Village move to cityhood still 'very much alive'

Sat, Feb 23, 2008

SPRING LAKE — Although nothing has been formally presented recently regarding Spring Lake's transition from "village" to "city," Spring Lake Village President Bill Filber said efforts to change governmental structure "are very much alive."

Filber, along with Village Manager Ryan Cotton and other council and cityhood committee representatives visited the City of the Village of Douglas last week for insight and input.

Douglas, just south of Saugatuck on the south bank of the Kalamazoo River, officially changed its form of government from that of a village to that of a city in 2004. The process took more than five years.

"We've got a long way to go," Filber said. "At our next cityhood meeting (March 12) we'll start looking at and reviewing the first step — creating a petition for the state boundary commission. We'll need about 200 signatures (from village residents)."

Filber said residents have been asking him about the status of changing from a village to a city.

"They haven't heard much recently but the issue is not dead at all," Filber said. "People think it might have faded away but it hasn't. There's just a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy at this point. It moves real slowly."

Filber said Village officials met with both Saugatuck Township and City of the Village of Douglas officials. He said both Allegan County municipalities worked toward cohesive and collaborative efforts to make the transition seemingly seamless.

"Basically Douglas wanted what we want — independence," Filber said. "We're not doing this for financial reasons, but we're doing this to make our own financial decisions independent of (Spring Lake) township taxes. They (Douglas officials) told us all about the challenges they faced and said they didn't have to raise taxes (when Douglas became a city)."

Cityhood Committee member Michele Yasenak said learning first-hand of Douglas' officials experiences was an eye-opener.

"It was great," Yasenak said. "It was just so informative. We met with the township people first and they gave us the township's perspective and view. Then we met with the city people. ... Their feeling was that they are now in control of their own destiny. They shared with us a lot of their timelines and guidelines and warned us to stay on top of things with the state boundary commission.

"They seemed very pleased with the final results," Yasenak added. "They were so pro-positive. They felt like they made the correct choice and they have a wonderful working relationship with the (Saugatuck) township officials. I hope we can have the same. It was a very positive experience."

In December, Spring Lake Village Council voted unanimously to proceed with becoming a city, although council members agreed much research is waiting in the wings.

Initial calculations estimate moving from a village to city could save the owner of a $130,000 home about $46 annually in property taxes, but cityhood committee Chairman Patrick Reeg said in his report there are no guarantees.

Although taxes could drop, final figures are unknown because of potential added costs for services that the township currently provides — such as fire protection, assessing, election and discounted resident cemetery fees.

The next step in the state-mandated process would be for village residents to sign a petition requesting city incorporation. The petition requires the signatures of 1 percent of registered village voters.

The petition would go to the State Boundary Commission. The SBC prefers "squared-off" boundaries and would have the authority to change current township-village property lines, according to committee members and state officials.

"We're in the second phase of this right now," Filber said. "The petition for city incorporation takes a lot of work. We have to have all of our boundaries proposed and defined before we officially apply to the state boundary commission. It takes a lot of time but we're very encouraged. It's a doable thing but it will take a lot of time. We have a meeting next month and I think we'll be picking up steam after that."