Citizens Research Council of Michigan at 90 Earl

Citizens Research Council of Michigan at 90 Earl Ryan CRC’s Annual Meeting September 2006

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 Ma. Cauley - 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

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Independence Objectivity Accuracy Credibility 11

Nine Decades of Accomplishment 1916 -2006 12

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) 13

The Depression • Michigan Civil Service amendment (1935) • Penal law revision (1936) • Michigan Tax Study Commission (1937) 14

Citizens Research Council in the 1950 s • Little Hoover Commission (early 1950 s) • State Budget Crisis (late 1950 s) 15

The 1960 s • Con-Con (1961 -62) • Outline of the Michigan Tax System (1963) • Metropolitan government (1965) 16

The 1970 s • Uniform Local Government Budgeting (1978) • Medicaid and Health Care Costs (1978) • Tax revolt issues 17

The 1980 s • Wayne County Charter (1981) • Unemployment Insurance (1982) 18

The 1990 s • Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act (1990) • Casinos (1995) • Community Mental Health Funding (1996) • Highway Construction and Maintenance (1997) 19

Into the 21 st Century • Michigan Structural Deficit (2001 to present) • Retiree Health Care Benefits (2004) • K-12 Capital Funding (2005) • Catalog of Intergovernmental Cooperation (2005) 20

Board of Trustees Executive Committee Chair Vice Chair 75 members – 3 yr terms Board of Directors 27 members – 1 yr term Other Committees Treasurer Member President CRC Staff 21

Board of Directors: Responsibilities • Overall CRC Policy • Approve Budget • Assure Financial Support • Select President • Approve Research Agenda 22

Research Agenda • Recurring Studies • Outside Requests • Internally Generated 23

Research Criteria • Broad Public Interest • CRC Mission • Researchable • CRC Independence • Resource Availability 24

Research Sequence • Board Approval • Staff Execution • Release 25

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The First Century 27

“A governmental reformer must have a geologist’s sense of time. ” - Lent D. Upson 28

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan