A Primary Election narrows the field of candidates moving forward to represent their political party during the general election.

The August Election is an “open primary.” Major party candidates are on one ballot. Voters aren’t required to declare a party, but must confine votes to one party on the ballot’s partisan portion.

“Split” ticket voting happens when you vote for candidates from different political parties.

Voters cannot “split” their ticket in the August Election. Voters must vote one political party on the ballot’s partisan portion. Voters can “split” their ticket in the November General Election.

If a voter “splits” their ticket in the August Election, the partisan portion of their ballot won’t count, but the nonpartisan portion of the ballot, if applicable, will count.

The Michigan Secretary of State's website at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/registervoter can look up your voter registration. Just fill in your name and date of birth and obtain voter forms and applications.

Genoa Township is conducting a resident survey as part of the Master Plan Update process. The Plan will explore long-range planning issues related to the future growth and prosperity of the township.

Please take about 10-15 minutes to participate in the online survey that will explore how and where residents spend their shopping and dining dollars so we can assess what future opportunities should be explored during the planning process.

The Survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GenoaRes2020

The 2020 Summer tax amounts are available on our website for review and payment.  Summer taxes are due on Monday September 14, 2020.

The 2020 Summer tax bills were mailed to all Genoa Township property owners on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020.

Please contact the Treasurer's Office at (810) 227-5225 if you have any questions or if you do not receive your bill.

New this year: We are excited to announce that Genoa Township will begin accepting ACH payments for property taxes. If you did not receive paperwork with your tax bill you can print the form here or contact the Treasurer’s office.  Please make sure to include your phone # on the form All payments made by ACH will be mailed a paid receipt.

Genoa Township ACH Authorization Form

A new grant opportunity, the Michigan Small Business Restart Program, will provide grants to small businesses around the state working to recover from the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 virus. Grant funds can be used as working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses. Businesses may apply for grants of up to $20,000.
 
The Michigan Small Business Restart Program application will be live on Wednesday, July 15 at michiganbusiness.org/restart and run through Wednesday, August 5.
 
The funding Ann Arbor SPARK received will be distributed, based on population, amongst businesses in a six-county region. Ninety-five percent of the grant will be distributed to businesses whose applications are approved. Five percent of the funds per the State legislation authorizing the program will be distributed to the six counties to cover administrative cost.
 
The breakdown of funding available to businesses by county is:

• Washtenaw - $2.94 million
• Livingston - $1.51 million
• Jackson - $1.28 million
• Monroe - $1.2 million
• Lenawee - $793,500
• Hillsdale - $369,300
• Administration - $407,250

In total, the six-county region was awarded $8.5 million. Each of the regional partners administering this funding on behalf of the state is retaining a small portion of that total for administration.
 
Ann Arbor SPARK and its partners are determining, based on the state’s direction, the criteria that provides the maximum economic benefit to communities in our region, on the whole. As with funding decisions, criteria will be determined by a review panel representing business, government, nonprofit, and education representatives.
 
As a base, the state requires the following criteria be met:

• Is a business or nonprofit that can demonstrate it is affected by the COVID-19 emergency
• Needs working capital to support eligible expenses
• Demonstrates an income loss as result of the COVID-19 emergency
• Has not received a grant through the Michigan Strategic Fund’s Michigan Small Business Relief Program. Businesses who have received support through other COVID-19 relief programs, including the Michigan Small Business Relief Program loans, are eligible to apply for Restart grants.

Additionally, at least 30 percent of the funds awarded under the program must be provided to women-owned, minority-owned, or veteran-owned eligible businesses.
 
Funding criteria will be announced, along with the review committee, before the July 15 application open date.
 
Since mid-March, Ann Arbor SPARK has provided numerous business resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These and future resources can be found at the Ann Arbor SPARK Business Resource Center.

The 2020 Census Is More Than A Head Count!

• Your response to the census helps shape many different aspects of Livingston County.
• From hospitals, schools, even roads and highways, your response helps shape our future.  Your response is critical!

When & How Can You Respond?

• Respond to the Census online at http://my2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020 to respond by phone.
• It only takes 10 minutes, has only 9 questions and your answers are completely safe
• The Census has been extended past the April 1 deadline, so help out our community and fill yours out today!

The 2020 Census directly impacts how much federal funding the State of Michigan will receive over the next decade. Failure to obtain a complete and accurate census count may lead to Michigan losing millions of dollars in federal funding that supports programs that benefit Livingston County residents.

• Every year, the federal government allocates more than $675 Billion in funding based on census data.
• Every Michigander not counted costs the state approximately $18,250 over 10 years (based on historical U.S. Census undercount).
• Census data is used to plan new homes and businesses and improve neighborhoods.
• Census data is used to determine federal funding for programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (SNAP/WIC), Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and highway and transportation projects.

For more information, you can visit the Livingston County 2020 census page or the US Government's Census 2020 website.

Applications for our “standing absent voters” have been mailed.  Residents may complete them and return to Township in drop boxes or by mail with one stamp. Ballots will be mailed as soon as they are received around the end of June/beginning of July. That application will cover them for the August and November elections.  

The Brighton Area Fire Authority has released its 2019 Annual Report.

The BAFD is responsible for responding to emergency incidents here in Genoa Township as well as the City of Brighton and Brighton Township.

The report is attached below.

2019 Brighton Area Fire Authority Report

The Township Budgets for the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020 and ending March 31, 2021 are available for review.  If you should have any comment or suggestion with regard to Township revenue or appropriations, please contact the clerk at polly@genoa.org

Genoa Township Proposed Budget

Click here for a list of days the Genoa Charter Township offices will be closed.