By Scarlet Thalman
BCR Correspondent
BARODA, MI – The regular Village of Baroda meeting took place Monday, September 2, 2025, at the Baroda Municipal Building. This meeting involved many important comments from the community and discussions with the board involving the Village and its relationship to the township.
The partnership between the Village of Baroda and the township has been solidified since 2017, when the Village of Baroda and Baroda Township adopted a joint Master Plan to guide land use, infrastructure, and community development. The partnership between these municipalities has worked successfully since then, but questions about village debt, taxes, and service responsibilities have fueled concern and debate. These issues have caused the idea of a dissolution to gain traction, and that discussion came to a head once residents started sharing and circulating a petition aimed at dissolution.
The meeting began with a heated discussion regarding the village dissolution petition, after a citizen raised concerns about the council’s readiness to deal with the issue. He mentioned that after the petition—aimed at dissolving the village and turning its responsibilities over to the township—is verified, there would need to be immediate action at the following council meeting to stay in accordance with Section 74.23e of Michigan law.
This launched a discussion about whether the council needed to consult their attorney in order to be sufficiently prepared for the meeting, but no clear consensus was reached. The citizen then urged the council to be prepared to take one of two paths after the petition has been verified: either forming a joint township-village committee to review the dissolution or sending the matter directly to the ballot for voters. If the petition is filed, the council will have to make a quick decision regarding the issue.
Another major concern brought up surrounding this discussion was the misinformation said to be circulating online. Much criticism has been aimed toward the board, and many citizens call for the community to demand answers and reports from other communities.
One user, Robin Christine, shared a post saying, “We must demand answers, and a report from other communities who have gone through this process.” This statement reflects resident sentiment and the call for transparent communication from the board and others involved in making this decision.
The council criticized posts similar to this, as well as the large overall amount of back-and- forth discussion, specifically on Facebook, regarding the dissolution and other issues such as the village’s debt and taxes. According to Michael Price, president of the board, and other members, the misinformation could prove to be harmful, as residents may base their opinions and votes on false information rather than accurate legal details. They urged citizens to visit official websites or come to the municipal building to get reliable information regarding the dissolution or other village issues.
Following the meeting, there is still no official consensus on merging the village into the township. There has been much work done by the Village and Township of Baroda to ensure that they are well educated and prepared for this potential dissolution, including extensive communication with their attorneys, a necessity given the difficulties found in the vague state law surrounding the disincorporation of a village. According to Berrien County Clerk Stacy Loar-Porter, Section 74.18a of Michigan law has not been updated since 1895. It lays out petition requirements, verification and filing limits, the election process, notices and canvass, as well as an approval threshold and follow-up protocol. Loar-Porter was unable to comment further, but indicated she had spoken with both the village and the township extensively on the subject.
According to this law, the process of a potential disincorporation includes the verification of a petition with signatures from 15% of the village’s registered voters asking for a vote on whether the village should disincorporate. This petition must then be turned into the township clerk with additional information on the township the village would rejoin. Once submitted, the township clerk would check the signatures and decide if the petition is sufficient within a period of 14 days, and during this period no other boundary or competing disincorporation petitions can be filed. This verification is followed by the election process where, if the petition is valid, the question of dissolution would go on the next general or special election ballot in the village.
Following the election, required election notices must be published under Michigan election law and the results will need to be verified by the county board of canvassers. To reach the approval threshold, two-thirds of voters must vote “yes” for the disincorporation. If approved, the final step in a disincorporation is the immediate sending of certified records of the proceedings to the county clerk and the Michigan Secretary of State by the village council.
The Berrien County elections department verified no petition has been turned in as of the 22nd of September and the matter will not be on the November election. In short, there is talk about a petition that could lead to dissolving the village, but nothing has been officially turned into the clerk’s office or formally verified through another channel.