Poll shows Michigan residents support township governments
Michigan voters would strongly oppose legislation that would eliminate township governments in the state, according to a statewide poll released by the Lansing, Mich.-based Michigan Townships Association (MTA). Proponents of doing away with townships and assigning their responsibilities to county governments say the move would help balance the state’s budget, but respondents to the survey said they have more trust in local governments, including townships.
Township residents said they were particularly pleased with their governments’ responsiveness, according to the survey of 600 voters. “Policymakers in Lansing have been discussing local government reforms in response to the chronic state budget deficit, but missing from their discussions has been an understanding of the preferences of Michigan’s citizens,” said MTA Executive Director Larry Merrill in a statement. “The poll confirms that Michigan citizens do not support eliminating townships just for the sake of reform, especially when diminishing or eliminating townships would actually increase the cost of government and alienate half of Michigan’s citizens from fully participating in local democracy.”
View the poll and aggregate results as a PDF.