Columbia Charter Township Fire Department

04/13/2026

Dear Columbia Township Resident

On May 5th, 2026, the voters of Columbia Charter Township will be asked to cast their ballot on various topics. The most important of these topics will be the continued funding to support the operations of the Columbia Charter Township Police and Fire Departments. The ballots initiatives include the following:

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FIRE PROTECTION MILLAGE RENEWAL
Shall the previous voted increase in the tax limitation imposed under Article IX, Sec. 6 of the Michigan Constitution on general ad valorem taxes with Columbia Charter Township be renewed at .4286 mil($0.4286 per $1,000 of taxable value) for the period of 2027 through 2031 inclusive for fire protection; and shall the Township levy such renewal in millage for said purpose, thereby raising in the first year an estimate $251,772.00.

POLICE PROTECTION MILLAGE RENEWAL
Shall the previous voted increase in the tax limitation imposed under Article IX, Sec. 6 of the Michigan Constitution on general ad valorem taxes with Columbia Charter Township be renewed at .8577 mil($0.8577 per $1,000 of taxable value) for the period of 2027 through 2031 inclusive for fire protection; and shall the Township levy such renewal in millage for said purpose, thereby raising in the first year an estimate $503,837.00.

FIRE DEPARTMENT ADDITIONAL OPERATION MILLAGE PROPOSAL
Shall Columbia Charter Township, Jackson County, Michigan, impose a new millage on taxable property in the township, at the amount not to exceed .4214 mills ($0.4214 per $1,000 of taxable value), for the period of seven (7) years, beginning with the 2027 Winter tax bill and ending the 2033 Winter tax bill, inclusive, as an additional millage, to provide funds to the Fire Department for operating expenses of the department? It is estimated that.4214 mills would raise approximately $247,542 when first levied in December 2027.

POLICE DEPARTMENT ADDIIONTAL OPERATION MILLAGE PROPOSAL
Shall Columbia Charter Township, Jackson County, Michigan, impose a new millage on taxable property in the township, at the amount not to exceed .2423 mills ($0.2423 per $1,000 of taxable value), for the period of seven (7) years, beginning with the 2027 Winter tax bill and ending the 2033 Winter tax bill, inclusive, as an additional millage, to provide funds to the Fire Department for operating expenses of the department? It is estimated that .2423 mills would raise approximately $142,334.00 when first levied in December 2027.
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The current operating millages (Police and Fire) have been in place for decades. While these millages have helped fund dedicated emergency services for the citizens of Columbia Charter Township they have not been quite enough to cover costs for both departments providing services which include 24/7/365 police and fire protection.

The additional operational millage proposals will aid in closing the gap because of the Headlee amendment and continued reductions in state revenue sharing statewide. Additionally, a sharp increase in operational expenditures such as equipment, training, insurance, and labor have affected the funding of emergency services and the dollar does not go as far as it once did.

Columbia Charter Township continues to be frugal with the taxpayer dollars and responsibly budgets for the needs of the citizens of this township.

03/26/2026

All outdoor burning for today 3/26 is suspended due to today's dry and windy conditions. Burning will resume tomorrow. The probability of fire spread will be high today, sorry for any inconvenience.

03/09/2026

Burn Ban Notice- March 9th, 2026

A temporary burn ban is in effect today, March 9th, 2026, due to windy and dry conditions.

All outdoor burning is prohibited for the remainder of the day.
Burning is expected to resume tomorrow, conditions permitting.

We are entering wildland fire season, and burning may be closed periodically until vegetation greens up and conditions improve.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

Send a message to learn more

02/20/2026

Maintenance is being done on the counties emergency sirens from now until sometime next week, the sirens will go off briefly while maintenance is done on them.

Send a message to learn more

01/15/2026

Village of Brooklyn Residents:
Open burning for brush only will be permitted on the following dates: January 31, February 28, and March 28, which are the last Saturdays of each month.

Burning is allowed from sunrise to sunset only. A copy of the Village burning ordinance is available upon request from the Village office or the Fire Department.

A permit must be obtained from the Fire Department prior to burning. Please call 517-592-8654 or visit the office Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Please note that these are the only approved burn dates within the Village, unless otherwise announced. Recreational campfires and cooking fires are the only other types of burning permitted through out the year with a permit.

Send a message to learn more

01/14/2026

We are hiring!

12/24/2025

11/27/2025

Have a great day everyone, be safe if you are traveling.

11/25/2025

Yep, those totals are legit. To everyone in Michigan, this makes sense, but to everyone else not native to the Great Lakes, those snowfall amounts seem otherworldly in a short time. This is our in-house snowfall outlook for tonight through the end of the day Thursday, November 25th-27th, 2025. Again, because we already know there will be comments come end of the day Wednesday asking where their snow is at, we will reiterate that these totals are THROUGH THURSDAY. We made an executive decision to incorporate Thursday's lake effect totals in as there's virtually no designated time that the system snow will stop, then resume as lake effect. It'll be a rather smooth and gradual transition.

-- Details --
Upper Peninsula, snowfall rates of 1.5-3" per hour cannot be ruled out, and our highest elevations may see anywhere from 20" to 40" of snow. Downslope 6-12" and 12-24" zones are denoted. Most of the snow in the western UP will fall Tuesday and Wednesday, with Wednesday into Thursday being the focal point for central and eastern Upper Peninsula. In the Lower Peninsula, snow begins Wednesday night, basically all as lake effect snow. The system will pass too far north to give us any additional snow downstate. Nevertheless, strong winds may cause higher totals to show up closer to the US-131 corridor instead of near the lakeshore. Other factors such as larger fetch (length of lake), and colder mid-level air temperatures will cause a few bullseyes of 6"+ to pop up, likely from Cadillac over to Ga***rd, and perhaps in the region surrounding Kalamazoo. A couple lake effect bands could stretch over to southeast Michigan, and so we placed most of the east side of the state in the 1-3" zone, with emphasis on a couple totals closer to 2" being possible. Better chance at snow for eastern Michigan will be this weekend.

Avoid traveling across the western UP on Wednesday. We will have our first traffic forecast map out later tonight. Follow us here at MSC for more in-house forecasts from our team of full-time meteorologists and forecasters!

-- Trusted Partner of the Day --
Mike Hayes Roofing & Siding | Eastern thumb region, call 810-984-4564 today for exterior home construction!