-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Townships as "non-local" entities
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:16:51 -0500
From: Weessies, Kathleen <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
For my own elucidation while searching for a house in the East Lansing
area, I built this property tax map which considers the tax levies that
vary by school district, city, village, and township. Residents of
villages pay property taxes to both their township and their village,
but city dwellers pay only city taxes.
http://maps.lib.msu.edu/taxes/inghamproptaxes.pdf
Ironically, the highest property taxes in the county are paid in the
small City of Leslie in the bottom-center of the map, not in the
much-supposed Meridian Township and City of East Lansing.
Kathleen Weessies
Geography/Maps/Geology Librarian
Michigan State University
100 Library W308
East Lansing, MI 48824
(517)432-6123 x250
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Maps-L
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Townships as "non-local" entities
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Townships as "non-local" entities
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:39:58 -0500
From: Paige Andrew <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Kathleen,
Good question and thanks to Tim for the information. Here in
Pennsylvania we have a whole cadre of unique but overlapping
governmental creatures such as townships and boroughs on top of cities
and towns. I live in College Township, and there are I believe four
other boroughs and townships in the immediate area that don't overlap
boundaries between them, but portions of each do overlap boundaries with
the city of State College. The "village" I live in, Lemont, exists
wholly within College Township. After more than 12 years of living in
this area I still find things somewhat convoluted -- and as one can
imagine the taxing stucture and entities are NOT fun at all!
Sincerely,
Paige
p.s. I find our Townships and Boroughs to be about as "local" as they get!
At 09:24 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote:
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Townships as "non-local" entities
> Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:06:41 -0500
> From: Weessies, Kathleen <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> In LCRI 23.2 under section 5 townships are categorized as a non-local
> jurisdiction. I found this a strange designation. In Michigan the
> 1200-odd township-level governments along with City and County
> governments are generally referred to as "local governments".
>
> Tim Watters of Library of Michigan investigated and found:
> .. Here's my guess about why townships are called non-local
> jurisdictions (from a Citizens Research Council Report): "Townships were
> organized without resident input, as geographical entities created by a
> congressional survey under the
> Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Cities are creatures of citizen
> involvement, creating new units of government to meet their needs for
> higher levels of services ... In summary, the powers and limitations of
> a home rule city are defined in a city charter framed and approved by a
> vote of the city's electors. Conversely, the powers and limitations of
> the township are specifically defined in numerous state statutes, which
> impose a number of restrictions on the power of townships to perform
> services." So maybe the townships are "nonlocal" because the locals
> didn't create them?
> ************************************
>
> LCRI text:
> 5. U.S. Townships. For U.S. townships (called "towns" in some states)
> that encompass one or more local communities and the surrounding
> territory, do not include the term "township" or "town" as part of the
> name. Instead, add the term after the name of the state.
>
> Examples < http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/LCRI1127.htm>
>
> These non-local jurisdictions are called "townships" in Arkansas,
> California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
> Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
> Pennsylvania, and South Dakota; they are called "towns" in Connecticut,
> Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont,
> and Wisconsin. If there is more than one township with the same name in
> the same state, apply LCRI 23.4F1
> < http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/LCRI0314.htm> .
>
> Note: For the period 1980-1990, the term "Township" or "Town" was added
> only if the name conflicted. Change existing headings for U.S. townships
> lacking the term "Township" or "Town" when the headings are needed for
> post-1990 cataloging.
>
>
>
>
> Kathleen Weessies
> Geography/Maps/Geology Librarian
> Michigan State University
> 100 Library W308
> East Lansing, MI 48824
> (517)432-6123 x250
> [log in to unmask]
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