Tom Ivacko

Showing 91 - 120 of 159 results

Partisan divide felt less at local level, writes Ivacko

Jan 9, 2019

In an opinion column for Governing, Tom Ivacko (MPP ’93), associate director of CLOSUP, breaks down the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) findings on civil discourse in Michigan localities.“Will the National Partisan Breakdown Infect Our...

CLOSUP Report: Civil discourse predominantly constructive in Michigan local governments

Dec 19, 2018

Ann Arbor—Michigan’s local governments report mostly positive civil discourse among their jurisdiction’s elected officials but less so among residents, according to a University of Michigan survey.Among local elected leaders, 71 percent report...

Is bipartisanship a pipe-dream? Ivacko talks with Salon and NY Times about midterms

Dec 7, 2018

Now that the election is over, political conjecture is turning to what the newly elected will do in office, how (and even if) it forecasts 2020, and in some cases what sitting governments are doing before power changes hands in January. To help make...

CLOSUP associate director Tom Ivacko examines Michigan's post-midterm political environment

Nov 16, 2018

In light of Republicans maintaining control of Michigan’s legislature, Gretchen Whitmer’s gubernatorial victory last week has many wondering if the newly-elected government will be able to reach bipartisan compromises or if the parties will entrench...

Informing local leaders about fiscal health and economic development image

News

Northern Michigan housing struggle corroborated in CLOSUP survey findings

Nov 2, 2018

The tourism industry is butting heads with affordable housing efforts in Northern Michigan. In an October 29, 2018 piece for The Petoskey News-Review titled “Resort industry poses unique issues in housing shortage,” William T. Perkins cites data...

News

CLOSUP survey reveals that local officials are perplexed on Prop 1

Oct 12, 2018

On November 6, Michigan voters will have the option to either affirm or oppose Proposal 1, an amendment to the Michigan state constitution that will legalize the use of recreational marijuana. While public opinion polls convey support for the...

Coverage of CLOSUP medical marijuana policy poll grows like weed

Sep 21, 2018

On September 13, 2018, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy released a survey that found almost 75 percent of Michigan cities, townships, and villages report that they have chosen to prohibit medical...

CLOSUP report: 54 percent of Michigan local officials oppose marijuana legalization

Sep 13, 2018

A majority of officials in Michigan oppose medical marijuana facilities in their jurisdiction, according to a new survey by University of Michigan...

Photo with green background, imprint of a Marijuana leaf, and an illustrated town

News

CLOSUP report: Michigan officials report housing shortages

Jun 22, 2018

Many local governments in Michigan feel they have a shortage of housing in their counties and cities, according to a survey from University of Michigan researchers. About 40 percent of local officials say they have too little single family...

News

Most local jurisdictions follow master plan, but struggle with too few planners

May 7, 2018

Nearly half of Michigan’s largest local governments feel they have little staff capacity for land use planning and zoning, according to a survey from University of Michigan researchers. This survey is the first statewide attempt to explore which...

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...

State & Hill

Low voter turnout? Introducing Turn Up Turnout and the Big Ten Voting Challenge

Dec 21, 2017

Voter turnout is abysmally poor," says Joe Schwarz, a Ford School lecturer and former U.S. Congressional representative (R-MI-7). "In general elections, you're lucky to get 50 to 60 percent of eligible voters—that just shows an embarrassing level of...

News

Michigan News release: Local leaders say recovery is mixed, but slightly positive overall

Oct 12, 2017

Overall, the fiscal health of Michigan's local governments appears to have improved slightly since last year, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers. Across the state, 35 percent of the local government leaders surveyed...

Michigan News release: Local views on state government preemption

Jun 15, 2017

ANN ARBOR—Statewide, 70 percent of Michigan's local government officials believe the state government is taking too much decision-making authority away from local governments, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.The data...

State & Hill

A voice for local governments: CLOSUP and the M's, the power of partnership

Apr 29, 2017

It's been eight years since the Ford School launched the Michigan Public Policy Survey, which collects data and opinions about a broad range of state and local policy challenges from local government leaders across the state. After 16 surveys, 60...

Ivacko: Michigan state legislature should make emergency manager reform a top priority

Mar 15, 2017

An op-ed by CLOSUP program manager, Tom Ivacko (MPP '93), was published by the Detroit Free Press on March 11. In "Fixing EM law should be legislators' top priority," Ivacko makes the case that Michigan's laws regarding the appointment of emergency...

Michigan News release: MPPS finds localities support emergency manager reforms

Feb 22, 2017

An overwhelming majority of local government leaders in Michigan support reform of the state's controversial emergency manager law, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.Officials from more than 1,300 cities, counties,...

News

Michigan Radio's "Stateside" highlights CLOSUP's latest, and troubling, fiscal health findings

Aug 24, 2016

Michigan Radio’s Cynthia Canty interviews Tom Ivacko (MPP ’93), CLOSUP program administrator, for the segment “Declining fiscal health “an early warning sign” for local governments, report says.” The program focuses on CLOSUP's latest Michigan...

Latest Michigan Public Policy Survey report focuses on emergency medical services

Jul 6, 2016

One of the core functions of Michigan’s local governments is ensuring public safety. As such, the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) focused its latest Michigan Public Policy Survey on police, fire, and emergency...

Tom Ivacko on emergency financial management and the Flint water crisis

Apr 12, 2016

CLOSUP program manager Tom Ivacko’s “What is lost when a state takes over a city,” was published on April 13 by Governing.com. The piece, which ran in "Voices of the Governing Institute," describes Michigan’s restrictive local government finance...

State & Hill

Latest CLOSUP survey explores Michigan public safety

Dec 9, 2015

I had to really drum up interest a decade ago; nobody gave a rip,” says David Thacher of his course, “Thinking about Crime.” These days, there’s a lot more interest in public safety—at the Ford School and elsewhere. Reflecting those concerns, the...

News

Local leaders worry about retiree health care benefits, says latest CLOSUP MPPS report

Oct 29, 2015

ANN ARBOR—Health care benefits for retirees of Michigan's local governmental units are presenting significant fiscal challenges, and more than half of local officials surveyed indicate they are concerned they won't be able to fulfill their...

News

In latest CLOSUP survey, local leaders say fiscal stress is low, but see red flags

Sep 22, 2015

ANN ARBOR—About two-thirds of local governments in Michigan rate the levels of fiscal stress as relatively low in their jurisdictions today, while just 7 percent rate the stress as high. While the latter percentage is low, the figure represents...

News

Local leaders' confidence in state's direction erodes, CLOSUP MPPS reveals

Aug 26, 2015

ANN ARBOR—For the first time since 2012, fewer than half of Michigan's local leaders believe the state is headed in the right direction—chief culprits include road funding fumbles, state tax policies and general dysfunction in Lansing, according to...

Local leaders give high marks to road commissions

May 29, 2015

By Greta Guest, Michigan NewsMost local government leaders have good things to say about their road commissions that maintain county primary and township local roads upon which so many Michigan residents rely.The Michigan Public Policy Survey at the...

CLOSUP’s Ivacko talks MPPS and ethics with Michigan Radio’s Stateside

Mar 23, 2015

The latest Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) reveals how local leaders feel about the need for ethics reform in the Great Lakes State. Tom Ivacko (MPA '93), program manager of the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP),...

News

CLOSUP survey findings on state of Michigan roads cited in AP, Free Press stories

Feb 24, 2015

A recent CLOSUP report presenting the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on the state of roads was cited by the Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, and other media outlets. Most of the media coverage focused on the fact that while 79...

Major funding increase needed to fix roads, local leaders say

Feb 23, 2015

By Greta GuestComplaining about bad roads in Michigan is about as ubiquitous as grousing about the weather.How bad are the roads? The Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy surveyed top elected and appointed officials in the state's...

CLOSUP survey results on local government pay, benefits highlighted by AP

Jan 28, 2015

CLOSUP’s recent report presenting the findings of its latest Michigan Public Policy Survey received coverage by the Associated Press (AP), among other national and local media outlets.The report, “Michigan local government leaders’ views on employee...

More Michigan local governments report boosting pay, CLOSUP survey says

Jan 27, 2015

Five years after the depths of the recession, more local governments in Michigan say they've boosted employee pay while subtracting in other places such as benefits, according to a recently released report by the Center for Local, State, and Urban...