S P E C I A L P O I N T S

O F I N T E R E S T :

For daytime sewer or

water emergencies

call 894-4157. After

hours call 911.

Utility bills are mailed

quarterly.

Building and zoning

permits are available

at the Department of

Public Works.

City of Whitehall

City Council Members

Mayor Edward Whalen

Mayor Pro Tem Steve Salter

Tanya Cabala

Ellie Dennis

Debi Hillebrand

Jeff Holmstrom

Patrick Landis

WHITEHALL Our City, Our News

Visit us at www.cityofwhitehall.org

And Like us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/cityofwhitehallmi

The city is pleased to announce the launching of our new website. We have a new look and more resources available on our site, including permits, forms, and more. Thank you to Ron Derby at Derby Design LLC for his help in creating a more user-friendly and attractive site. Check it out at www.cityofwhitehall.org.

“Go and Say Goodbye” New Website

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6

“On the Way Home” Tannery Bay

While some environmental remediation remains to be add re s sed , t he fo r me r Whitehall Leather Tannery is a go for residential construction. Eastbrook Homes has received approval of their Planned Unit Development from the Planning Commission and City Council. They plan to begin building yet this winter with the first of 144 units on the 36 acre site. There will be public access from Lake Street to the water’s edge

thanks to a waterfront grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Environmental

Quality.

P A G E 2

“Down to the Wire” Presidential Primary

Election: March 8, 2016

For the presidential primary held on Tuesday, March 8th, voters will be required to indicate their party

preference to receive a ballot.

To see if you are registered or see a

sample ballot visit https://vote.michigan.gov/mvic/. You may also check to see if you are registered or view a sample ballot at City Hall once they are

available.

All registered voters for the City of Whitehall vote at City Hall, 405 E. Colby Street. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8

p.m.

Voter Registration - The last day to register to vote for the March 8th

Presidential Primary is February 8, 2016.

Absentee ballots are available for persons: who are college students or anyone planning on being out of town on Election Day; physically unable to attend the polls without assistance; 60 years or

over; appointed as election inspectors in a precinct other than where they vote; confined to jail awaiting arraignment or trial; with religious tenets that prohibit one from attending the polls. Ballots can be mailed to the voter’s registered address, college address, or another location if specified on the application up until 2 p.m. the Saturday before the election. The City Clerk will be in the office on Saturday, March 5th from 9 am to 2 pm to issue and receive absentee ballots. Absentee ballots must be returned to the

City Clerk by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

And remember, as always, picture identification is required for someone to vote without signing an affidavit. Voters can satisfy the picture identification requirement by showing a Michigan driver’s license or a Michigan personal identification card. Other forms of identification may be used, check with your local clerk for a list of accepted

documents.

Congratulations to our new city council members, Mayor and Mayor Pro

Tem.

At the City Election on November 3, 2015, voters elected the following new members: Ellie Dennis, Debi Hillebrand, Patrick Landis and Steve Salter. The council selected Edward Whalen as the new Mayor and Steve Salter as the Mayor Pro

Tem.

“Expecting to Fly” New City Council

L to R: Jeff Holmstrom, Debi Hillebrand, Mayor Pro Tem Steve

Salter, Mayor Edward Whalen, Ellie Dennis, Tanya Cabala, Patrick

Landis

P A G E 3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6

Where and When to file

To be considered for exemption,

the required affidavit must be

received by Feb. 10, 2016.

Please send to:

Muskegon County Equalization Attn. Assessing 173 E. Apple Ave., Suite #201 Muskegon, MI 49442 Owners are responsible to timely report even if not in receipt of the letter. Filings received after Feb. 10, 2016 cannot be processed. If you have any questions, you may contact Muskegon County Assessing at 231.724.6386.

About the exemption

Beginning last year, those

businesses with less than

$40,000 Taxable Value of

personal property owned,

leased or used by them (or any

related entity) within a tax

collecting municipality could

qualify for an exemption if

they timely file the Michigan

State Commission affidavit.

This exemption continues in

2016. Exemption affidavits

must be fully completed and in

the assessor’s hands by the

deadline.

How to file

If your commercial personal

property is less than $40,000

Taxable Value, please fill out

Treasury Form 5076 “Affidavit

of Owner of Eligible Personal

Property Claiming Exemption

from Collection of Taxes.”

Recently, this form was provided

to you by the Equalization Dept.

Otherwise, Treasury Form 5076

can be found at the following

link:

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/

treasury/5076f_493854_7.pdf

Manufacturers must complete

Treasury Form 5201, which can

be found at the following link:

http://michigan.gov/documents/treasury/ 5201_477044_7.pdf

“For What It’s Worth” 2016 Small Business Exemption for Commercial Personal Property

As we settle into the winter months, the Grand Old Lady is taking a much needed rest until March. Even though the stage is dark, we are busy booking bands for the spring and selecting shows for the 2016 Summer Theatre Festival. Here's a peek at what's

coming up in early 2016.

February 27: Spring Clean Up, 9am to 1pm

March 5: Music for Meals-Edukators Concert

Fundraiser for WL Food Pantry, 7:30pm

March 11: The Outside Track, International Celtic

Band, 7:30pm

In addition, Carmichael Heating and Air Conditioning will be hosting FREE Family Movie Nights in March, April and May of this year. Check out our website for

more information. www.howmetplayhouse.org

Thank you to all of our patrons, sponsors, and donors for keeping our 99 year old Playhouse going strong!

See you in March!

www.howmetplayhouse.org 231.894.4048

“Rock and Roll Woman” Howmet Playhouse

P A G E 4

Office Hours

City Hall 405 E. Colby Street

894-4048 Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

DPW 2055 Warner Street

894-4157 Monday - Friday

7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Inspections Building—Chris Hall

Electrical—Tim Chorny Plumbing/Mechanical—Jim

Callender

894-4157

2055 Warner Street

Meeting Dates

City Council 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.

Planning Commission 1st Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

BRA/LDFA/TIFA 2nd Thursday of January, April, July and October at Noon

Congratulations to Laurie Audo,

Treasurer/Finance Officer, who

celebrated her 25th year with

the City of Whitehall in

December!

As a reminder that when removing snow from private property it is unlawful to deposit, or cause to be deposited, snow, ice, or slush on any roadway or highway.

Traffic Codes may be viewed in their entirety at City Hall.

The Fire Authority asks that property owners keep fire hydrants clear of snow to

assist them in accessing the hydrants during an emergency.

Please make sure that your mailbox and post are in sound order. IF the City’s plow truck physically hits the box or post the City will make repairs or replace it. However, IF the snow load damages the box or post it will be the responsibility of

the property owner to repair or replace it.

“Pay the Price” Snow Removal

DID YOU KNOW?

Road salt stops working when

the road surface is below15°F.

There are many variables that

affect the efficiency of the de-

icing materials, one being the

road surface temperature.

Sidewalk Snow Removal:

City sidewalk snow removal will be

back this year. The priority will be

routes leading to and from the

schools and also downtown. Other

sidewalks will be cleared subject to

available funding and manpower. It

is still, by local ordinance the adja-

cent property owner’s responsibility

to clear their sidewalk in a timely

manner.

Did you notice our article

titles were a little different in

2015? Congratulations to you

if you recognized that they

were Tony Bennett song

titles! Be on the lookout for

ever-changing themes in 2016.