Michigan Compiled Laws
Act 359 of 1947 - The Charter Township Act (42.1 - 42.34)
Section 42.2 - Incorporation; Referendum; Ballot, Form and Content; Filing of Petition or Resolution by Township Clerk; Finality of Proceedings; Term of Incumbent Officers; Disincorporation.

Sec. 2.
Any eligible township shall become a charter township when the inhabitants thereof shall, by a majority vote of the electors thereof, voting on such proposition, declare in favor thereof at any general or special election at which the proposition to incorporate as a charter township shall be submitted to the electors of the township. At such election the township clerk shall prepare a ballot for the submission of such proposition in accordance with the general election laws of the state and setting forth such proposition as follows:
“Shall the township of ..................... incorporate as a charter township which shall be a municipal corporation subject to the provisions of Act No. 359 of the Public Acts of 1947, as amended, which act shall constitute the charter of such municipal corporation?
Yes ( )
No ( )”
If on the vote being canvassed on the question of incorporation as a charter township, the result is determined to be in favor of such incorporation, the township clerk shall file with the secretary of state and with the county clerk of the county within which the township is located a copy of the petition or resolution initiating the move to become a charter township, together with the notice of the election at which such question was submitted to the electors of the township, the ballot upon which such question was submitted, and a certificate of the board of canvassers showing that the purposes of such petition or resolution have been approved by a majority of the electors of the township voting thereon, which certificate shall also give the number of votes cast on such proposition and the number cast for and against the same. From the date of such filing, the township shall be duly and legally incorporated as a charter township. After the filing of such petition or resolution and the other papers hereinabove required, neither the sufficiency thereof nor the legality of the incorporation of the township as a charter township may be questioned in any proceeding except by proceedings in the nature of quo warranto which shall be brought within 40 days after the date of such filing. All officers of any township which shall elect to become a charter township shall serve in the offices to which they have been elected or appointed for the balance of the terms for which they were elected or appointed and until their successors elect or to be elected shall qualify for and assume their respective offices. Any charter township may be disincorporated and returned to its previous status as a township governed under the provisions of chapter 16 of the Revised Statutes of 1846, as amended, being sections 41.1 to 41.103 of the Compiled Laws of 1948, by following the same procedures therefor as provided herein for adopting the provisions of this act. No election to disincorporate shall be held until 4 years after incorporation nor oftener than once each 4 years.
History: 1947, Act 359, Eff. Oct. 11, 1947 ;-- CL 1948, 42.2 ;-- Am. 1949, Act 70, Eff. Sept. 23, 1949 ;-- Am. 1964, Act 163, Eff. Aug. 28, 1964

Structure Michigan Compiled Laws

Michigan Compiled Laws

Chapter 42 - Charter Townships

Act 359 of 1947 - The Charter Township Act (42.1 - 42.34)

Section 42.1 - Short Title; Charter Townships; Incorporation; Powers, Privileges, Immunities and Liabilities; Petition; Special Census; Expenses.

Section 42.1a - Emergency Financial Manager; Authority and Responsibilities.

Section 42.1b - Minimum Staffing Requirement; Adoption of Ordinance Prohibited.

Section 42.2 - Incorporation; Referendum; Ballot, Form and Content; Filing of Petition or Resolution by Township Clerk; Finality of Proceedings; Term of Incumbent Officers; Disincorporation.

Section 42.2a - Violation of MCL 168.1 to 168.992 Applicable to Petitions; Penalties.

Section 42.3 - Incorporation; Submission of Proposition to Electors, Time; Petitions, Verification of Signatures.

Section 42.3a - Notice to Clerk of Township Not Incorporated as Charter Township; Resolution of Township Board; Notice of Right to Referendum; Petition; Signatures; Submitting Question of Incorporation at General or Special Election; Wording of Ballo...

Section 42.4 - Nomination of Candidates for Township Office; Conducting Primary Election; Duties of Township Clerk; Duties and Composition of Board of Township Election Commissioners.

Section 42.5 - Township Board; Election of Members; Powers and Duties; Supervisor as Presiding and Executive Officer; Authentication of Instruments; President Pro Tem; Clerk; Record of Proceedings; Temporary Clerk.

Section 42.6 - Charter Township Board; Compensation and Expenses of Members.

Section 42.6a - Ordinance Establishing Procedure for Determining Salary of Elected Official; Contents; Conducting Business at Public Meeting; Public Notice; Resolution Implementing Ordinance; Petition for Referendum; Change of Procedure; Decreasing S...

Section 42.7 - Township Board; Meetings; Conducting Business at Public Meeting; Notice of Meeting; Transacting Business at Special Meeting; Quorum; Adjournment; Rules and Order of Business; Journal; Voting; Availability of Certain Writings to Public;...

Section 42.8 - Charter Township Board; Monthly Publication of Proceedings; Notices and Ordinances; Posting.

Section 42.9 - Township Officers; Powers and Duties; Additional Officers, Limitations.

Section 42.10 - Township Superintendent; Appointment; Delegation of Powers and Duties of Township Supervisor.

Section 42.10a - Township Manager; Employment; Service; Duties.

Section 42.11 - Township Superintendent; Tenure; Qualifications; Residency Requirements; Waiver.

Section 42.11a - Township Assessors; Appointment, Powers and Duties, Compensation.

Section 42.12 - Township Police Force; Establishment; Township Marshal, Appointment; Rules; Policemen, Powers and Duties.

Section 42.13 - Township Fire Department; Establishment; Township Fire Chief, Appointment; Rules and Regulations; Refusal to Aid at Fire, Penalty.

Section 42.13a - Free Public Library; Establishment or Reestablishment and Maintenance; Conditions; Ordinance; Resolution; Board of Directors; Appointment of Library Advisory Committee; Rules and Regulations; State Aid.

Section 42.14 - Charter Township; Power to Acquire Property; Approval of Electors.

Section 42.14a - Bonds for Public Improvements; Issuance; Approval Required; Exceptions; Limitation on Net Indebtedness; Computation of Net Indebtedness; Bonds Subject to MCL 141.2101 to 141.2821; Computation of Net Indebtedness.

Section 42.15 - Ordinances to Provide for Peace, Health, and Safety; Licenses, Granting, Fees, Bonds.

Section 42.16 - Streets, Alleys, Bridges and Public Places; Regulation of Use; Record of Ordinances, Filing.

Section 42.17 - Construction of Buildings; Powers and Liabilities of Charter Townships as to Public Health and Safety.

Section 42.18 - Joint Action With Other Governmental Unit or Agency.

Section 42.19 - Ordinances, Resolutions, Rules and Regulations of Former Township; Continuation.

Section 42.20 - Legislation to Be Ordinance or Resolution; Form, Passage, Amendment, Recording, Authentication, and Compilation of Ordinances.

Section 42.21 - Violation of Ordinances; Sanction; Designation as Civil Infraction; Act or Omission Constituting Crime; Penalty; Distribution of Fines.

Section 42.21a - Police Officers; Right to Pursue, Arrest, and Detain Person Outside of Charter Township Limits.

Section 42.21b - Police Officer or Constable; Authority to Execute Bench Warrant.

Section 42.21c - Regulation of Recreational Trailway; Posting of Ordinance; Violation as Municipal Civil Infraction; Penalty.

Section 42.22 - Ordinance; Publication; Effective Date; Publication of Summary or True Copy; Catch Lines Required; Drafting of Summary.

Section 42.23 - State Law or Standard Code; Adoption as Township Ordinance by Citation; Publication, Distribution, Charge.

Section 42.24 - Submission of Itemized Estimates of Anticipated Expenditures; Preparation and Submission of Budget Proposal; Time.

Section 42.25 - Budget Proposal; Contents; Commencement of Fiscal Year.

Section 42.26 - Budget; Notice, Public Hearing, Prior Public Inspection.

Section 42.27 - Adoption of Budget by Township Board; Resolution; Appropriation; Tax Levy; Limitation; Separate Appropriation for Fire and Police Departments; Tax Collection; Interim Budget.

Section 42.28 - Budget or Supplemental Appropriations; Expenditure, Restrictions; Unencumbered Balances, Transfer, Reappropriation.

Section 42.29 - Quarterly Statement of Estimated and Actual Income and Expenses; Submission by Supervisor to Township Board; Reduction of Appropriations, Exceptions.

Section 42.30 - Annual Audit of Accounts; Results, Filing, Public Inspection; Annual Report of Township Business.

Section 42.31 - Local or Public Improvements; Approval; Determination of Necessity; Special Assessments; Bonds.

Section 42.32 - Succession to Properties of Former Township; Suits or Prosecutions, Debts and Liabilities, Uncollected Taxes and Assessments.

Section 42.33 - Liberal Construction of Act.

Section 42.34 - Exemption of Charter Township From Annexation to Contiguous City or Village; Exceptions.