MichiganRadio

Lt. Governor Takes Input on What "Core Functions" Of Government Should Be GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Michigan Radio) - Lieutenant Governor John Cherry is moving ahead on a series of town hall meetings that are meant to help streamline state government.

Cherry has identified what he says are the seven core functions of state government: public safety, education, public systems, well-being, sustainability, economic opportunity and prosperity, and efficiency and effectiveness.

At the town hall meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, people voted on whether they agreed that those should be considered "core."

Pretty much everyone agreed. But there were big differences in how people thought those functions should be carried out. Cherry says the discussion was helpful.

"I've found that the more you talk about things, the more you grapple in a reasonable conversation, the common path becomes apparent," he says.

Cherry plans to hold six more town hall meetings across the state. He plans to issue a set of policy recommendations later this year. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio