From voicemail to email, social media to snail mail-even bulletin boards in public places-there's no lack of newfangled and old-school ways for local leaders to reach residents in their communities.
Still, officials across Michigan report alarming declines of engagement with their constituents despite more widespread use of various outreach methods and activities. That engagement can range from attending meetings and offering input to serving on committees, boards or panels.
That's a key concern emerging from the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted by the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy.
Here are some more survey highlights:
- Only 46% of local officials statewide say their residents are somewhat or very engaged, a drop from 65% who said the same in 2012. Even places that say they offer "a great deal" of engagement opportunities are struggling.
- Local leaders from rural communities report the lowest resident engagement, with just 41% saying their residents are at least somewhat engaged. That's compared with communities that are mostly rural (52%), mostly urban (53%) or urban (64%).
- Rural governments also have fewer resources for engagement. Three-quarters of rural officials say no one in their jurisdiction is specifically responsible for promoting or managing resident engagement, while 22% of urban jurisdictions have staff with that as their sole job responsibility and another 50% have staff with at least some of that responsibility.
- Statewide, satisfaction among local officials with their residents' overall engagement with their local governments has plummeted, from 58% in 2012 and 51% in 2016 to just 38% in 2025.
"We often think of smaller, rural governments as being particularly close to their residents, but answers on this survey indicate they are struggling the most with low resident engagement," said Natalie Fitzpatrick, CLOSUP project manager.
For all the potential value in the many forms of available communication and local governments' efforts to diversify their offerings, survey respondents expressed frustration that these efforts mostly attract the same people over and over, and a small, vocal minority of residents can negatively affect overall engagement.
Many county and city officials in particular see the increasing intrusion of state and national political polarization into local discussions, a trend magnified by social media. Further, some respondents said they wished for more people to attend meetings and engage on issues earlier in the policymaking process-and weigh in on the routine as well as the controversial issues at hand.
Still, survey officials also note signs of promise and pockets of effective practice.
Some local leaders identify social media, online participation tools, resident surveys and innovative initiatives like resident academies as helpful for reaching wider audiences and encouraging meaningful involvement. There's substantial interest, they say, in
formal training on engagement, especially in urban areas-suggesting resources to help build capacity and expertise might help deal with growing challenges.
"The survey has been tracking views on engagement and local community relationships for more than a decade, and these declines are concerning," said Debra Horner, the survey's senior program manager. "However, local leaders in Michigan do generally tend to continue to be optimistic about the health of local governance, especially compared to bitter political divides at the state and national levels."
The survey was conducted April 7-June 12. Respondents include county, city, township and village officials from 1,328 jurisdictions across the state, resulting in a 72% response rate by unit.
