In our opinion: Stevensville
Residents should be surveyed about disbanding
Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 1:10 PM EDT
It is understandable that some residents of Stevensville are making noise about disbanding the village government. Headlines out the village hall of late have been mighty discouraging.
But as various officials have pointed out, disincorporating a municipality is a difficult path to walk. A decade ago Stevensville officials explored the disbanding process and then did not pursue it. It's also been pointed out that no village in Michigan has ever actually disbanded, though some have tried.
As such, there appears to be little interest among the current village council members to disband. "We haven't even had that discussion," said Council President Lori Gibson.
Yet we can't help but wonder, why not?
Perhaps the village concept made more sense 100 years ago when the surrounding land was more or less farmland and woods. But now, with the explosive growth in many townships, including Lincoln Township, in some cases village government may be unnecessary.
The services provided by Stevensville are minimal, yet the cost to homeowners is 8.7253 mills. And as recent events have proven, despite the limited government, there remains plenty of opportunity for waste and mismanagement.
We are not suggesting that disbanding Stevensville is the answer. What we are saying is that the idea should not be quickly dismissed.
We know finances are tight now, but it would not be that expensive for the village to survey its residents by mail or other means.
Although village officials have their hands full, in the long run there is no greater issue facing the village as it moves forward from this financial crisis.
We fully realize that disbanding would be difficult due to many legal issues that would arise. We also doubt the feasibility until debt from the Todd Gardner years is erased. We say this because Lincoln Township voters also would have to sign off on disbanding, an unrealistic proposition if it meant their costs would rise.
Yet the concept is worth exploring. It makes no sense that once created, a local government can never be dismantled. Now the question is, is there really a will for this in Stevensville?
Village leaders won't really know unless they ask.
(An opinion of The Herald-Palladium editorial bord.)
