The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Officials pay to join legal fight
By Edward Freundl, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: November 2, 2006
The Dexter Township Board of Trustees voted to join a David-and-Goliath fight by contributing to a legal defense fund for a small township being sued by a large corporation.
Advertisement
At its Oct. 17 meeting the board approved a request from the Michigan Townships Association to help Wakeshma Township defend a lawsuit brought by Enbridge Pipeline Co.
Wakeshma is a rural township in Kalamazoo County with a small general budget and even smaller legal budget.
If the company prevails in its appeal of tax assessments on liquefied petroleum pipelines running through that township, the case would set a precedent and have far-reaching, negative effects for other townships in Michigan.
Local townships affected include Dexter, Freedom, Lima and Lyndon in Washtenaw County, Stockbridge in Ingham County and Waterloo in Jackson County.
The total taxable value for Enbridge pipelines in Washtenaw County is about $10.1 million, and the company wants the state tax tribunal to lower it to less than $4.4 million.
The total contribution for the four townships is $7,626.56, and Dexter Township has been asked to contribute $1,578.01 as its share. That figure is derived from a complex formula involving prorated taxable values and millages divided among different taxing entities.
The MTA itself will add $10,000 and is asking the 129 townships that carry Enbridge pipelines to kick in $90,000. If the MTA is unsuccessful in reaching that goal, the contributions will be returned to the townships.
Lyndon Township Supervisor Maryann Noah took the lead in calculating each local township's contribution, and sent the funding request to their respective supervisors.
"Knowing Wakeshma Township is unable to afford the cost of going to trial, Enbridge probably believed (the township) would just agree to their demand … ," Noah's letter stated. "… Anyone of us could have been targeted by Enbridge with no financial means to go as far as a trial."
Noah was unavailable for comment for this story.
Trustee Marcia Ottoman speculated about the real motives behind the company's actions. "Their whole goal is to bankrupt small townships," Ottoman said.
Dexter Township trustees agreed to pay, but balked at the suggested method of payment: Noah asked each local township to send a check to her, which she would forward to the association.
"If we do make a contribution I'd like to see it go directly to the MTA," Knight said, and the board agreed.
Trustees also voted to oppose a Washtenaw County Road Commission plan to reinstate a 50 percent local match for funding bridge repairs or replacement.
According to the road commission the match would apply to any improvements to the four bridges in the township, while routine maintenance would still be provided at no cost.
The matching-funds program was rescinded in 1999, but increasing costs of materials and labor and decreasing state funding recently pushed the road commission to consider bringing it back.
Treasurer Julie Knight, presiding over the meeting in the absence of Supervisor Pat Kelly, said while she opposed it, she understood the rationale behind the road agency's decision.
"Every local government has had to make cuts, and they are trying to make cuts too," she said.
Clerk Harley Rider said this could be the first step in a long march toward government cutting back on all kinds of services. "I understand that everybody is getting pinched these days, but where's it going to stop?" he said.
The proposal has been presented to every township in Washtenaw County, with most declaring their opposition to it so far. "(District 1 County Commissioner) Mark Oiumet said most local governments are opposed to this," Trustee Marcia Ottoman said.
Lesser to resign
Township trustee Marcia Ottoman, the board's representative on the township planning commission, informed the board of commissioner Norwin Lesser's intention to resign due to health concerns for his wife and himself. Lesser did not attend the Sept. 26 planning commission meeting but has not submitted a formal letter of resignation. "My impression was he was not going to attend any more meetings," Ottoman said.
Contract approved
The board approved a snowplowing contract with A-1 Tree Service of Dexter, which has performed this service for the past five years. The price is the same as last year, starting at $150 per incident for 2 to 4 inches of snow, $20 per bag of salt, and $60 to clear and salt sidewalks and dumpster areas.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
