http://www.crcmich.org en-us elupher@crcmich.org (Eric Lupher) http://crcmich.org/rss/2012lenawee.html A new CRC report examines the people, places, and governments in Lenawee County to identify opportunities for consolidation or collaboration among the local governments. The report, which considers existing service delivery and expenditure patterns, suggests services for which the communities might benefit by collaborating for their provision. Entitled *Streamlining Local Government Service Delivery in Lenawee County*, the report recommends that the Lenawee County government redouble its efforts to serve the needs of the local governments with new intergovernmental collaboration focused on aiding the operations of the cities, villages, and townships. Thu, 20 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2012teachertraining.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has published a new paper, *Education Reform: Pre and Post Employment Teacher Training*, which examines teacher training both before and after certification and employment. Recent research demonstrates the importance of teachers to student success: a teacher one standard deviation above the mean can increase the present value of future earnings of a class of 20 by $400,000 each year. Similarly, replacing the lowest performing 5 to 8 percent of teachers with average teachers would increase overall economic growth significantly. Mon, 9 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011detroitlegacycosts.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan announces the publication of *Legacy Costs and Indebtedness of the City of Detroit*, an analysis of the city's current obligations to bond holders, retirees, and others. The city had in excess of $14.1 billion of such liabilities outstanding as of June 30, 2010. Thu, 1 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011wholesalegas.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has published a new paper -- *What if Michigan Had Enacted a Price Based Tax on Gasoline in 1997?* -- that looks at the economics of motor fuel taxation as a percentage of the price instead of a flat cents-per-gallon rate. Thu, 3 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011detroitcharter.html Voters in Detroit will have the opportunity to approve or reject a proposed new city charter on November 8. Citizens Research Council of Michigan is pleased to announce publication of its description and analysis of the proposed charter, *The Proposed City of Detroit Charter*. Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EDT http://cdtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=11ca2b9c8604f91ac1841e0716ad8528 CRCs Annual Meeting focused on *The Fiscal Health Of Local Governments* and featured a panel consisting of George Heartwell, Mayor of Grand Rapids; Joyce Parker, Emergency Manager of Ecorse; and Mark Docherty, President of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union. The discussion was followed by the Keynote Address by Dan Gilmartin, Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. The proceedings were recorded by Dearborn Cable Television and is available through their website. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011onekama.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has released a new report that helps local governments consider the possibilities of consolidation: *The Costs, Benefits, and Alternatives for Consolidating the Onekama Governments*. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:30:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011crcofficers.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan (CRC) announced today the appointment of its officers and board members for the 2012 term. The new leadership was elected at the organization's annual meeting held on September 16, 2011. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011blog.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan is pleased to announce a new blog, CRC Column. CRC Column will highlight recent CRC research; provide links to CRC reports that are relevant to current policy discussions; provide commentary on Michigan's economy; and present interesting findings from CRC's presentations. Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011dashboards.html Local governments have less than a month to create citizens' guides to financial information and performance dashboards to qualify for state funding through the new Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP). CRC's new paper, *Local Government Performance Dashboards and Citizens' Guides*, offers guidelines and recommendations to help local governments make the guides and dashboards meaningful tools that will keep residents better engaged in the operations and financial condition of their local governments. Tue, 6 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST http://crcmich.org/rss/2011dashboards.html The Citizens Research Council of Michigan (CRC) is pleased to announce the release of a new report, *Distribution of State Aid to Michigan Schools*, the next installment in its education policy research series. This report provides a focused look at how general operating funds for K-12 education are distributed among Michigan's school districts. Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST