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Township Board Members
Dale Bergman, Supervisor Bonnie
Robinson, Clerk
Pat Fynewever, Treasurer Cliff Anderson, Trustee Tom Antor, Trustee Bill Goodfellow, Trustee Rob Steffens, Trustee
Planning
Commission – 2nd
Tuesday 7:00 pm
Zoning Board of Appeals - 2nd Wednesday 7:30
pm
Contact
the Township for:
Passport Applications
Dog Licenses
Cemeteries
Maps, Plat Books
Assessment Information
Election/Voter registration
Building & related Permits
Burning Permits
Non-village Ordinance
Enforcement
Water & Sewer concerns
Village parks & streets
Sidewalks
Village Leaf/Brush Pick-up
Village Ordinance
Enforcement
Hours
of operation:
Mon/Tues- 9am to 8 pm
Wed/Fri- 9am to 5pm
Sat- 9am to 12 noon
Closed Thur
& Sunday
Visit the library - 80 N. Union St. or call 887-9937 for information.
See the enclosed Historical
Commission brochure. Any donation is very much appreciated.
Town and Country Days
July 16 – 20, 2008 See the website (www.spartafair.com)
for information on Sparta’s summer celebration; brochures will be available soon!
The Community Clubhouse (behind the Library) is available for rental;
call the Township office for information.
For larger events, the Sparta Civic Center is
available for rental; call Terry Hartman at 887-1224.
Passports
We accept passport applications
Monday – Friday, 8am-4pm. For more information, go to www.travel.state.gov or call us at 887-8863.
County Plat Books
From the 4-H Council; available
at our office for $25. Includes maps showing
owners, boundaries, lakes, rivers, school districts and more!
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Supervisor - Dale Bergman
As we approach the August 5th primary election,
it appears that there will be at least three new members on the Sparta
Township Board. Two of the most
important issues facing the new Board will be farmland preservation and
operating the township on limited revenues.
Over one-half of Sparta Township is comprised of
prime agricultural land, primarily land west of M-37. The combination of high elevation and clay
loam soils make the land ideal for farming and especially fruit growing. The land is considered some of the best
farmland in Michigan. How to best
preserve this land is always a challenge for the Township Board.
The Township’s financial condition is good, as the
current Sparta Township Board, as well as Boards in the past, have been
fiscally responsible. The Township has
a good fund balance; however, budgeting is becoming more challenging with
state revenue sharing dollars staying the same or declining.
I am sure the new Board members will be up to the
challenge.
Clerk - Bonnie Robinson
New Voter ID
Regulations
To vote in future elections, all voters must show a picture ID. You may use your Michigan Driver’s License
or State ID. Your voter registration
card is not acceptable because it does not have a picture. Other acceptable IDs are passport, military
ID, or Student ID. If you do not have
a picture ID, you must sign an affidavit stating so before being
allowed to vote.
Elections in 2008
August 5th
– Primary Election (register by July 7)
November
4th – General Election (register by October 6)
[Applications for Absentee Voter are
available now at our office.]
Candidates for Township positions
Supervisor: Dale Bergman, Robert G Boros
Clerk: Bonnie Robinson
Treasurer: Rachel Shangle
Trustees
(4): John A Fynewever, William
Goodfellow,
Robert Maier, Robert Steffens
Library
Board (6): Jane Bosserd,
Janet Hayes, Kristin Johnsen,
Carol Keller,
MaryAnn Meyer, Mary Nellans
Treasurer - Pat Fynewever
Enclosed is your 2008 Sparta
Township summer tax bill. Summer taxes are due in our office by 5:00 pm, September 15. Postmarks and debit/credit card payments
are not accepted. If you defer
summer taxes, please sign an application by September 15, if you haven’t already done so.
If you have any questions about your tax bill, call or e-mail our
office.
Fire Chief – Jerold Bolen
SPARTA EMERGENCY SERVICES UPDATE
“When there is nothing you can do,
it’s what we do that can make the difference.”
Firefighters
and Medical First Responders bet their lives on having proper, dependable equipment and constant training….AND SO DO YOU!
Every day
we see “new and improved” innovations advertised to make our lives as
citizens more comfortable or better in some way. New products such as hybrid vehicles, new
safety innovations, machinery, tools, household equipment, chemicals, and
alternative fuels are some of the things that make our job as firefighters
more difficult, however are also important to our lives. Products we use and are exposed to daily are constantly changing along with the dangers and hazards
associated with them. Having the
appropriate disaster relief equipment immediately available to us can make a
critical difference in saving a business, a farm, a home, a life.
The mission of the
Sparta Fire Department is to be an effective and efficient steward in
delivering quality services to our community.
To finance the operation of the Sparta Fire Department, the Township
Board has approved two ballot questions, a millage renewal and an additional
millage to be placed on the August 5, 2008 primary ballot.
If voters simply pass
the renewal, the existing levy would be continued. It is the Fire Department’s intent to use
this levy to replace inadequate, outdated equipment.
If the additional
millage is approved, the Fire Department would use
this levy for repairs to the station, a new roof, replacement of the original
boiler and repairs to the parking lot.
It is estimated that this additional millage would cost a taxpayer an
additional $2.08 per month per $100,000 taxable value of their home.
-The Sparta Fire Department
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