Catalog of Local Government Services

Catalog of Local Government Services in Michigan
Memo 1079 ( September 2005 ) 8 pages

Fiscal pressures on local governments are increasingly causing local officials to reexamine the operations of their governments. Neither local officials nor many citizens have much interest in increasing tax rates. Many fear that cutting services will reduce the quality of life local governments can offer to their residents and make them less attractive places to live, work, and visit. The unattractiveness of these alternatives is creating a new interest in cooperation or collaboration in the delivery of services.

The Catalog of Local Government Services is the first step in identifying duplicative services, understanding what relationships exist already, and identifying opportunities for greater cooperation. Of course the list of services and responses received from local officials will play the largest role in this effort. This information is supplemented with information about the demographics, governmental form, and taxes associated with each unit.

The Catalog of Local Government Services is a tool for regional leaders, municipal officials, department heads, and interested citizens to understand which services are provided to residents of different communities, services for which duplication is apparent, and services for which cooperation or collaboration are already incorporated. The value of the Catalog is likely to vary depending on the interaction people have with government. Some are likely to see cities, villages, and townships, located side by side, offering the same services and employing duplicative employees and equipment to do so. Others might focus on the indications of collaboration already in place or the major parts that counties play as service providers in a role that avoids duplication of services among their constituent cities, villages, and townships.

List of Services
To gather information about the services provided and methods used to deliver those services, two surveys were created: one for counties and another for cities, villages, and townships (CVTs). These surveys listed 126 services in which counties might engage and 116 services in which CVTs might be engaged. Some are services provided directly to residents and businesses; others are services that happen behind the scenes in the general operation of government. Respondents were offered several options to reflect the methods in which a service might be provided:

• Does not provide or contract for this service - this service is not the responsibility of, and therefore is not provided by, the city/village/township.
• Directly provides this service - the city/village/township is providing this service using municipal employees.
• Also provides this service by contract to residents of another community - the city/village/township is providing this service, through some sort of contract or agreement, to another community. This would usually be in addition to providing the service within your own city/village/township.
• Jointly provides this service with another municipality - the city/village/township has entered into an agreement with a neighboring city/village/township to cooperatively provide this service.
• Jointly provides this service with a school district - the city/village/township has entered into an agreement with a school district to jointly provide this service.
• Jointly provides this service with the county - the city/village/township has entered into an agreement with the county to jointly provide this service.
• Has this service provided by the state - the city/village/township contracts with the state to provide this service.
• Has this service provided by the county - the respondent's county provides this service on a county-wide basis.
• Has this service provided by another municipality - the city/village/township has some sort of agreement or contract with another city/village/township to have that unit deliver this service.
• Has this service provided by a special authority or special district - the city/village/township has joined a special authority with other units of local government to provide this service.
• Has this service provided by a private provider - the city/village/township has hired, or contracted with, or has a franchise agreement with, a non-governmental private firm-for-profit or non-profit-to provide this service.
• Do not know how this service is provided - the respondent is unaware if this service is being provided by another governmental entity, but your city/village/township is not currently providing this service.

The surveys were mailed to 670 units of government in 24 counties (see Table 1 for a breakdown by county and type), which represent only 36 percent of all general-purpose units of government in Michigan, but encompasses 78 percent of the total population. Surveys were directed to the officials believed to have the greatest comprehensive understandings of their governments operations: city and village managers, city mayors, village presidents, township clerks or supervisors, and county administrators or clerks.

In addition to the 646 cities, villages, and townships, each of the 24 county governments were sent a survey.

Responses were received by 467 of these governmental units, representing a 70 percent response rate (see Table 2).

The method of service delivery is designated by a "1" in the column(s) marked by respondents. Respondents were not limited to a single response and often provided multiple responses for individual services. For example, respondents indicated Training and Professional Development (an admittedly broad category) was provided in-house, in cooperation with others, from the school district, from the county and from the state. It is never the case that the sum of the columns add to the total number of responding units.

Demographic Information
Demographic information includes the 1990 and 2000 populations and the percent growth; the geographic size; a measure of density; the number of households; a measure of the homogeneity of race; the size of the elderly population; the median income; and the number of people with incomes below the poverty level.

Government Information
Government information was gathered as a tool for future analysis of cooperative patterns. Although the sample sizes are small for some forms of government, it is hoped that the data collected will indicate whether cooperation is more prevalent when city councils are elected at large versus from wards, whether the role of the city mayor/village president/township supervisor matters, do communities with managers cooperate more or less, what role to the clerks, treasurers, assessors play in the pursuit of cooperative efforts and does it matter whether they are appointed or independently elected, and does it matter who prepares the budget for review by the legislative body?

Tax Information

Results of the survey are sorted two ways: by county and by population group.

Last Updated May 18, 2006