League Publications

These publications have been developed to help you carry out your role as a municipal official.

•  Directory of Michigan Municipal Officials/Yellow Pages - Now Available!

• Empty Houses

• Ethics Handbook for Michigan Municipalities

• Handbook for General Law Village Officials

• Municipal Prosecution - Distribution of Fines and Costs

• Planning Commissioners Handbook

• Records Management Handbook

• Restoring Michigan Communities Building by Building

• Salaries and Wages in Michigan Municipalities Over 1,000 Population

• Zoning Board of Appeals Handbook

How to order:

Publication Order Form
Directory of Michigan Municipal Officials/Yellow Pages - Now Available!
This directory is the most comprehensive, up-to-date listing available of elected and key appointed city and village officials in Michigan. The Directory Yellow Pages  is the‘yellow pages’ section of the Directory. It is the primary reference for local officials when they need advice, are seeking firms to bid on new projects, or want to find out what’s new in the industry. This book is published once a year, following municipal elections.  An online Directory Yellow Pages! This new online listing is searchable by category or company.

Starting with the 2010 issue, the State of Michigan telephone directory, as well as the legislative information has been moved online. You can access these resources here.

Handbook for General Law Village Officials
This newly revised and greatly expanded handbook is essential reading material for both new and veteran elected and appointed officials in general law villages. Topics covered include basics of public service; the structure and function of village government in Michigan; specifics about the roles and responsibilities of general law village officials; options for delivering village services to residents; how to select and work with consultants; and in-depth tips about the operation of village government including written procedures, village financial operations, personnel and human resources issues, labor relations issues, risk management and environmental concerns. Numerous appendices cover the 1998 revisions to the GLV Act; a summary of other laws that affect GLVs; the full text of the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act; sample rules of procedure for GLV council meetings; and five key sample ordinances. A Michigan Municipal League publication. Approx. 180 pages.

Planning Commissioners Handbook
This book was written to help new planning commissioners become effective commissioners. The topics covered include tools for planning commissioners, preparing for meetings, meeting the public, how knowledge of the zoning ordinance and applying ordinance standards will help you make decisions that will stick and what the future holds for planning commissioners. Written by Steve Langworthy, published by the Michigan Municipal League. 50 pages.

Records Management Handbook:
Guidelines and Approved Retention and Disposal Schedule for Cities and Villages
Michigan law requires that:

• all records be listed on an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule and  

• all Retention and Disposal Schedules must be formally approved by the Records Management Services [in the Department of History, Arts & Libraries (HAL)], the Archives of Michigan and the State Administrative Board.  

Schedule #8, “Records Management Handbook:  Guidelines and Approved Retention and Disposal Schedule for Cities and Villages,” published by the Michigan Municipal League, is an approved schedule.  However, Records Management Services is updating it in sections, as separate schedules.  If you have adopted and used Schedule #8, you now need to adopt the separate schedules that have superseded sections of this book.  The Elections schedule (schedule #23) and the Clerks schedule (schedule #24) have superseded sections of the Records Management Handbook published by the League.   If you are adopting it for the first time, you need to adopt schedules #23 and #24 with it.

Not all the new schedules promulgated by Records Management Services supersede sections of the Records Management Handbook.  Schedules such as Public Libraries (schedule # 17) and Human Resources (schedule #26) are new, and were never a part of the original general schedule.  You should look over the list of general schedules and adopt the schedules that are appropriate for your municipality.

 Now an Ebook!

Records Management Handbook:  Guidelines and Approved Retention and Disposal Schedule for Cities and Villages
(179KB printer friendly)

 *The schedule in this handbook has been pre-approved by the State of Michigan. It contains the usual documents found in most municipal departments. For questions on this schedule, contact:

Caryn Wojcik
Records Management Services
Michigan Historical Center
Department of History, Arts, & Libraries
3405 N.Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Lansing MI 48909
(517) 335-8222

Restoring Michigan Communities Building by Building
This manual is intended to provide the basics for restoring Michigan communities—building by building. It focuses on the problems faced by the largest and the smallest of our communities. How do we effectively deal with dangerous and unsafe buildings? How can we best address the problems of litter, overgrown weeds, and abandoned buildings? We do so by acknowledging that the problems, unless dealt with effectively and quickly, not only impede our community progress but also sap our community spirit.

We know that vibrant communities have, in common, walkable downtowns, flourishing retail districts, exciting cultural opportunities, affordable housing and educational opportunities. We also know that favorable design concepts promote mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods that work to retain and attract young people and their employers to Michigan and the “new retirees” of the baby boomer generation. We know what works—we need to make sure that we have in place the tools that permit us to create vibrant communities in our downtowns, neighborhoods and regions.

Salaries and Wages in Michigan Municipalities Over 1,000 Population
Each year as part of its continuing research program in municipal problems, the MML prepares a comprehensive survey on salaries and wages in Michigan municipalities with populations over 1,000. The results are available online, free of charge, through the League’s Members Only section of our website. League members can print the study in its entirety or only those sections that are most relevant to their organization. Now an ebook & a searchable online database!!

Zoning Board of Appeals Handbook
This handbook was written to help new zoning board of appeals members understand the scope of their role and responsibilities, and to provide them with a basis of understanding in order to capably perform their duties within the law. Topics covered include: the role of the ZBA as a whole and as individual members; an explanation of the zoning enabling acts; the ZBA's relationship to other municipal bodies and individuals; how to identify and handle conflicts of interest; hot to interpret a zoning ordinance; types of variances; preparing for and conducting meetings; and guidelines for making tough decisions. Written by Steve Langworthy. 40 pages.

Contact: Kim Cekola, Information Coordinator
Phone: 734.669.6321 or Email: kcekola@mml.org