Citizen's Guide and Popular Annual Financial Report - The dashboard and citizen's guide are not one and the same. The citizen's guide describes the financial condition of the community in a way that is understandable to a lay person.

Through an initiative from the State of Michigan's Economic Vitality Incentive Program ("EVIP"), local governments are required to develop a plan to consolidate, coordinate and cooperate with other local units in an effort to reduce expenses for providing various services to their residents.