In Michigan, if you don't live in a city, you live in a township. Townships are a product of Michigan's early history, and Michigan is one of 20 states that currently has some form of township government.

Michigan currently contains 1,242 townships that vary in size and population. Based on the 2000 Census, Michigan township populations vary from 10 to 95,648 people. More than half of all Michigan residents live in a township.

Michigan townships are statutory units of government, having only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law.
Welcome to Township Government (.pdf)
Michigan Township News, January 2005
Township Government in Michigan (.pdf)

State laws authorize townships to perform a wide variety of functions. Townships are required to perform assessment administration, tax collection and elections administration. Townships may choose to perform numerous governmental functions, including enacting and enforcing ordinances, planning and zoning, fire and police protection, cemeteries, parks and recreation facilities and programs, and many more.

There are two types of townships in Michigan: general law and charter townships. All townships are general law townships, unless they have incorporated as a charter township.

Charter township status is a special township classification created by the Michigan Legislature in 1947 to provide additional powers and streamlined administration for governing a growing community. A primary motivation for townships to adopt the charter form is to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2005, 131 Michigan townships were charter townships.

For more information on the differences between general law and charter townships, see the MTA Resource Toolkit, General Law or Charter Township? The Decision is Yours ... (.pdf).