A new survey from the University of Michigan shows that small towns and rural communities across Michigan are increasingly worried about their finances.
"The study found that just 49-percent of local governments expect to see good fiscal health five years from now.
31-percent say they are experiencing medium levels of fiscal stress.
Officials in central and northern Michigan reported the highest levels of financial discomfort.
Stephanie Leiser is a co-author of the report.
She says the revenue model for many local governments depends on property taxes, which is a reliable source of revenue...
"But it doesn't grow very fast. And in the recent years, as we all know, there's been a lot of inflation and so there's no cap on costs for local governments and they've had to increase spending on personnel and, and pretty much everything across the board just to maintain services."
The survey talked to just over 1,300 local governments across Michigan.
