Welcome to the electronic newsletter from
Grand Haven Charter Township!
Stay informed on what is happening in the township. This newsletter will deliver up-to-date information including upcoming meetings, development news, township services and more! You can always find more information on our
website
or
Facebook
.
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March Board of Review Results
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The Township′s Board of Review met four times in March and heard 36 appeals on property assessments. (
26 appeals were made in-person and 10 appeals were “write-ins” of which most were Personal Property appeals or corrections.)
12 of the real property appeals resulted in changes to property values. This means that
only 0.16% of the properties within the Township had assessments changed because of errors or property assessments not being accurate.
In addition, the Board of Review granted
28 disabled veteran exemptions.
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Proposal “A” is working. Property tax millage rates for “Principal Residences” in Grand Haven Charter Township have fallen from a high of 44.5790 mills in 1992 to a level of 26.9798 mills for 2017, a reduction of about 38%.
Distribution of Taxes in GHT for an Average Home
$2,428 in Property Taxes on a $180,000 Principal Residence in 2017
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Division of Land Value
(Does not include personal or developmental property)
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As you may recall, Grand Haven Charter Township is entering the second year of a $4.4 million project to add ten additional miles of pathways to the existing 28 miles of pathways. This is a three-year program that began in 2017 and will be completed in 2019.
The bids for the Groesbeck Street and 152nd Avenue pathway extensions were released with a bid date of Thursday, April 19th. (
Board review and approval is scheduled for Monday, April 23rd
.)
The bids for the 168th Avenue and Lincoln Street pathway extension were released with a bid date of Thursday, May 3rd. (
Board review and approval is scheduled for Monday, May 14th
.)
Because of the amount of paving and transportation work that is available, the Township’s engineering firm have expressed concern over the number of bids that the Township may receive.
Also, the Board approved a
$215,000
project to resurface portions of the pathway along Robbins Road and Comstock Street.
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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) is an invasive species now established in Ottawa County.
The Ottawa Conservation District and their partners are working to prevent new introductions of HWA and to strategically manage and control HWA within West Michigan. Join the “Save Hemlocks Rally” for progress updates and to learn what you can do to be a Hemlock Hero.
The Rally will be on
Sunday, April 15
th
from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Nature Education Center, Hemlock Crossing Park located at 8115 West Olive Road. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided.
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Ottawa County ranks #1 as the healthiest county in Michigan … a position that the county has held since 2014.
The rankings are from the 2018 County Health Rankings (CHR), which indicates that where we live matters to our health and good health is influenced by many factors beyond medical care including jobs, housing, education, poverty and more. (
The CHR findings are released every year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin
.)
Ottawa County maintained or improved in 69% of the 35 measures and did as well or better than Michigan in 85% of the 35 measures. However, Ottawa County does not compare favorably to the state or to top counties in the area for access to primary care (
i.e., medical, dental and mental health providers
). The county has consistently had fewer providers for the size of its population, but despite this, Ottawa County compares favorably in many health outcomes. (
This is noteworthy insofar as the CHR findings coincide with the recently revealed Ottawa County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) results, which states obesity and poor mental health access as ongoing concerns
.)
Ottawa County's #1 rank has six sub-rankings: Length of Life, Quality of Life, Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social and Economic Factors and Physical Environment. The county maintained or improved in four of the six sub-rankings.
Ottawa County's Strengths include:
- Longer life span
- Lower teen birth rate
- Fewer babies born at a low birthweight
- Fewer children in poverty
- Very low unemployment
- Less inequality among the highest and lowest incomes
Ottawa County's Opportunities for Improvement include:
- Number of mental health providers (Poor or fair health and the number of days of poor physical and poor mental health has increased since 2017 for Ottawa County and other top counties.)
- Adult obesity is higher than it has ever been (29%)
- The rate of sexually transmitted infections continues to increase
- Children living in single-parent households increased to 23% from 17% in 2010
- Increase in violent crime rate (203 cases of forcible rape, robbery, homicide and aggravated assault per 100,000 population compared to just 62 in top counties)
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The Township invoices and collects both real and personal property taxes for all the various governmental agents authorized to levy taxes (
e.g., GHAPS, Ottawa County, Council on Aging, etc.
).
On March 1st, the unpaid real property taxes for the previous year’s levy are returned delinquent to
County Treasurer Slagh
to collect. The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has funded the “Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund” that allows the Ottawa County Treasurer to advance cash to local school districts and local government units for their portion of the delinquent real property taxes. Full payment is made to all taxing authorities around April 10th.
The Township′s GHT record of real property tax collection is as follows:
2017 – 98.6%
2016 – 98.2%,
2015 – 98.3%
2014 – 98.3%
You will note that
2017 was a record year
with the highest↑ level of collection … approaching 99%.
And finally, although the County collects delinquent real property taxes,
Township Treasurer Kieft
is responsible for the collection of delinquent personal property taxes. That said, the unpaid personal property tax delinquencies are only
0.5%
-- which is outstanding.
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Robbins Centre Point PUD - Phase I:
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Approvals for Phase I of the three phase Robbins Centre Pointe re-development project are complete. Residents should expect to see significant construction beginning this month.
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10% Discount - Flood Insurance
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Grand Haven Charter Township was accepted into the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System (CRS) on April 2
nd
. Because of acceptance into this federal program, residents in the Township that avail themselves of flood insurance will receive a
10% discount
.
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Neighborhood Impact Program
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Neighborhood Housing Services announces that eligible homeowners can access up to
$7,500
for home repairs. If you have been a homeowner in the Township for more than 18 months, you may be eligible. Income restrictions apply. Funds are limited and available for only a short time. Contact Neighborhood Housing Services at 616-935-3270 for complete eligibility requirements.
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E-Commerce Transaction & Child Custody Exchange Zone
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The Township Board has established a zone in the parking lot between the Fire/Rescue building and the Township Administrative building for e-commerce transactions and child custody exchanges.
The zone encompasses a few parking spaces within the lot where area residents can meet to do business
(e.g., sell or purchase used goods and materials from on-line websites – such as Craig’s List
) or exchange children pursuant to child custody agreements.
This is an area that Sheriff deputies frequent, where Fire/Rescue personnel reside, and has two security cameras that can record activity within the zone.
Taken together – this is an area where people can feel “safer” as they conduct these activities. Also, people can use the Township Administrative building lobby for these exchanges during
normal business hours
.
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Remember to vote on Tuesday, May 8
th
There is a single ballot measure to renew the Grand Haven Area Public Schools statutory operating millage.
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