Overview
In Michigan, 1,242 townships govern most of the land area, serving over 45 percent of state residents. Township officials live in the communities they serve, giving them the ability to stay in touch with local needs. The Onota Township Board consists of 5 elected officials: clerk, supervisor, treasurer, and two trustees, who all work together to provide local government services to area citizens. Board members typically have four year terms.
Onota Township board members manage and direct essential government functions. The supervisor, aside from chairing meetings, also makes sure that tax assessments on property follow state laws. The clerk keeps all vital records, accounts for township finances, and oversees elections. The treasurer collects property taxes for the township, schools, the county and other tax levying entities. The trustees have the duty to see that the best interests of the public, financially and otherwise, are being upheld by the board; they also act as liaisons to other commissions & boards.
Any local government business not performed by the township is likely done at the county level.
Township Board (Elected)
TRUSTEE
Brian Bresette
TRUSTEE
Jennifer Hough
*Note: Deputies are not elected. All board terms end in November 2024. You may contact township officials by calling the township office (906-343-6535).
Meetings
Schedule
Regular meetings are generally held on the first Monday of each month at 7 PM (meeting schedule 2023-24)(meeting schedule 2024-25). (Note: In September, the meeting is on the first Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday). They are held at the Onota Township Hall, located at E1461 Deerton-Sand Lake Road in Deerton. Special meetings are held on an as-needed basis, and always have a notice listing the date, time, and purpose of the meeting posted at the township hall and on this site (at least 18 hours in advance).
How can I participate in a meeting?
There are two public comment periods during each board meeting. If you are unable to attend, you may write a letter or email to the board addressing your concerns. Please direct all written messages to the Onota Township Board (mail: PO Box 100, Deerton, MI 49822 / email: onotatwp@tds.net). Correspondence must be signed and/or list the author’s name; anonymous letters and emails cannot be included in board meetings.
Minutes
Meeting minutes are posted for regular and special* township board meetings. The current year is below, and minutes back to 2014 are at the end of this page. Minutes may only be posted upon approval at the following meeting. Draft minutes waiting to be approved are available upon special request by contacting the clerk. If you would like to read minutes from meetings not listed here, please contact the township clerk. Minutes are available only as PDF files (note: if you do not currently have a program that will read PDFs, you may search the web for ‘free pdf reader’ to get a program at no cost).
If a file is missing or mislinked, please email onotatwp@tds.net and let the clerk know so she can fix it.