Clark Township Annual Meeting
Board Considers Pay Hike, Hears Public Suggestions
By Amy Polk

Clark Township residents learned officials may still give themselves raises this year as long as they are adopted as compensation for extra duties assigned those positions. That compensation will not be subject to a public vote. Residents at the June 30 Annual Meeting also heard a report on how their property taxes are spent, saw a list of township board goals, and provided comments and ideas in a public forum.

Approximately 35 people attended the Clark Township annual meeting, a revival of the former practice of holding annual meetings to set salaries, adopt the budget, and take care of other community business. Since 1988, Michigan general law townships were no longer required to have an annual meeting. The state abolished the practice in 1984 for charter townships, unless they resolve to hold an annual meeting. As in many other Michigan municipalities, Clark Township's board has set its own salaries for at least a decade. Officials estimate the township has not had an annual meeting in 10 to 15 years.

Raises May Still Be Adopted as New Compensation

Two years of public controversy over health insurance and raises prompted the board to reinstate the annual meeting to give the public an opportunity to weigh-in on the matter. On June 21 it adopted salary increases, to be ratified by the public June 30, but too late, as it turned out, because state law requires such action be taken at least 30 days before the annual meeting.

A way around the dilemma, however, would be to adopt compensation for additional work, Supervisor Linda Hudson said. The Michigan Townships Association informed her that compensating officials for work other than the statutory duties of the position is not only allowable, but can also be adopted any time of the year without a resolution.

"This will come up again at a future meeting," Mrs. Hudson said, but she promised that citizens will be informed when the board considers raising salaries again.

Elected officials were asking that $20,028 salaries for the supervisor, clerk, and treasurer be raised by $5,000 each for "facilities administration and management." Annual salaries were proposed to increase by 3.24% (or $72.08) plus $75 per meeting. All were to be voted on by the public at the annual meeting.

Mrs. Hudson noted that she is researching salary rates and has obtained comparisons to townships similar to Clark through a Michigan Townships Association service. She will also look at com- munities offering similar services and facilities.

Cedarville resident Paul Smith asked why the board won't follow the recommendations of the township's ad hoc compensation committee. The committee recommended raises no higher than 2% a year for supervisor, clerk, and treasurer, unless officials increase their office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Despite the recommendations, trustees adopted 3.38% raises with no additional hours for the three officials who work at Clark Township Hall, but took no raises the following year.

The committee also recommended officials contract someone else to manage facilities like the airport, sewer department, and marina, Treasurer Katie Carpenter said. Elected officials now have those responsibilities.

"They didn't say who would pay for [contracting those services], or how it would be paid for," she said, adding that the airport management she took on "is a huge responsibility."

Clark Township Taxes,

Millage Explained

Mrs. Carpenter presented a synopsis of Clark Township taxes and how they are spent. In 2006, Clark Township property owners paid $5,557,685.83 in taxes, which were divided among Clark Township's general services, fire and ambulance vehicles, sewer department, and roads; Mackinac County and the Mackinac Straits Hospital; the Michigan public schools' state education tax; Les Cheneaux Community Schools operational and building project debt, and the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District.

Clark Township collected $239,022.64 from the 1.431 mill it levies for general government operations and services. Additional revenue from state shared revenue, licenses and permits, grants, and service charges brings in approximately $300,000 more. Clark Township's estimated general fund revenues for fiscal year 2006-2007 were $619,421. That money was spent on fire and ambulance services, salaries, elections, zoning and building enforcement, the community center, three cemeteries, land use planning, the airport, Hessel Marina and swimming beach, Cedarville park and docks, and garbage collection from the township transfer station. The board expected to have $6,014 in leftover revenue for the fiscal year that ended in June.

In 2006, Clark Township placed sixth out of 13 Mackinac County municipalities when comparing millage rates, levying 3.4272 mills for general services, roads, and sewer, plus one mill for one year to buy two emergency services vehicles, for a total of 4.4272 mills. This year, Clark will have the second lowest millage rate in Mackinac County, after Newton Township, after the emergency services millage expires, Mrs. Carpenter said.

Clark Township had the second highest taxable value in Mackinac County, after Mackinac Island, in 2006. One mill in Clark Township brought in $167,031, compared to a township with a lower taxable value like Garfield, which generates approximately $74,000 for one mill. The City of St. Ignace, which levies 17.36 mills for city operations including sewer and water, collects approximately $83,000 for one mill. Mackinac Island generates approximately $174,000 per mill.

Township Board Goals

and Projects

In other news, trustees described the board's goals, how much progress has been made, and what projects they are working on. The board set goals at a strategic planning session in spring 2005. Projects that have been completed include revising the employee policy manual and administrative policies, raising building permit fees, finishing the sidewalk, curb, and gutter on M-134, researching fire and ambulance funds, posting new green and white reflective signs at road ends, and hiring a computer network manager.

Projects underway include a township newsletter, an updated Web site with posted agendas, permit applications, ordinances, and a message board, a public access assessing records program (hard copy records now available upon request), logging special assessments on a computer, creating an inventory of township property, several road improvements scheduled over the next four years through the township's road millage program, getting high speed Internet for the township, developing a non-motorized pathway, the recreation park, industrial park development and marketing, and many other projects. A complete list with projects and their status is available upon request from Clark Township officials.

Mrs. Hudson described ongoing projects to clean up Cedarville Bay, like installing aerators at the Cedarville public dock to help circulate water and keep large weed and slime mats from forming around the dock. The board authorized adding more of a chemical that removes odor and also helps remove phosphorous from treated wastewater before it is discharged into Cedarville Bay. The Les Cheneaux Watershed Council's weevil project to control weeds will be compared to a private chemical treatment in the bay to see which works best within the goals of the community, Mrs. Hudson said.

"One of the reasons the Watershed Council didn't recommend the chemical treatment first for the whole bay was because we didn't want to get on a chemical treadmill" of having to reapply chemical herbicide regularly to keep weeds in check, Mrs. Hudson said. Weevils are supposed to control Eurasian watermilfoil while reproducing naturally, year after year.

Issues Raised, Projects Suggested by the Public

Residents suggested the township take action on the old Bon Air and other vacant buildings in Cedarville. The ice cream shop and general store has been closed for at least a decade. An ad hoc group of citizens studied options to fill the space and make the area more appealing, Mrs. Hudson said, and the board will consider forming a downtown development association or similar organization at the July or August meeting.

One resident suggested establishing a "fire danger" warning sign to let residents know the level of wildfire risk in the township. Such signs are posted at Department of Natural Resources offices, and rank fire risk as high, moderate, or low, depending on weather and drought conditions.

Another suggestion for stronger enforcement of the township's blight ordinance drew a response from the township board. Mrs. Hudson said the board recently tried to prosecute two blight cases, but was told the land use ordinance needs to change first. Clark Township's ordinance now declares violations a criminal offense, but the township attorney said judges may reject a case in which a landowner is being charged as a criminal. It is becoming a more common municipal practice to classify land use violations as civil infractions, Mrs. Hudson said, so Clark Township is researching whether it should reclassify violations.

Community Cleanup

Opportunities

Martha Tassier of Cedarville suggested advertising a township clean-up effort to improve the community's appearance. She cited abandoned and trashed vehicles and other garbage as impediments to bringing more tourists and fulltime residents to the community. Trustees suggested using the free Clark Township Clean-Up Days in the spring and summer as opportunities to bring yard trash for free disposal at the Clark Township transfer site. The last clean-up day of the year will be Thursday, July 12, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Township residents can bring their trash, and need a pass available from Clark Township Hall.

Another clean-up opportunity will be available at a Monday night, July 16, Hessel Beach work bee. Volunteers are asked to arrive at 6 p.m. The township board noted the efforts of workers who gathered in late June for the first bee, and thanked Bud Mathews of Hessel and Hessel Harbormaster Gail Dreisbach for organizing the effort. Hessel Beach improvements will continue through the summer, and donations to the project are coming in weekly, Mrs. Dreisbach said. Donations can be made at Clark Township Hall.