Berrien prompts law change
Published 5:51 pm Friday, December 19, 2008
By Staff
LANSING – An archaic law dating back more than 100 years allows townships to create parks commissions but it does not include provisions for dissolving ones that are no longer needed or wanted by local elected officials.
In 2006, Berrien County's Lincoln Charter Township residents ran afoul of this century-old oversight when they voted to dissolve their local parks commission, only to see the election results overturned by the Court of Appeals.
Thursday, lawmakers approved legislation to correct this oversight and to allow for the dissolution of township parks commissions.
"Many parks commissions are no longer wanted or needed, but because of this archaic law, voters' hands are tied," said state Rep. John Proos, R-St. Joseph. "Especially now when many local governments are facing budget difficulties, we need to give local officials the tools to cut costs and streamline their operations."
The legislation passed by lawmakers allows voters to collect petition signatures similar to any other ballot initiative in order to put the question of whether to dissolve an existing township parks commission before voters on the next regular election. Upon dissolution of a township parks commission, all assets and liabilities transfer to the township board.