Handbook for General Law Village Officials

Table of Contents

All links below require (PDF) to view.

Section I Local Government
Chapter 1 Welcome to public service

Chapter 2 Structure of local government

Section II Roles and Responsibilities
Chapter 3 Duties of village officials

Chapter 4 Influencing state and federal legislation

Chapter 5 Elections

Chapter 6 Successful meetings

Chapter 7 Local ordinances

Chapter 8 Ethics

Chapter 9 Planning and Zoning

Chapter 10 Training of municipal officials

Section III Operations
Chapter 11 Village service options

Chapter 12 Selecting & working with consultants

Chapter 13 Written policies & procedures

Chapter 14 Employee and labor relations

Chapter 15 Employment and personnel issues

Chapter 16 Understanding municipal liability

Section IV Basic Finance
Chapter 17 Authority and Internal Controls

Chapter 18 Budgeting

Chapter 19 Financing capital improvements

Chapter 20 Limits of Municipal Expenditures

Chapter 21 Special assessments and user charges

Appendices
Appendix 1 Law of interest to Michigan municipalities

Appendix 2 OMA overview

Appendix 3 FOIA overview

Appendix 4 Rules of procedure for general law village councils

Appendix 5 Sample ordinance to appoint a village manager

Appendix 6 Sample ordinance to appoint the village clerk

Appendix 7 Sample ordinance to appoint the village treasurer

Appendix 8 Sample ordinance to reduce the number of trustee

Appendix 9 Sample budget ordinance

Appendix 10 Frequently asked Questions

Appendix 11 For more information

Appendix 12 Glossary