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Winter Snow Rules and RequestsWinter has finally arrived! The last several years we were so fortunate with minimal snowfall. Like last year, over Christmas we have been hit with a large amount of snow in a short period of time, making snow removal difficult. Who knows what the rest of the winter will be like.
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A budget is a financial plan that controls expenditures. Any government depends on a budget to properly function.
In a municipality the City Manager, and or Finance Director usually prepare the budget. Once drafted, the Manager submits the budget to the City Commission. While determining how much money can be spent for what purposes, the legislative body directs and limits the programs of the municipal government. Additionally, the legislative body fixes the amount of money that local taxes must raise. Because of this, the review and adoption of the budget usually generates controversy. At the hearings and meetings on the budget, representatives of various interest groups and the public often argue in favor of programs for which they want more money and against programs of which they disapprove.
While making a financial plan, one must know the amount of money available for expenditure. Therefore, a good budget will contain a statement of all of the municipality’s sources of income and estimate coming year’s revenues. To check the estimates, the budget should include previous years’ revenues. Any substantial differences between the former experience and the predictions for the future should be explained.
The expenditure side of the budget contains the estimates of the cost to provide services during the coming year. In the larger municipalities, the heads of the operating departments generally prepare these estimates. To determine the cost of sustained levels people use the inflation rates displayed in the previous years. If the service levels alter, the estimate must reflect that alteration.
The legislature appropriate funds according to the operating units of the municipal organization. Small municipalities may appropriate funds for each department. Larger municipalities may subdivide appropriations according to the divisions within each department. Municipalities may also divide appropriations according to the final purpose, such as salaries and wages, contractual service, supplies, and 
equipment.
When the legislative branch approves a budget and passes the appropriations, it determines the total amount of money that can be spent during the coming year. Municipalities subtract all externally supplied funds from the total allocations. The remainder constitutes the amount the city must raise with taxes. Most municipalities raise this sum with the property tax.
City Commissions may deal with three types of annual budgets:
Public Act 123 of 1999 shortens the amount of time property owners have to pay their delinquent taxes before losing their property. Property owners with taxes that are two years delinquent will be foreclosed and the property will be sold at public auction within the third year. For example, people who fail to pay their 1999 property taxes will lose their property to foreclosure in March, 2002.
With this new act, the amount of time to pay taxes has been reduced from approximately five years to approximately three years. Property owners who have multiple tax years owing will have to pay 1997 and 1999 before March 2002 to avoid losing their property.
Property owners face higher interest and fees for not paying their taxes. Taxes that are more than two years old will have a substantially higher interest rate (1.5% per month, or 18% per year, as opposed to the current 1% per month or 12% per year). On March 1 of the second year of delinquency, taxes will also have a $175.00 forfeiture fee and additional administrative fees added to them.
Property owners who had delinquent taxes under the old law could lose their property, but they had more time to pay and more “second chances”. Under the new law, if your taxes are delinquent for two years, foreclosure occurs, which is final and the property is lost.
For more information please contact:
Mary Richardson
Ottawa County Treasurer
414 Washington Street, Room 207
P.O. Box 705
Grand Haven, MI 49417-0705
(616) 846-8230 or 1-888-731-1001 ext. 8230
Fax: (616) 846-8180
E-mail: mricar@co.ottawa.mi.us
The Friends of the Gary Byker Memorial Library report that this year’s Holiday Home Tour was the best ever, with over 285 people touring six beautiful homes, garnering $2,000 for the library. We wish to thank all of those who participated, especially the generous and creative people who loaned us their homes for the event:
Anyone interested in volunteering their home for next year’s tour, please contact Wanda Giem at 896-9376, or Marcia Wierda at 669-6608.
Personal Property statements with filing instructions were mailed to the appropriate taxpayers December 28, 2001 for the 2002 Assessment Roll. This form is issued and filing is mandatory under the authority of the General Property Tax Act. Please contact, me, Jan Sal, with questions regarding filing this form or obtaining additional blank copies. This form must be submitted to the Assessor's Office on or before February 20, 2002.
Yearly Notice of Property Assessment will be sent to all property owners within the City of Hudsonville during the first week of February. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your 2002 assessed and/or taxable value, please contact me at 669-0200, extension 413. I am available to meet with you to discuss them.
As a result of Michigan's voter approved Proposal A in 1993, property assessment information has been revised to include assessed value, state equalized value, capped value and taxable value. These confusing terms are defined as follows:
Assessed Value (AV) - represents 50% of the market value of your property. This value can change from year to year without regard to caps or other presumed limits on taxes, etc.
State Equalized Value (SEV) - is the value of your property as equalized by the county and/or state. Generally, the SEV is the same as the assessed value unless the state or county has applied a multiplying/equalizing factor to correct the overall valuation of a class of property in the city.
Capped Value - is the taxable value of your property last year plus 5%. Proposal A mandated a 5% cap on the valuation used to calculate taxes.
Taxable Value - THIS IS THE VALUATION USED TO CALCULATE YOUR TAXES. Since the inception of Proposal A, SEV and AV are no longer the base for calculating taxes. Unless, of course, you sell your property, then the taxable value is uncapped and the assessed value becomes the taxable value for the new owner. However, for the current owner (owner of record on or before December 31, 2001) the taxable value does not change by more than the State Tax Commission Consumer Price Index, (inflation rate) OR the mandated 5% cap, whichever is less. The Consumer Price Index has been established as 3.2% for the 2002 Assessment year. Thus, unless you have just purchased your property or made improvements to it (addition, new accessory building, fencing, deck, finished basement, etc.) the taxable value used to calculate your tax bill has gone up 3.2% over last year's taxable value. The assessed value or state equalized value may have changed substantially more but will not affect your taxes.
March Board of Review will meet in Hudsonville City Hall for the purpose of reviewing the assessment roll. Any person or persons desiring to do so, may examine their assessment on said roll and may show cause why the valuation should be changed. The public meeting dates and times are tentatively set for:
Please call the assessing department to schedule an appointment with the Board of Review. You are encouraged to discuss your assessed and/or taxable value with the assessor prior to meeting with the Board.
If you have any questions regarding this information please contact me at 669-0200, extension 413.
Janice Sal, Assessor
Did you get a new DVD or CD player for Christmas? Chances are, some of us did, because demand for DVD’s and CD’s at the library are up! Consequently we intend to purchase more of these in the coming year.
So far our DVD titles include:
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And DVD’s for children:
Look for these and more DVD’s on the DVD/Video carousel by the circulation desk. These DVD’s may be rented for $1 for overnight or weekend use. And guess what? You don’t have to rewind them!
Music CD’s and Books-on-CD are also available at the library. Music CD’s are available in a number of genres including Pop/Rock, Jazz, Classical, Inspirational, to name just a few. Many Books-on-CD are now available also. These are shelved with our regular Books-on-Tape and may be checked out free for three weeks.
Any suggestions for purchase are welcome—just send us an email at hdmh@llcoop.net or give us a note at the circulation desk.
Enjoy your new players!
The library is seeking donations of any used books that you may have. We go through all the donations first and add them to our collection when appropriate, placing the remainder in our book sale for others to see. We have a green donation “mailbox” located just outside our front doors where you can drop your items off. Or, you can come inside where we can also provide you with a form that will give you a deduction on you income tax for your donation.
The next Used Book Sale is: Thursday, March 7 through Saturday, March 9, during the Library’s regular hours. Prices for the books are: hardcovers 50 cents, paperbacks 25 cents, and magazines 10 cents.
Ottawa County is in the latter stages of implementing a Non-Motorized Pathways Study. Their goal is to propose a system that connects existing trails, bringing together east and west, as well as the north and south portions of the county. There is also a goal to connect to more regional systems, such as the Muskatawa Trail in northern Ottawa County up to Muskegon County, the White Pine Trail that goes along US-131 to Cadillac, and the Kent Trail.
There are two types of trail systems being proposed. One system is focused on the more casual user with the non-motorized pathways being separated from the road. The other system is for the more serious touring cyclist in the form of a wider paved shoulder.
A couple other goals of this study are to identify sources of funding for communities to aid in the development of the non-motorized pathway system. The study may also include a recommendation to develop a committee to aid with implementation. The county’s goal is that this document get used by local governments of Ottawa County to cooperate in the development of a quality pathway network that can be used by local residents and tourists for various levels of recreational activity; from family walks to touring bicyclists. Several public hearings are being held and it is anticipated the final study will be completed in November.
Hudsonville naturalist and Master Gardener Craig Elston will be presenting a series of talks on attracting birds and butterflies to your yard and on wildflower gardening. The talks will be held on three Thursday evenings at 6:15 to 9:00 p.m., in the Community Room of the Hudsonville City Offices. The sessions will cover the following areas:
Scheduled dates are:
The sessions are free of charge. You must sign up in advance by calling 669-0200 during daytime business hours or 669-3256 in the evenings. To sign up by email, send us your name, telephone number, and session to wildflower@triton.net.
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The Friends of the Library are always on the look out for new ways to help the library in its mission. Just recently t |
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REQUEST FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
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hey donated $500 to buy DVD’s for the library’s newest collection and $2,000 to buy children’s books.
Often times, the Hudsonville Police Department receives requests from local citizens regarding traffic concerns in their neighborhood. Unfortunately, our officers are unable to be on all streets at all times and may not observe a violation or problem. Below is a form that citizens can complete and submit to the Hudsonville Police Department when observing a violation or traffic concern. Please be as thorough and accurate in reporting information as possible