving along the road beside it

News

Michigan’s state and local governments strongly support recycling efforts, and work to confront structural and engagement challenges

Apr 27, 2022

Recycling remains popular with local government leaders in Michigan, and the state has established a goal of tripling the state’s current recycling rate. Yet those leaders often encounter difficulties in implementing their programs, tied to costs, im...

News

Michigan local officials’ assessments of American democracy at the state and federal levels decline sharply

Nov 29, 2021

A survey of Michigan’s local government leaders shows a sharp degradation in trust in the functioning of democracy at the state and federal levels, echoing trends seen across the country. The Spring 2021 Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), c...

A composite image, comprising a photo of the US capitol dome, upside down at an angle, in front of a red textured background

Publication

Michigan local economies still struggling with the pandemic effects

Sep 29, 2021

Michigan's local economies are still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but at a much lower rate than at the start of the crisis in spring 2020, according to a University of Michigan statewide survey of local government officials. ...

Two post-it notes on a business' front door, reading "Sorry we're closed" and "COVID-19"

News

Most Michigan local leaders express confidence in safety, efficacy of COVID vaccines, MPPS shows

Aug 11, 2021

Most Michigan local government officials have been confident in the safety and efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines, yet leaders' views on vaccine safety are highly correlated with partisanship, according to the spring 2021 wave of the Michigan Pu...

News

U-M survey: More than half of Michigan's local governments have developed energy plans

Oct 7, 2020 Michigan News

More than half of local government officials in Michigan see improving energy efficiency for local businesses or residents as relevant to their jurisdiction's government, according to a survey by the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban P...

News

98% of Michigan local officials are confident of accurate 2020 voting administration

Oct 5, 2020

Confidence in running accurate elections among Michigan local government leaders remains very high, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and an expected high voter turnout, according to a survey released October 5 by the the Center for L...

News

U-M survey finds strong interest among Michigan communities in sustainability and energy collaborations

Sep 30, 2020

Few local governments in Michigan report collaborating with another community on energy and sustainability issues, but nearly half expressed interest in teaming up with others to pursue opportunities, according to survey results released today by the...

News

Michigan local government leaders back expanded absentee voting, ballot reforms

Jul 28, 2020

Amid the national debate over the safety and efficacy of absentee voting, Michigan can offer an example of how election reforms will play out in the 2020 election. And the battleground state's local officials have an overall positive outlook abo...

News

CLOSUP publishes report, hosts webinar on local government workforce issues and challenges

Feb 7, 2018

In January, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) published a report and hosted a webinar on the views of Michigan local government officials regarding workforce issues and challenges. The results come from the Spring 2017 editio...