Politics & Government
Township Plans for Buckingham Village Retention Basin Special Assessment District
The Macomb Township Board of Trustees moves toward creation of special assessment district to cover operational costs of the Buckingham Village retention basin.
With but homeowners in surrounding subdivisions far from ready to take over its maintenance, trustees have taken steps to collect from homeowners the funds necessary to pay for the basin’s continued operation.
During its Wednesday meeting, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted to authorize the township’s legal counsel to draw up documents to create a special assessment district encompassing the three surrounding subdivisions: Buckingham Village I, Buckingham Village II and Wingate. The document will be ready to be reviewed and voted on at the board’s next meeting on Oct. 26.
In the future, when maintenance needs to be done on the basin, a special assessment district will allow the township to bid out the project, get the work done and then proportionately spread out that cost to the surrounding lots served by the retention basin.
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“It’s an even spread,” said township Clerk Michael Koehs. “The township's general fund will not pay for a small, private thing like that. … The (special assessment district) is enabled in their homeowner documents. We’re going to bring it to life, so to speak.”
By law, the township cannot regularly maintain the basin, but may only perform necessary repairs. When repairs are called for, a public hearing has to be held except in emergency situations where the problem is a threat to public health and safety.
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With a special assessment district, however, the township also would be able to tax the district to pay the basin’s electric bill.
“If (the electric bill isn’t paid), then the power is going to shut off; there’s going to be no pump,” Koehs said, adding this would lead to "drainage problems."
Until a homeowners association gets together to take over the basin, the special assessment district can prevent such problems, which hold the potential for health issues, said township Supervisor Mark Grabow.
Macomb Township has covered to repair the basin since it first failed three years ago.
