Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A team of grad students is working to create an “easy-to-understand” report about the City of Brighton’s annual finances and is hosting an open house next week to gather input.

Students from the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy are looking to help increase the City’s financial transparency. The project is part of the school's Public Policy Consulting Clinic. It’s a collaboration that provides local governments increased capacity to advance projects and students an opportunity to engage in real-world projects that advance municipal missions.

The team will be hosting an open next Tuesday, March 10th from 4-5:30pm at the Brighton City Hall Chambers, located at 200 N. 1st Street.

During the session, the team will gather input from residents, visitors, and employees across Brighton. Organizers ask that people stop by for 15 minutes to share input about what financial information the residents and others hope to see in the report.

Students started working with the City back in January. The goal of the project is to “provide residents and stakeholders an approachable tool/report that allows them to engage with the City of Brighton’s finances”.

The report will provide the City’s financial information in a visually-engaging format, along with additional explanations and context. The exact content of the report will be driven by stakeholder conversations and best practices.

The final publication is expected to be available by this coming summer and will be available on the City of Brighton’s website.