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Citizens Research Council of Michigan at 90

Celebrating 90 years of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, promoting better government through research and informed decision-making. Learn about the council's history, accomplishments, and ongoing research agenda.

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Citizens Research Council of Michigan at 90

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  1. Citizens Research Council of Michiganat 90 Earl Ryan CRC’s Annual Meeting September 2006

  2. Fundamental Tenet of Government Research • Better Information • Better Decisions • Better Government

  3. Lent Upson

  4. CRC Founders • Otto Kirchner - Attorney • Sidney T. Miller - Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Perry • Ralph Stone - Detroit Trust • Emory W. Clark - First & Old Detroit National Bank • Joseph J. Crowley - Crowley Bros. & Crowley-Milner • Edward H. Doyle • Norval A. Hawkins - Ford Motor Co. • Eugene W. Lewis - House Financing Corp. • Charles C. Jenks - Security Trust Co. • Alvan MaCauley - Packard Motor Car

  5. “The larger purpose of our kind of citizen concern with government is to make democracy work.” - Lent D. Upson

  6. “The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what your talking about.” - Lent D. Upson

  7. Four Principal Interests • To promote…administrative procedures that were developed rapidly…to facilitate and control the expanded public services and expenditures taking place; • To aid in the reorganization of the structure of governments…to enable them to carry on more effectively under these new circumstances; • To concern itself with individual instances in which economies in government might be effected; and • To inform influential elements of the public concerning the technical aspects of important public business. - Lent D. Upson

  8. Efficiency – Greatest amount of service at the least cost • Equity – Similar treatment of similarly situated citizens and taxpayers • Accountability – Information to permit assessment of performance and financial condition

  9. Credibility Accuracy Objectivity Independence

  10. Nine Decades of Accomplishment 1916-2006

  11. The Early Years • Modern Detroit purchasing system (1915) • Police Merit System in Detroit • Sound municipal accounting system (1918) • Recommend Wayne County reorganization (1921) • Sound property tax assessing (1926)

  12. The Depression • Michigan Civil Service amendment (1935) • Penal law revision (1936) • Michigan Tax Study Commission (1937)

  13. Citizens Research Council in the 1950s • Little Hoover Commission (early 1950s) • State Budget Crisis (late 1950s)

  14. The 1960s • Con-Con (1961-62) • Outline of the Michigan Tax System (1963) • Metropolitan government (1965)

  15. The 1970s • Uniform Local Government Budgeting (1978) • Medicaid and Health Care Costs (1978) • Tax revolt issues

  16. The 1980s • Wayne County Charter (1981) • Unemployment Insurance (1982)

  17. The 1990s • Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act (1990) • Casinos (1995) • Community Mental Health Funding (1996) • Highway Construction and Maintenance (1997)

  18. Into the 21st Century • Michigan Structural Deficit (2001 to present) • Retiree Health Care Benefits (2004) • K-12 Capital Funding (2005) • Catalog of Intergovernmental Cooperation (2005)

  19. Board of Trustees 75 members – 3 yr terms Executive Committee Chair Vice Chair Treasurer Member Board of Directors 27 members – 1 yr term Other Committees President CRC Staff

  20. Board of Directors:Responsibilities • Overall CRC Policy • Approve Budget • Assure Financial Support • Select President • Approve Research Agenda

  21. Research Agenda • Recurring Studies • Outside Requests • Internally Generated

  22. Research Criteria • Broad Public Interest • CRC Mission • Researchable • CRC Independence • Resource Availability

  23. Research Sequence • Board Approval • Staff Execution • Release

  24. The First Century

  25. “A governmental reformer must have a geologist’s sense of time.” - Lent D. Upson

  26. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan

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