ONEKAMA, MI -- The Village of Onekama is considering a merger with Onekama Township.
Wednesday night, the Citizens Research Council gave a presentation to Onekama residents outlining the pros and cons of a government consolidation.
“When you have a village that is layered on top of a township, you have some inherent duplications….village residents are paying twice for clerk services, twice for treasury and they are paying for township parks and village parks,” said Eric Lupher, The Citizens Research Council.
Because of these duplications, village residents currently pay higher taxes than township residents. If the Village and Township merged, Lupher said Village residents would see their taxes decrease while township residents experienced zero change.
Ultimately, the Onekama Township Board and the Village of Onekama Council will need to determine if they want to place the matter on their agendas for consideration, said the Alliance of Economic Success. Onekama Village President Bob Blackmore said he would like to the see the merger voted on by residents in November.
Consolidating small governments has been highly encouraged by Governor Rick Snyder. Today, Snyder and Onekama were featured in the Wall Street Journal.
