Resources about Township Government

MTA Study on Forced Consolidations: Show Me the Money

Thanks to the efforts of township officials, House Bill 4780 remains in committee with no further legislative action having taken place. Proponents of HB 4780 argue that moving assessing, tax collection and elections to the county level will save taxpayers money, however, no legislator has yet shown any analysis that demonstrates any cost savings to justify this argument. To provide greater understanding into the broader issue of local government consolidation, MTA commissioned noted demographer Wendell Cox to further examine this matter. Click here to view the study, "The Higher Costs of Rationing Local Government: The Case Against State-Imposed Consolidations."   

Townships Matter

Michigan Townships directly impact the lives of families on a daily basis. Township governments efficiently, economically and effectively protect the public safety of families and enhance the quality of life for more than half of Michigan's residents. Townships are governed by everyday residents serving each other. Because neighbors are serving neighbors, townships match the needs of the communities they serve. Click here for detailed information on the significant role of Michigan township government. Learn the truth about a variety of myths on Michigan townships. 

Your Michigan Campaign Highlights Value of Local Government Services

The Michigan Council of Local Governments (MCOLG), comprised of MTA, the Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association of Regions (represented by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments), Michigan Association of School Boards and Michigan Municipal League, announce the launch of the Your Michigan-Live, Learn, Work, Play campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to emphasize return on the dollar for taxpayers. Click here for more information about the campaign.

Township Government:

Saving Tax Dollars in Michigan and the Nation

A White Paper by Bill Anderson, MTA Legislative Liaison

This paper will examine Michigan's state and local government spending as reported in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007, recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Particular attention was paid to the State and Local Finance section of the abstract, which relies heavily on figures compiled from state and local government operations in 2002. The paper will review state and local spending, and compare our state to the other 49 states to see how competitive is Michigan and what is the impact of having a strong local government structure-such as found in Michigan-as compared to other states.