Politics

The St. Joseph County Transportation Authority will be able to maintain its current level of services, as voters Tuesday renewed its request for 0.33 mills. The one-third mill will be in place for four years and will generate approximately $630,000 annually to help support its financial standing. Unofficial results show the renewal request passed by a 3-to-2 margin.

Centreville and Sturgis school districts were successful Tuesday in renewing their respective operational millages. Centreville was asking for renewal of nearly 20.2 mills for a 10-year period. At stake was more than $720,000 annually. Meanwhile, Sturgis Public Schools was seeking renewal of 18 mills over a 20-year period. Its 18 mills generate about $2.5 million a year.

Voters in Leonidas and Nottawa townships agreed to renew millages for separate operations. Leonidas Township voters renewed 1.7 mills for a five-year period for fire and ambulance services. The millage generates more than $1.7 million annually to fund the emergency services. Meanwhile, Nottawa Township Library was seeking renewal of more than 1.6 mills. The millage will be in effect for …

Longtime U.S. Rep. Fred Upton defeated a nurse from Dowagiac in the 6th District GOP primary in southwestern Michigan.  The 61-year-old Upton of St. Joseph defeated 46-year-old Jim Bussler in Tuesday’s primary. Upton has been in the House since 1987 and was widely considered a shoo-in to win the primary.  Before his election to Congress, Upton was director of legislative …

Michigan voters have passed Proposal 1, the only statewide ballot question in Tuesday’s election, meaning the phase-out of Michigan’s personal property tax on business will continue. Proposal 1 would gradually eliminate the personal property tax that some companies pay on equipment or machinery. The PPT was a source of revenue for many local communities, but Michigan’s general fund would partially …

Sturgis municipal officials are expected to ask the public for input on whether to sell a piece of park land. Commissioners this week plan to consider ballot language authorizing the sale of Arthur Carls Park to Burr Oak Tool, Inc. The matter will be discussed at Wednesday’s city commission meeting. City manager Mike Hughes said Burr Oak Tool has indicated …

Members of the Constantine Village Council voted to have the village participate in a 2014 St. Joseph County mutual-aid, police-assistance agreement. The agreement is a collaboration among the St. Joseph County Sheriff ‘ s Department and agencies from Sturgis, Burr Oak, Centreville, Colon, Constantine, Mendon, Three Rivers and White Pigeon. Village manager Mark Honeysett said neighboring communities have always lent …

A grant awarded the past two decades to St. Joseph County through the Michigan Department of Corrections is being renewed for a three-year period. At the request of District Court Judge Jeff Middleton, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday authorized Middleton submitting the Community Corrections Grant application. Programs and administrative costs covered by the grant equal $103,000. Middleton …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has agreed to revise the date and time of its once-a-month executive committee meeting. During Tuesday’s board meeting, commissioners settled on 8 a.m. the Wednesday before the second commission meeting of the month. The executive committee, which acts as a committee of the whole and discusses in detail items to appear on the …

A step toward development of a county-owned river trail was taken Tuesday. Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday agreed to fund $89,000 for services provided by Edgewater Resources. Based in the city of St. Joseph, Edgewater Resources will work with the county in developing a riverfront master plan. An outline and scope Edgewater comprised for county …