While the Citizens Research Council of Michigan makes the results of its analyses freely available through this website, in printed versions, and in forums, the media frequently bring CRC research to a wider audience.

Media Coverage

June 2010

• Forget cutting back, Michigan political hopefuls should be pitching growth plans
  MLive.com, June 7, 2010

But here's a sobering statistic: Michigan's wealth has been declining relative to the rest of the country since 1943, according to figures compiled by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Debate heats up over state parole policies for prisoners
  Detroit Free Press, June 4, 2010

Jeff Guilfoyle, president of the Citizens Research Council, said the cost of corrections is eating up larger portions of the state budget. He cited several factors -- corrections employee wages that are 25% higher than the national average (13% more than neighboring states), and parole policies that keep prisoners incarcerated longer than those in other states.

• Furloughs unlikely in new state deficit fix
  Lansing State Journal, June 4, 2010

"With few options available, they are backed up in a corner. We've raided most of the other pots of money that are available," said Craig Thiel, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council, a Lansing-based public policy analysis group.

• More cuts needed in budget
  Hometownlife.com, June 3, 2010

Guilfoyle, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, highlighted the CRC's report on "Michigan's Economic, Revenue and Budget Outlook" at a town hall forum with Rep. John Walsh Tuesday at Schoolcraft College.

May 2010

• Michigan Business Tax drives up cost of doing business, provides state declining revenues
  MLive.com, May 28, 2010

"We couldn't have picked a worse time to change our underlying business tax," said Craig Thiel, director of state affairs at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Special Report: Public worker benefits under scrutiny
  The Center for Michigan, May 26, 2010

"I think it goes a long way toward controlling employer costs," says Craig Thiel of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. "This attempts to control some of the costs in the future but it attempts to shift some of the funding from the employer to the employee."

• State's teachers among highest paid
  Livingston Daily, May 26, 2010

He said Michigan teachers also were the highest paid in the country when factoring per-capita income from 1990 to 1996, citing a 1996 Citizens Research Council of Michigan report.

• Restructuring government faces tough road
  MLive.com, May 24, 2010

"Those bills wouldn’t change much from what we have now," said Eric Lupher, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Michigan hears some bleak projections
  UPI.com, May 18, 2010

"There will be no rapid recovery from an 18 percent employment decline. It will be well after 2023 before we fully recover all those lost jobs," said Jeff Guilfoyle, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Michigan: If You Seek A Budget Mess--Look About You.
  Journal Newspapers, May 20, 2010

These facts are not new. The Citizens Research Council (crcmich.org) has been beating this drum for a decade.

• Experts' Message to Business, Community, Education and Elected Leaders: Time to Build a New Michigan
  dbusiness.com, May 20, 2010

"Michigan’s last decade has been disastrous economically," said Citizens Research Council president Jeff Guilfoyle, one of the experts featured during the Summit. "The state’s economic decline has created a very real disconnect between the current level of expenditures and current level of revenues and this will not self correct. We need to face this fact and adjust our government accordingly, or understand that our state and its citizens are going to continue to suffer."

• Michigan needs to align spending with tax collection, business leaders warned
  Crain's Detroit Business, May 17, 2010

Craig Thiel, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said one major problem for funding state education is the balkanization in K-12, with some 770 separate school organizations across the state, counting charter schools.

• Budget experts predict Michigan's economy will deteriorate further
  Detroit News, May 17, 2010

Jeff Guilfoyle, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said the state lost 18 percent of its jobs over the past decade, adding, "There is no rapid recovery from an 18 percent employment decline. It will be well after 2023 before we fully recover all those lost jobs."

• Reforming education retirement benefits has turned into a money grab
  Detroit News, May 13, 2010

Funding of teachers' pensions and health care coverage eats up 16.5 percent of today's annual school budget, or $360 per pupil, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Panel of experts has hopes for blighted Detroit
  [St. Joseph] Herald-Palladium, May 8, 2010

All the panelists - including Kat Owsley, director of One D; Mike Score, president of Hantz Farms; and Bettie Buss of the Citizens Research Council - conceded that all the problems are real.

Buss presented page after page of troubling statistics about the city.

Per capita income stands at $14,976, and a third of the residents live below the poverty line, unemployment is at nearly 28 percent, the "tax burden is huge," and city officials have often overstated revenues and understated expenses in budgets, she said.

"They fill in the gap with a big wishful-thinking plug," Buss said. While current city officials have plans to trim expenses, "There are a lot of us who think this is still nibbling around the edge of the problem."

But a lot of private foundations and organizations are "taking the social safety net into their own hands," Buss said. "There is great stuff happening."

• Beware message of Greek debt
  Detroit News, May 7, 2010

"While a simple bailout is greatly desired by many local officials, the state is unable or at least unwilling, and the federal government is so far unwilling, to provide this kind of aid," the Citizens Research Council of Michigan says in a report titled "Financial Emergencies in Michigan Local Government."

"At this time in our state, a challenge even greater than balancing local budgets with declining revenues and increasing spending pressures, is rebuilding an economic base devastated by the loss of manufacturing and the collapse of real estate values."

• Campaign finance pot raided by state
  Detroit News, May 6, 2010

This isn't the only fund from which lawmakers have taken money over the years. About $12 million is regularly tapped from a transportation fund for economic development and another $5 million from a pot intended for public transit, said Craig Thiel, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. A jury reimbursement fund has been tapped for $2.6 million to pay for court operations, he said. And, of course, $140 million was moved from Promise scholarships last year and used to balance the budget.

• Detroit judge issues preliminary injunction to halt school closings
  The Common Man News, May 5, 2010

Ruling-class elements openly call for the implementation of a plan to restructure the city. A report issued in April by the so-called "Citizens Research Council" states that if the mayor and city council are not willing to enact the proposed austerity plans, "an emergency financial manager should be appointed under the Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act in order to negate the authority of the mayor and city council in order to implement changes and renegotiate contracts." ("Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit") The Council is directed by representatives of the banks, multinational corporations and capitalist-oriented academics.

The report continues: "If an emergency financial manager recommends, and the state approves, reorganization and restructuring can occur under protection of bankruptcy, which does allow contracts to be abrogated."

• Recall petition requires clear language, 2,575 signers
  Oxford Leader, May 5, 2010

"Signatures dated more than 90 days before the petition is filed are invalid and are not counted," according to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Detroit judge issues preliminary injunction to halt school closings
  Workers World, May 2, 2010

Ruling-class elements openly call for the implementation of a plan to restructure the city. A report issued in April by the so-called "Citizens Research Council" states that if the mayor and city council are not willing to enact the proposed austerity plans, "an emergency financial manager should be appointed under the Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act in order to negate the authority of the mayor and city council in order to implement changes and renegotiate contracts." ("Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit") The Council is directed by representatives of the banks, multinational corporations and capitalist-oriented academics.

The report continues: "If an emergency financial manager recommends, and the state approves, reorganization and restructuring can occur under protection of bankruptcy, which does allow contracts to be abrogated."

April 2010

• Retirement Reform
  Detroit News, April 30, 2010

Without changes, that's projected to climb steadily, according to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, which notes that school spending pressures are growing at a 4.7 percent annual rate but tax revenues supporting schools are only growing at 3 percent.

• Municipalities desperately need state revenue sharing restoration
  Detroit News, April 27, 2010

Fifteen Michigan cities, counties, townships and villages were in serious financial distress at the start of last year, according to a new Citizens Research Council of Michigan report citing the most state treasury data available. One could surmise the number, since then, has gone up rather than down.

• Bing budget plan called sketchy
  Crain's Detroit Business, April 18, 2010

"Revenues are fixed by state law and the economy," said Bettie Buss, senior research analyst at the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council who authored a recent report on the city's financial situation. "It's the expenditure side that is the challenge, because clearly what the city has been doing exceeds the resources that have been available and are likely to be available."

• Michigan's zombie government
  MLive.com, April 23, 2010

Michigan’s best public policy resource, the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council, has been warning for more than a decade that the state’s finances were out of whack and it wasn’t sustainable. We have a structural budget deficit, which means that even if the economy magically recovers tomorrow, our tax system still won’t bring in enough money to fund basic services like schools and police.

• Taxes in Michigan are out of whack, but who should pay?
  MLive.com, April 18, 2010

"The numbers are horrible," said Jeff Guilfoyle, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. "The state has lost one in six jobs over the last 10 years ... and that is showing up in tax revenue collections."

• What's Behind the Detroit Economic Crisis?
  Pan-African News Wire, April 18, 2010

In fact Dave Bing takes his play book right from the banks and multi-national corporations. Just read Detroit Crain's, the recently released Citizen Research Council Report on Detroit and the statements made by the Kresge Foundation and anyone can conclude that his policy initiatives are those of the capitalist class who created the crisis.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan April 2010 report entitled "The Fiscal Condition of The City of Detroit" represents a blueprint from the ruling class on how to further the exploitation, impoverishment and dis-empowerment of the people in this area. This is not surprising when one reads who is on the board of directors and trustees of the Citizens Research Council.

• Detroit Heading Towards Bankruptcy
  Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Blog, April 17, 2010

A recent report entitled, ‘The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit’ by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan concluded that unless drastic measures are taken to address the burgeoning budget deficit, the city of Detroit could end up bankrupt or under state receivership.

• Detroit’s Bing Targets Deficit With Budget
  The Bond Buyer, April 14, 2010

"The recent report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan paints a very grim picture," Bing said to council members yesterday. "However, the first option mentioned as a potential solution -- that the elected mayor and City Council can implement required changes -- is exactly what we must do. It’s the only way out without state intervention or ­bankruptcy."

• Bing reduces general fund spending in budget by $101 million
  Crain's Detroit Business, April 14, 2010

Bing said that of the options listed in a recent Citizens Research Council of Michigan report that laid out the city's financial picture in stark terms, the option he favors is that the mayor and the council avoid a state takeover or municipal bankruptcy by working together to implement change.

• 'Now or never': 8 ways Detroit Mayor Dave Bing plans to cut spending by $101 million
  Mlive.com, April 13, 2010

A report released last week by the non-profit Citizens Research Council suggested past administrations "dummied up" budgets to avoid making real and necessary cuts.

• Bing presents budget, says it's 'now or never' to save Detroit
  Detroit News, April 13, 2010

A recent Citizens Research Council report claims the shortfall could even be as high as $425 million.

• Bing's budget to trim waste
  Detroit Free Press, April 13, 2010

Bing is expect to present a budget to City Council today that includes plans to restructure city government, cut bureaucratic waste, bring revenue to the city and eliminate a $325-million deficit. A report from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan said that deficit could reach more than $440 million.

• Budget to test Bing, city
  Detroit News [also see WCHB 1200 AM], April 13, 2010

But the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit policy group, criticized him for including several revenue assumptions, such as the sale of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and other departments that never materialized. The sale of the tunnel has been a budget-balancing fixture for years.

• Chapter 9 among Detroit's few options
  AllBusiness.com, April 12, 2010

Years of ignoring the city's budget deficit, declining revenue and increasing expenses have put Detroit in danger of a state takeover or municipal bankruptcy - but filing Chapter 9 could have devastating consequences for the state, says a researcher at the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Budget cuts coming: Comparing Detroit's deficit to other financially-struggling cities
  Mlive.com, April 12, 2010

The nonprofit Citizens Research Council of Michigan last week released a report suggesting bankruptcy remains a real option for Detroit if elected officials are unable to restructure city government and dramatically reduce spending.

• Budget talks will test 'tone of cooperation' between Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Council
  Mlive.com, April 12, 2010

According to a 60-page report released last week by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, Detroit could face an estimated $750 million accumulated deficit by the end of 2012 if drastic measures are not taken to restructure city government and truly balance the budget.

• Pros and cons of state con-con
  Crain's Detroit Business, April 11, 2010

Jeff Guilfoyle, president of the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said the proposal will be interesting to watch. Citizens Research is publishing a series of papers on the issue. "The constitutional question is a big question for the state. It's asking voters if they want to rewrite the most important document in terms of the organization of government in the state of Michigan," Guilfoyle said.

• Chapter 9 among Detroit’s few options: Budget crisis puts city in danger of bankruptcy
  Crain's Detroit Business, April 11, 2010

Years of ignoring the city's budget deficit, declining revenue and increasing expenses have put Detroit in danger of a state takeover or municipal bankruptcy -- but filing Chapter 9 could have devastating consequences for the state, says a researcher at the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• A regional look beyond crisis
  The Michigan Citizen, April 9, 2010

The week began with the release of yet another report stating the obvious, Detroit is in economic trouble. The report, issued by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, continues the orchestrated effort to heighten the crisis mentality in our city and rush us toward quick, ill-considered actions.

• Teens face difficult job market
  Royal Oak Daily Tribune, April 9, 2010

"Certainly the federal government can step in with jobs corps programs and deficit spending to help create jobs," said Eric Lupher of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, "but local governments are experiencing as much pain as the teens that don't have a job. (The governments) just don't have the resources to do anything in Michigan right now."

• New study demands sweeping cuts, privatization for Detroit
  World Socialist Website [also see democraticunderground.com and Socialist Equality Party], April 9, 2010

A corporate-controlled group, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, has released a study demanding the city of Detroit enact sweeping cuts to social services and the jobs, wages, and benefits of municipal employees. These measures may have to be implemented, the report argues, through an emergency financial situation such as bankruptcy.

• Next ‘Big Crisis’ Is Unfolding in Muni-Bond Market: Joe Mysak
  Business Week, April 8, 2010

As if to punctuate the man’s arguments, the city controller of Los Angeles this week said it might go broke in a month; the mayor called for nonessential services to be shut down for two days a week. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan, an independent research organization, released a report on Detroit, and said it might be helpful if the city reorganized under bankruptcy protection.

• The Tunnel Deal Questioned
  WindsorCityBlog, April 8, 2010

A new report out the other day makes this deal appear even dumber than before! It could have meant severe financial problems for this City at a time when we are having enough problems with the economy. It brings into question the financial acumen of our Mayor in a very stark fashion.

• Editorial: Detroit must make tough budget choices
  Detroit News, April 8, 2010

When Detroit Mayor Dave Bing makes his budget presentation to the City Council next week, he'll have plenty of ammunition, thanks to a report issued this week by the respected Michigan Citizens Research Council. The report underscores the city's need to retrench and restructure in the face of its dire economic and fiscal condition.

• Report author: Detroit 'dummied up' current budget to avoid necessary cuts
  Mlive.com, April 8, 2010

As Detroit Mayor Dave Bing prepares to present his budget to the City Council later this month, he'd be wise to avoid the mistakes of past administrations, according to Bettie Buss, senior research associate with the Citizens Research Council.

• Detroit Bankruptcy Looms with Deficit of $446 Million in Budget of $1.6 Billion
  Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis, April 6, 2010

Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council must reduce the size of government and slash the city's budget deficit to stave off bankruptcy or state receivership, according to a report released Monday by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Report: Detroit must get budget in order
  UPI.com, April 6, 2010

"Detroit city government must be restructured," said the report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a non-profit that has studied Detroit finances for decades. "The new structure must reflect both the reduced tax base and the limited ability of state government to provide shared revenues."

• Report: Detroit must downsize to survive; bankruptcy remains a potential solution
  MLive.com, April 6, 2010

Facing continued population loss, poverty and disinvestment as a result of the "Great Recession," the City of Detroit cannot continue to operate at its present size, according to a new report prepared by the nonprofit Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Detroit's grim imbalance
  Detroit Free Press, April 6, 2010

Sometimes numbers tell a story. But others tell you just how harrowing a story might be.

Count a report on the city of Detroit released Monday by the politically agnostic Citizens Research Council among the latter.

• Report details radical fixes to save Detroit
  Detroit Free Press, April 6, 2010

The 62-page report, "The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit" was released Monday by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit public affairs research organization. It was commissioned by Business Leaders for Michigan, which paid part of the cost.

• Report: Detroit bankruptcy looms without drastic change
  Detroit News, April 6, 2010

"Detroit city government must be restructured," according to the report from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit that has studied Detroit finances for decades. "The new structure must reflect both the reduced tax base and the limited ability of state government to provide shared revenues."

• CRC Report: Detroit's Government Must Be Shrunk
  MIRS Capitol Capsule, April 5, 2010

Detroit's city government must shrink dramatically due to the impacts of the so-called 2007 Great Recession, ongoing and multiplying deficit spending and the use of suspect revenue streams to balance its budget, according to a Citizen's Research Council of Michigan report released today.

• Study looks at increasing fiscal problem in Detroit
  Gongwer News Service, April 5, 2010

Detroit's fiscal situation does not look to improve to any significant degree in the next several years, with annual deficits approaching $260 million a year and the potential for a cumulative deficit of nearly $466 million, a report released Monday by the Citizens Research Council said, as the current ongoing recession has exacerbated some of the dynamics that continue to cripple the city financially.

• Reviving Detroit, Take 2
  Time Magazine's Detroit Blog, April 5, 2010

Yet another report on Detroit's future - this time, from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, which describes itself as a nonpartisan public policy research group. Essentially, the report suggests that Detroit's government must be sharply downsized, a process Mayor Dave Bing has already started. The report also points to one city asset that could be monetized: Detroit's water and sewerage system. Selling part or all of Detroit's stake in that system wouldn't resolve the city's financial woes, but would generate revenue. It would also likely mean higher water and sewerage rates, the report's authors predict.

• Detroit's shaky finances as bad as advertised, CRCM says
  Detroit News, April 5, 2010

At some point the skeptics (AFSCME, are you listening?) will get the message that Detroit's books really as as bad as Mayor Dave Bing says. The latest downer comes today from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, the non-partisan researcher, in a report simply titled, "The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit."

• Detroit needs drastic change to avoid bankruptcy, report says
  Detroit News, April 5, 2010

A new dire report on the city's troubled finances calls on Mayor Bing and the City Council to have the political will to drastically restructure government and reduce the deficit before the city falls into bankruptcy or state receivership.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit public policy research group, authored "The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit." The report was ordered at the behest and with some grant funds from the Business Leaders for Michigan.

• DeYoung-Smith: Legislature has to create stable school funding plan
  Lansing State Journal, April 3, 2010

The budget deficit for the School Aid Fund is estimated at $410 million for the next fiscal year. A recent report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan points out, that "the major state tax revenue source for the School Aid Fund, the sales tax, does not apply to a large and growing segment of consumption activity in the state, thus failing to respond equally to overall economic growth." Expanding the base sales tax to include many consumer services, at a rate of 5.5 percent, must be given serious consideration by the Legislature.

March 2010

• Report: state should fund mandates
  Dearborn/Dearborn Heights Press and Guide, March 19, 2010

Local resolutions are a way for governments to make it clear to legislators this is an important issue, said Eric Lupher, director of local affairs with the Citizens Research Council. The council helped compile information about several other states with rules limiting unfunded mandates.

• Metro cities look at layoffs, closures
  Detroit Free Press [see also UPI.com and Michigan as I see it], March 22, 2010

"We're in the process of creating a new normal," said Eric Lupher, director of local affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit public affairs research organization. "Local governments are just having to go through this process of saying, 'What can we afford to do now?'"

• Underfunded--State report on statutory mandates may prompt long overdue reforms
  Oakland County Legal News [also see Detroit Legal News], March 11, 2010

In addition to help from various government associations, such as the Michigan Association of Counties, the commission's research was assisted by the Citizens Research Council and Michigan State University.

• Top 10 budget cuts & Top 10 revenue ideas
  Center for Michigan, March 11, 2010

Craig Thiel, director of state affairs for the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council, said that resolving a more than $1 billion General Fund deficit will mean cuts to the "big four" -- higher education, Corrections, revenue sharing to local governments and Medicaid.

"You really can’t escape the reality of targeting those areas," Thiel said. "What specifically happens to program X or program Y, it’s hard to say at this point."

• Crime and pensions
  Detroit News, March 10, 2010

The need for public pension reforms is pointed up in a report by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, which last year said the state's prolonged period of economic stress is ratcheting up the pressure to limit future liabilities in union-negotiated traditional pension plans still enjoyed by most public-sector workers.

The Citizens Research Council cited U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics showing that 84 percent of state and local government workers still have traditional pensions. That's now true for only 22 percent of private workers. In the private sector, 62 percent of workers are covered under far less costly defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s that are funded by withholding money from workers' paychecks and, in some cases, by getting matching money or stock from employer contributions.

Glaring statistics in the Citizens Research Council report illustrate the way mushrooming long-term pension liabilities are coming back to haunt politicians who often have swapped them with unions for salary or hourly pay concessions.

• County: We do collaborate
  Grand Rapids Business Journal, March 8, 2010

Delabbio also gave commissioners a report produced by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan on intergovernmental cooperation in the county. The report concluded that the county and six core cities "have been very progressive in developing regional strategies for meeting the service demands of their residents. Intergovernmental collaboration has been used extensively long before the current economic struggles plaguing Michigan led local governments throughout Michigan to re-examine this tool."

• Yes to consolidation of government services
  Grand Rapids Press, March 6, 2010

The Michigan Citizens Research Council has cited Kent County as a model for such cooperative ventures, noting in a recent report 150 intergovernmental cooperative initiatives in our county.

• Needle isn't moving on budget reform
  Lansing State Journal, March 3, 2010

The nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan isn't telling Gov. Jennifer Granholm anything she doesn't already know.

• Analysis finds Granholm's budget fails to resolve Michigan's structural deficit
  Detroit News, March 3, 2010

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's 2011 state budget is déjÀ vu: more one-time fixes, along with a few measures to deal with state government's ongoing structural deficit. That's the verdict from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Legislative Report
  MI-SERA, March 2010

The well-respected and non-partisan Citizens Research Council has issued a report entitled "The FY 2011 Budget: Déjà vu All Over Again." The report reviews the Governor’s 2011 budget recommendations and points out the imbalance between funding needs and revenues.

February 2010

• Research Council: Structural Deficit Remains
  Gongwer News Service, February 26, 2010

Governor Jennifer Granholm has once again proposed a budget that does not address the state's structural deficit, the Citizens Research Council said in a review released Friday.

The report, The FY 2011 Budget: Deja Vu All Over Again, said the state has done little over the last decade to address the structural imbalance between funding needs and revenue.

• State budget seeks federal help
  Crain's Detroit Business, February 28, 2010

In an analysis released last week, the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan said that while some of Granholm's proposals "grapple with aspects" of a structural deficit problem, other solutions "are instead aimed at short-term balance."

But it's also not realistic to expect one year's budget to eliminate a problem that's existed for more than a decade, said Craig Thiel, the council's director of state affairs.

• CRC: Budget: Déjà Vu All Over Again
  MIRS Capitol Capsule, February 25, 2010

Citizen's Research Council of Michigan today offered up an analysis of Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM's FY 2011 budget recommendation and dubbed the report "Déjà vu All Over Again."

"The FY2011 budget presents yet another opportunity for the state's elected officials to begin the process of correcting the near-decade long problem," reads the report. "The Governor's fiscal plan for FY2011 contains elements that address the causes of the problem on both the spending and revenue side."

• Citizens Research Council Pops Second Con-Con Paper
  MIRS Capitol Capsule, February 22, 2010

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan released a second paper today detailing Michigan's constitutional history.

Among the more interesting notes of the piece was the fact that prior to the 1963 Constitution, a majority of all voters voting had to approve the question about whether or not to hold a constitutional convention. Currently, a majority of all voters voting on the question prevail.

• Bypass the Legislature, Take Tax Question to the Voters
  Blogging For Michigan, February 21, 2010

By May of 2008, the warning about our structural imbalance was sent out again by the Citizens Research Council and the W.E. Upjohn Institute, offering the same solutions that we heard back then, the same solutions we are hearing again today.

• From Poodle Cuts to Pedicures: Why We Need a Sales Tax on Services
  Michigan League for Human Services, February 2010

When the sales tax was first implemented in 1933, it generated $31.4 million in fiscal year 1934, or approximately $483 million in 2008 dollars. (quoting CRC's Outline of the Michigan Tax System)

• Save Our Students Looks For 18-Mill Local School Tax To Save Benefits
  mitechnews.com, February 16, 2010

But it also urged a comprehensive review of school funding in line with a coming report from the Citizens Research Council.

• Tourism push on uncertain course - Study touting value of investment not yet final
  Livingston Daily, February 15, 2010

Craig Thiel, a researcher for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said that occasionally data is released prematurely in these kind of studies, although the data can be subject to change.

"I'd be surprised if there's cases where it's changed such that the conclusion's null and void," he said.

• Throw out the Michigan constitution?
  The Observer, February 10, 2010

It's that time again. Every 16 years,the voters in Michigan must vote to decide on convening a constitutional convention for the purpose of revising our state constitution.It failed overwhelmingly in 1978 and 1994. Here is some reading to get you up to speed.

• Research Council to delve into con-con issues
  Gongwer News Service, February 9, 2010

The Citizens Research Council is releasing, over the coming weeks, a series of papers outlining the issues voters will face in deciding whether to call a constitutional convention.

• Educators wait on Granholm school funding plan
  MLive.com, February 9, 2010

Education funding has failed to keep pace with inflation in Michigan for the past several years, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• A bold suggestion for reforming Michigan's local governments
  Grand Rapids Press, February 9, 2010

A recent report from the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council found 150 joint ventures among the cities and the county.

• Ferndale building plans are on hold
  Detroit Free Press, February 8, 2010

Across the tri-county area, residential values have dropped an average of 28% since values peaked in 2007, municipal finance expert Eric Lupher said at the nonprofit Citizens Research Council in Livonia. The decline is causing a roughly equivalent drop in property-tax revenues for communities and counties, Lupher said.

• Manistee hires new consulting firm
  Ludington Daily News, February 1, 2010

In a statement issued Friday, the Manistee City Council Operational Service Assessment Committee announced it had hired the Citizens Research Council of Michigan to complete an operational service assessment for the city at a cost of $10,000.

January 2010

• Granholm offers some solid ideas for restructuring government that should fuel broader reforms
  Detroit News, January 31, 2010

State government faces an estimated $1.6 billion budget problem for 2011and has built-in costs that exceed its expected income -- a structural deficit -- by almost $1 billion even in good years, the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan says.

• State of the City Address
  Hon. George K. Heartwell, Mayor City of Grand Rapids, January 30, 2010

In fact, when the Citizens Research Council recently tallied up all the joint-venture initiatives involving one or more of these six partners, Kent County, or the GRPS they found over 150 separate ventures. 150!! ranging from recreation to emergency services. The results of this study are reported in "Streamlining Functions and Services of Kent County and Metropolitan Grand Rapids Cities." This report is on the City website for your viewing.

• Granholm seeks to retire 46,000 to address deficit
  Lansing State Journal, January 30, 2010

But it's unclear how much cost savings the state will achieve, said Craig Thiel, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. After the last major round of early retirement packages offered in 2001, he said, the state ended up rehiring more employees than it anticipated, reducing the cost savings.

• How you can help with the unfinished business of prison reform
  The Center for Michigan, January 28, 2010

Annual corrections salaries in Michigan are significantly higher than those in seven neighboring states, according to Census Bureau data first reported studied by the Citizens Research Council ...

• Resolution to Support the Findings and Recommendations of the Legislative Commission on Statutory Mandates
  Berrien County, January 21, 2010

WHEREAS, the LCSM worked with the Citizens Research Council (issued an analysis of other state's statutes and constitutional requirements similar to the Headlee Amendment) and local units of government associations...

• Republicans go after police officers and firefighters
  liberalmedianot.blogspot.com, January 27, 2010

The MML is ri9ght in that the number of cases of arbitration are going down, and that’s because all municipal bargaining units have sacrificed and made concessions to help balance the budget. The non-partisan Citizens Research Council says an average of only about 33 cases a year go to arbitration – about 8 percent of fire and police debarments, and of those cases, the municipalities are successful 71 percent of the time.

• The future of Traverse City
  Plan for TC, January 19, 2010

According to the Citizens Research Council, Michigan employment is down 20% from the year 2000 peak.

• Public employees Lansing lawmakers target public employees wages, benefits for cuts, budget savings
  Grand Rapids Press, January 24, 2010

Michigan’s public employee wages and benefits were among the top in the nation -- but there were fewer employees compared to other states, according to a 2007 study from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

Craig Thiel, the council’s director for state affairs, said state employees were the sixth highest-paid in the nation in terms of base salary and had the third-best benefit packages.

But Michigan ranked 45th in employees per 10,000 residents, with half as many as states atop the ranking.

"That’s something you have to take into consideration," he said. "We’re getting the same level of services as Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, but they have more employees to provide those services."

• Business leaders have a plan for Michigan
  Holland Sentinel, January 20, 2010

Non-partisan groups like the Citizens Research Council and the Center for Michigan have had reform plans laid out for several years, and now they are joined by another organization that recognizes the imperative for change in our state.

• Many Mich. school districts smaller than large state average
  Gongwer News Service, January 19, 2010

Michigan's 552 local school districts are smaller than states with populations above 10 million, but are slightly higher than the surrounding Great Lakes states, according to a new report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• State jobs remain key for region
  Lansing State Journal, January 19, 2010

"Viewed in relation to other states, Michigan's state and local public sector is not very large," reports the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council. "In 2006, Michigan ranked 45th among the states with 482 total state and local full-time employees per 10,000 residents, below the U.S. average of 539.2."

• School officials come up with plans of their own
  [Mt. Pleasant] Morning Sun, January 13, 2010

Michigan typically spends more than $12 billion a year on public schools. But tax revenues going into the state's school aid fund have failed to keep up with inflation since 2000, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan. A decline in state sales tax collections is a major problem for schools.

• Financial Forecasting in an Uncertain Environment
  MSBO e-News & Views, January 2010

I made sure that when I used estimates for the future, I cited the source of my information, such as the Senate Fiscal Agency for per pupil revenue estimate and the Citizens Research Council for future retirement rate estimates. This lends credibility to the numbers I am presenting which in turn gives me credibility and assures my audience that I have done my research.

• Start state budget cuts now
  Detroit News, January 14, 2010

Imagine if Michigan had had a two-year or three-year budget policy in place back in 2001, when it had amassed more than $3.9 billion in major fund cash reserves, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

• Schools, state education board discuss finances
  Royal Oak Daily Tribune, January 12, 2010 [Also see MLive.com]

Michigan typically spends more than $12 billion a year on public schools. But tax revenues going into the state’s school aid fund have failed to keep up with inflation since 2000, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan. A decline in state sales tax collections is a major problem for schools.

• State board to discuss school finance
  Education Report, January 11, 2010

Among the guests discussing school finance will be Michael Van Beek, education policy director for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which publishes Michigan Education Digest. Other panelists include Jeffrey Guilfoyle of the Citizens Research Council, Michigan State University economics professor Charles Ballard, and economist Timothy Bartik of the W.E. Upjohn Institute, The Press reported.

• State Board of Education says school finance problems require urgent solutions, calls for bipartisan help
  Grand Rapids Press, January 9, 2010

The board expects to hear from a series of folks the state Education Department believes represent a philosophical cross section, including Jeffrey Guilfoyle of the Citizens Research Council, Michigan State University economics professor Charles Ballard, economist Timothy Bartik of the W.E. Upjohn Institute and Michael Van Beek, education policy director for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

• Lansing must live up to obligations
  The [Lapeer] County News, January 3, 2009

Unfortunately, the State of Michigan has flaunted each of these foundations, according to an otherwise dry report issued by the Citizens Research Council: Reforming the Process for Identifying and Funding Section 29 Mandates on Local Governments.

The report shows that the drafters of the Headlee Amendment, approved by Michigan voters in 1978, predicted that the state might try to push expenditures down to local governments as a result of state revenue limitations enacted by the amendment. This is why Section 29 of the amendment required that any mandates handed down to local governments be paid for the by the state.

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