The Committee is evaluating several potential outcomes of becoming a city including: 

• Lower taxes for residents


• A one-stop location for all municipal services (no runaround between local governments)


• Simplified Property Tax Collection


• A Government that is more accountable to the residents it serves


• A fairer system of funding for the fire department, which would eliminate the double dipping of village residents on these services

Most of the services would remain unchanged. However, instead of paying taxes to two local governments, there would only be one. The city would be the primary form of government and administer it's own elections, property tax assessments, and all other services. This change could yield greater efficiency, which will be detailed as the study process progresses. 

A critical change would be that all locally elected officials that make decisions for the city would live in and be accountable to city residents. Currently no Township Board members reside in the village. Their focus is primarily on agricultural issues which often means opposing or making more costly/time consuming housing and business expansion. 

Changing to a city form of government could help address these issues. But, at the very least, the tax dollars paid by city taxpayers would exclusively go to a government that is accountable to them. 

The Citizens Advisory Committee on Cityhood is managing this process with assistance from the village manager and village staff. Professional consultants will also be engaged as the process develops.

The committee includes 3 elected Village Council members: Robert Carlstrom, Brenda Braybrook, and Dave Cumings. Tom Cheslek, who serves as the DDA Chairman and is a long time Sparta resident and business owner is on the committee to represent the voice of the business community. Bruce Pindzia is a long time resident of the village and serves as a voice for village residents who do not have  any formal affiliation with the village government.     

The Village and Township governments do not always share the same goals or visions for the future. However, Sparta Township receives at least 43% of their property tax revenue and 43% of their tax administrative fees from village taxpayers. So, essentially, they are able to use a portion of income collected from the village on initiatives the village does not necessarily support or have input on. Or, in extreme cases, things the village views as counter productive to it's goals. This has led to an untenable situation where a separation may be necessary.

Once complete, each organization would only receive property tax revenue from the voters or land owners in their jurisdiction. So, the Township will lose a significant amount of funding from the former township residents, that will become part of a stand alone unit of government. However, they also will no longer be responsible for providing services to city residents. 

The process generally takes 2-3 years from exploration to completion. The committee has just recently been formed and began looking into the potential pro’s and con’s. Whether the process ultimately moves to the phase where the village is actively taking the steps to become a city will be decided around August of 2025. After that point, the process could take another 1.5-2 years depending on many factors, some of which are within the control of residents, others are controlled by the state of Michigan.     

There will be an opportunity for residents to vote on this issue at least two times. They will vote for the charter commission members and ultimately the charter (the constitution for the city) itself if this goes forward.