Mike’s Musings: Why Good People No Longer Want to Serve in Local Government

Local government may be the most important level of government—and the one most people understand the least.
Township trustees, village council members, county commissioners, school board members and local clerks make decisions that directly affect our daily lives. They maintain roads, oversee police and fire protection, administer elections, establish local tax rates and decide how our communities will grow.
Yet, across Michigan, communities are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade qualified people to serve.
A recent University of Michigan survey found that 77 percent of Michigan’s local government leaders believe too few residents are willing to run for elected office. Sixty-one percent said they have difficulty finding younger people willing to become candidates.
That should concern all of us.
Many local offices are technically considered part-time positions, but the responsibilities can resemble those of a full-time job. Township clerks, for example, must administer increasingly complicated elections, maintain public records, prepare meeting materials and comply with an ever-growing list of state requirements.
Some receive only a few thousand dollars a year for performing those duties. Pay frequently bears little relationship to the time, responsibility and aggravation that come with the position.
Low pay, however, is only part of the problem.
Public meetings have become more confrontational. Disagreements that once ended with a vote now continue on Facebook, where rumors and personal attacks can spread throughout a community before the facts have a chance to catch up.
Public officials have always faced criticism. That comes with accepting public office, and it is entirely appropriate. Taxpayers have every right to ask questions, demand explanations and vote officials out of office when they are dissatisfied.
But there is a difference between accountability and abuse.
Disagreeing with a township supervisor’s vote does not justify threatening his family. Opposing a school board policy does not give someone the right to harass board members at their homes. Questioning an election procedure is legitimate; accusing a local clerk of corruption without evidence is not.
When every disagreement becomes personal, reasonable people begin asking themselves a reasonable question: Why would I subject myself and my family to this?
Too often, the answer is that they will not.
The result is uncontested elections, vacant offices and governing boards filled by whoever is willing to endure the abuse—not necessarily by the people best qualified to serve.
This problem is particularly serious in smaller communities. Large cities can hire professional administrators, attorneys and communications staffs. A rural township may have only a handful of employees, many working part time. One resignation can leave an entire department struggling to perform essential duties.
We also have to ask where the next generation of local leaders will come from. Many younger adults are raising families, working long hours and struggling with the cost of housing, childcare and everyday necessities. Asking them to take on a demanding public position for little compensation—and then tolerate personal attacks online—is not an attractive sales pitch.
Good local government requires good people. It needs farmers, teachers, business owners, retirees, parents and young adults who understand their communities and are willing to make difficult decisions.
Those decisions will not always be popular. A road project may inconvenience residents. A millage request may divide a community. A zoning decision may satisfy one neighborhood while angering another. Public officials should explain their decisions, listen to residents and admit when they are wrong.
The public also has responsibilities.
We should attend meetings before controversies erupt. We should read proposals instead of relying on social media posts. We should criticize decisions without attempting to destroy the people who made them. Most importantly, we should encourage capable residents to run for office—and consider serving ourselves.
Local government belongs to the people, but it cannot function if the people want only to complain and never participate.
Newspapers have a role as well. We must report on local government, question officials and expose wrongdoing when it occurs. But we should also help readers understand the enormous amount of routine, largely unnoticed work performed by local officials and employees.
Most people serving in local government are not becoming wealthy or powerful. They are neighbors trying to keep roads repaired, elections operating, balanced budgets and communities moving forward.
They will sometimes make mistakes. They should be held accountable when they do. But if we treat every mistake as corruption and every disagreement as a declaration of war, we should not be surprised when good people decide public service is no longer worth it.
Democracy does not begin in Washington or Lansing. It begins in township halls, village offices, county buildings and school board meeting rooms.
If we want better local government, we must create a community in which decent, qualified people are still willing to serve.