Honoring those who served
Today’s City Council meeting was this afternoon. Three items were voted on-all approved unanimously (in what may be a first).
1. The Council approved a resurfacing contract (which was below estimates) for Pine and parts of Arbor Streets. Work will begin in mid-August (5-0).
2. The Council accepted the donation of the Garden Club’s 50th Anniversary garden in tribute to our veterans around the flagpole at Zorn Park (5-0!)
3. The Council approved a resolution of appreciation and thanks to our City employees for going above and beyond during the ice storm. Jamie Melke was the sponsor of the thoughtful gesture (5-0).
I gave some remarks during the public comment time. They went something like this:
“Good afternoon, Councilmembers. After a long and hard winter, maybe we have turned the corner. I think the Little League parade on Saturday helped!
The guys at the marinas are hustling to get boats and docks in so they are ready for our summer visitors. The Rocking Horse has put down new carpet, Between the Covers has a new front door, and Hanni has fresh new art on their walls.
Gardens are getting cleaned up, lawns raked and mowed for the first time, the tarps are coming down on the porches. We are getting there!
For those who didn't spend the winter with us, they will be surprised when they see the tree damage. Despite the heroic efforts by us all to get things cleaned up, the scars of the storm will be with us far into the summer.
Our community has turned a corner as well (even if we still have a few scars). The folks on the Planning Commission are making good progress going line-by-line through the zoning code. They continue to listen and are being thoughtful in their approach. And it's not just Planning, you've made some good appointments who are adding to the conversation on committees across the board.
Volunteers are doing their best to think through challenging issues. People who live here are doing the hard work required to make our city successful. And I think we all are seeing just how good our city staff is in a crisis.
So today, I want to talk about something I think we can all be in favor of-tax relief!
Last year was a boom year for new residents of Harbor Springs. In 2024, we had 112 new voters register. In a town of 1240 voters, that's a 10% jump. Cities around the country would be thrilled to have a 10% increase in their voting population in a single year.
Thirteen of our new voters were voting in their first presidential election since they turned 18. My own son will vote in the next presidential election, which I cannot wrap my head around.
Eighty-three of our new voters are older than 30. That too is awesome though a little unusual. Sixty of those older registrants did so after the 4th of July-no doubt inspired by our parade!
Okay, so what does this have to do with tax relief? Well, the great State of Michigan says that to be a voting resident of a jurisdiction, you should spend the majority of your time in that jurisdiction.
Residency has its perks. If you spend the majority of your time living in Harbor Springs, you can request a Homestead Exemption, also known as the Primary Residence Exemption, to your property taxes.
With a few exceptions, a homeowner should only have one primary residence for the purposes of taxes.
Applying for the exemption in Harbor Springs can make a huge difference on property taxes and I encourage those who spend the majority of the year here to take advantage of it.
Additionally, because we saw such a large increase of new voters-it may be a good time for the City to reach out and make each of them aware of the resident exemption application process.
I think it is both the fair and right thing to do.
Thank you for your service, consideration, and taking the time to listen today.”
Okay---stop reading this stuff and get out there and enjoy this beautiful day! (Photo of Memorial Day Services at Zorn Park, 1986. Virgil Haynes Collection at the Harbor Springs Historical Society)