REMINDER: SIGNIFICANT TAX DATES

• July 1st – Summer Tax bills are mailed out.
• September 14th – Summer Taxes are due. -1% interest is added to base amount of Summer bills on September 15th, and the first of each month they remain unpaid.
• December 1st – Winter Tax bills are mailed out.
• February 14th – Winter Taxes are due. -A 3% penalty is added to base amount of Winter or Summer bills still due on February 15th. If they remain unpaid by February 29th, they will be turned over to Ingham County for collection which involves additional fees/penalties.

What goes into an election? More than meets the eye. There were two elections in 2007 and there will be four in 2008. For each election approximately 81 hours goes in to the mailing of absentee ballot applications, mailing the ballots and then processing the returned ballots. For the Presidential Primary there were 178 ballots processed. For each election day there are between 9 and 12 election inspectors that work from 6:00 am until the post-election wrap up is complete. For the Presidential Primary there were 505 residents who voted in Precinct 1 (west of Zimmer Rd) and 524 who voted in Precinct 2 (east of Zimmer Rd). This equated to a 27% voter turnout for our Township vs. an approximate 18% turn out statewide! For the proposed Perry School Initiative there was a voter turnout of 75 residents of 220 within the Perry School District. The Township currently has 3880 registered voters. Next time you are at the polls, please take a moment and thank those behind the table for all their hard work! It wouldn’t be possible without them.

BUDGET

At the time of this publication the Township Board is finalizing the budget for April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009. A copy of the adopted budget will be available at the Township after our March 5, 2008 Board meeting. It will also be placed on the Township website. If you have any questions please contact me at 655-3193.

Historical Committee

If you have an interest in history and its preservation, are a resident of the township, have energy and enthusiasm and a willingness to volunteer, please join us on the Township Historic Committee. Our next meeting will be 6 pm at the Township Hall on Wednesday, April 16th. Contact Tom M. Johnson at 655-1030 for more information.

Work is progressing on the Branch School with the 1950s dilapidated rear structure having been demolished and a new structure, designed to match the existing school, framed in and enclosed. Twenty school desks of the late 1880s era have been obtained and are being painstakingly restored by volunteer Fred Campbell. The carvings and initials on the desk tops portray a great deal of history in themselves. We will report in the next Newsletter on the project of cataloguing and documenting the history of the pre-1900 homes that is currently underway by the committee.

The committee has lost two of its most ardent members and supporters. Conrad Bappert, who recently passed away, attended the Branch School, maintained it and the grounds over the years and was a life long resident of the township. Clay Braden, who was extremely enthusiastic about this project and spent countless hours obtaining and cataloguing artifacts for the school's restortion, died in early December.

Heads Up!

Detroit Edison will be having maintenance work done through May in their service areas. They will be using ABC Professionals to do the work within their utility easement. Please call the office with any concerns.