AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program

The AARP Foundation will again provide free tax return assistance and preparation through its Tax-Aide program in DeWitt Township beginning February 6 and continuing through April 5. The Tax-Aide program is available to anyone, with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 or have low to moderate income. You do not even need to be an AARP member!

DeWitt Township is pleased to provide the office space and to participate as appointment schedulers for this Tax-Aide Program. This is not a walk-in program. Beginning January 3, you can call DeWitt Township at 517-668-0270 to make your appointment. Appointments will be held at the DeWitt Township Community Center.

Some tax returns are outside the scope of the Tax-Aide program. If you have rental property, farmland, run a small business, receive a Schedule K-1, or have multiple transactions on an investment account, Tax-Aide may not be able to assist you with filing your tax return. For those tax situations, it is best to contact an alternative tax service.

Winter Energy Efficiency

Cold weather is here; heating systems are running. It’s time to think about energy use within the buildings in which we live and work. Buildings consume about 40% of the energy our nation uses, so making buildings as efficient as possible is important for our planet and our pocketbooks. Here are some suggestions for reducing energy use in the building environment:

Hire a professional energy rater to conduct a blower door test. This test will indicate how many air changes per hour your building will allow and show exactly where the heat (energy) loss is occurring. This will allow you to “seal the holes” and reduce heat loss. The Building Department has a list of providers of this service in the DeWitt area.
Inspect heat supply runs and hot water lines. If either one runs through un-conditioned spaces such as attics, crawl spaces, or within an exterior wall cavity, they should be insulated to prevent heat loss.
Inspect doors and windows for cold air inundation. There are many products available at your local hardware or lumber yards designed to improve energy efficiency.
Inspect attic area for depth and coverage of ceiling insulation. There should be at least an R30 insulation coverage to the outside walls and through the attic access.
Change the filters in the heating and cooling systems of your home regularly. Heating and cooling uses more energy than any other system in your home, accounting for approximately 43% of a year’s total energy spending. Dirty filters overwork equipment which leads to early equipment failure. Replacing filters every 1-3 months saves up to $5 each month on utility bills and results in healthier indoor air.
Install a programmable thermostat to keep your home comfortably warm in the winter and comfortably cool in the summer. It is estimated that homeowners save, on average, $180 a year when thermostats are properly installed and customized to your household’s schedule.
Use the orientation of your house to reduce heating needs. Open the window shades on the south side of your house to allow the sun to heat your house.
Replace your light bulbs with LEDs. LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25% longer than incandescent light bulbs.
Turn off and unplug home electronics and other devices when not in use. Using a smart or advanced power strip to manage plug loads is an easy way to save money on your electric bills. The average household could save $100 or more annually by reducing the standby load for game consoles alone.

The DeWitt Township Building Department has many resources and suggestions for improving energy efficiency of your building. For more information, please give us a call at 517.668.0278.

Inflation and your Taxable Value

Inflation has been a hot topic, not just in Michigan but nationally, for the last couple of years. Inflation has an effect on property taxes in the form of the yearly CPI (Consumer Price Index) adjustment to your taxes each year. The CPI is a measure of how much inflation has changed the price of goods and services. For every tax year, the taxable value of all properties increases by the CPI amount, unless it would be higher than the assessed value. Typically, this number has been around 1 or 2%, with the 2021 number of 3.3% being the highest in several years. This year, however, that inflation measure is 7.9%. Luckily, there is a 5% cap for the CPI applied to property taxes, meaning taxable values for the vast majority of properties will only increase by 5%, instead of 7.9%, for this year. This is the highest adjustment we have seen since implementation of the taxable value and the inflation cap.

If you are interested in finding more information about the CPI, the information is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wintertime Park Activities

Weather permitting, the Granger Meadows sledding hill is a fun, outdoor destination for winter enthusiasts. The sledding hill is open from sunrise until 10:00 p.m. A warming center and restroom facilities are available. Granger Meadows Park, Valley Farms Park, and the Richard A. Padgett Nature Area remain open year-round; however, restrooms are only available at the Granger Meadows Park sledding hill. Cross country skiing is also allowed (Nov. 1st - March 31st) at the parks until 10:00 p.m. The paved pathways within the parks are routinely cleared in accordance with the Township’s snow removal ordinance.

Winter Property Tax Bills

Property taxes, both real and personal, are due February 14, 2023. Taxpayers holding an escrow account with a mortgage company did not receive a tax form as the bills are submitted directly to the mortgage servicing providers. Property tax bills can be viewed and downloaded at dewitttownship.org.
Available Payment Options:

By mail, to 1401 W. Herbison Road, DeWitt, MI 48820-7900
On site, in the Treasurer’s Office during business hours
Drop box, in front of the Township Hall
Credit card online, at dewitttownship.org (3% fee applies)
E-checks online, at dewitttownship.org ($3 flat fee for amounts up to $10K)

DeWitt Township applies for Recreational Grant Opportunities

Administered by the DNR, Michigan Spark Grants will support projects that provide safe, accessible, public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure and make it easier for people to enjoy both indoor and outdoor recreation. This grant opportunity is possible because of the Building Michigan Together Plan, signed in March 2022, which included a historic infusion of federal funding in our state and local parks.

The Township has identified three potential projects that would be eligible for grant funding:

1. Waters Edge Park – Develop improvements for a water based trail to include canoe/kayak launch, trails, benches, parking improvements, and native landscaping.

2. Miracle League Field/Valley Farms Park – resurfacing of the existing Miracle League field, scoreboard, new dugouts, accessible playground, and benches.

3. Saffron Hills Non-Motorized Pathway – 10-foot shared use path that would connect to the existing trail system at Clark Road adjacent to the Saffron Hills Subdivision.

Contact the Planning Department at 517.669.6576 for questions regarding the grant or projects.

Training with our Partners

School safety is a very important topic locally and across the nation. The DeWitt Township Police Department would like you to know that we do not take this responsibility lightly. Here are some of the initiatives we are working on:

1. Every teacher in the DeWitt Public Schools has attended active shooter training based on the federally preferred Run, Hide, Fight model. This training included classroom instruction as well as practical exercises. Additional training is being developed and will be rolled out upon completion.

2. There is an on-going training initiative for police officers in the Tri-County area to have all sworn law enforcement officers trained in ALERRT Level 1, which is the nationally recognized and endorsed tactical response to an active violence incident. The target goal for completion of this initial training is the end of 2023; however, all DeWitt Township Police officers will complete the training by June 2023.

3. Our Police Department is working closely with City of DeWitt Police Chief Ferguson and DeWitt Township Fire Chief DeKorte on ways our agencies can collaborate and improve our collective response to these types of situations.

These training initiatives are not one-time accomplishments. They will be reviewed and practiced periodically, and any improvements/adjustments will be incorporated based on what is happening in real-world events. The safety of this community, especially our children, is and always will be a priority of this Department.

Quarterly Sewer Services

Sewer utility bills covering January, February, and March services are due on Tuesday, January 17. Sewer 2023 services increased by $2, to $104 per quarter.

Important Upcoming Dates

01/02 - Township office closed in observance of New Year's Day
01/16 - Township offices closed in observance of Martin Luther King holiday
01/17 - Quarterly sewer bills due
02/14 - Property taxes due

E-News December 2022