Wondering where your tax dollars go?
Thornapple Township is the collection agent for seven entities:
Our total tax roll for 2022 was approximately $14 million. While most folks know we are charged with the responsibility of collecting those tax dollars, the misconception is that all those $11 million dollars are kept and spent by the Township. Instead, we are charged with properly collecting and redistributing those funds. Approximately 9% of the tax dollars collected remain at Thornapple Township, with the remaining portion redistributed to the entities listed above. The Township’s elected officials, as well as the staff, try their best every day to do and provide more for Thornapple Township residents at the lowest possible cost.
Please refer to the related graphs below to see how your tax dollars are allocated. As you will see, more than half of the Township’s tax dollars are restricted for use to operate emergency services within the Township (fire department and ambulance service, equipment and capital improvement).
The administration fees generated from property taxes help to fund both the Assessing and Treasury Departments at the Township, as both “assessing” and “tax collection” are two of the Township’s statutory duties.
The dollars allocated to general operating are exactly that, the funds necessary to staff the Township, help pay for roads, our cemeteries, street lighting, and the general day-to-day expenses necessary to operate the Township and Hall efficiently. A portion of our general operating dollars are “captured” by and paid to the Village’s DDA (Downtown Development Authority) and LDFA (Local Development Finance Authority).
