The township’s Board of Trustees met Monday night and unanimously approved the 2019 municipal partnership investment at a cost of just over $23,283. The amount is a small increase from last year’s partnership, which had an annual fee of about $22, 939. The EDCLC works to provide economic development services for the area and contracts Ann Arbor SPARK to provide business recruitment and retention services in the region.

While a number of municipalities in Livingston County partner with the EDCLC, there are some communities in recent years that have decided against continuing the contract, including Brighton Township. The township’s Board of Trustees decided against renewing a three-year agreement in December of 2017. Some trustees questioned the organizations’ transparency, which is an issue that has been previously raised by other local officials who say they’re unclear on how the funding is utilized. Tyrone Township also decided not to renew in December of 2017, noting that the township has invested over $50,000 in the last six years but doesn’t have a measurable of what they’ve received.

At Genoa Township’s recent meeting, Manager Michael Archinal was asked if any new businesses have come to the municipality within the last year. But Archinal responded to say that he doesn’t have the methodology to answer that question, suggesting that the outcome of the partnership is hard to quantify. Archinal says, “I always look at this as more of a regional thing because if you try to quantify who got what, where’s our tax base, what kind of dollars did you bring in, it’s kind of the wrong discussion in my mind…so if a company does well in Green Oak or Brighton Township, like Lake Trust, I know we have people that are our residents that work for Lake Trust.”

Township Supervisor Bill Rogers however did say that he feels the EDCLC and SPARK have been “proactive on the Latson Road corridor”. (DK)