Voting

Every member of a general law or charter township board, including the supervisor, votes at board meetings. Each member of a township board should vote on all issues for which a vote is required, unless he or she has a conflict of interest or other proper legal reason for abstaining (Attorney General Opinion 6054).

Charter township board members must have the unanimous consent of the other board members present to abstain, unless the vote is to appoint that board member to a board vacancy. (MCL 42.7(6))

Votes may be taken by either voice vote or roll call vote. Secret ballots cannot be used for any vote.

Voting (October 2001 Hello, MTA ... ?) (.pdf)
When is a resolution or roll call vote required? (.pdf)

Ethics and Conduct (MTA Web page)

Ethics in Local Government Web page (State of Michigan Attorney General's Office)

Includes model ethics forms, a sample ethics ordinance, and Open Meetings Act and parliamentary procedures policies.