About the Clerk's Office
Since 2000 when Garth Christie came into office, the monies the Township receives in revenue have been cut dramatically. The proactive approach he has taken has been to cut our costs, become more efficient and incorporate new ways to complete the tasks at hand with a minimum affect to our residents.
The Township website is an efficient means for residents to conduct their business with the Township 24/7. The Township ordinances went on line in January of 2001 and residents and employees alike reference that site daily. In March of 2001 the minutes to the Board of Trustees meetings went online from 1969 to current. Today, you can pay your taxes, water bills or traffic tickets on line as well as research the history of the Township. In May of 2002, the website won an international award and in November, 2003 was rated the 4th best township website in the State of Michigan. The Action Center allows our residents to schedule a special pick-up, inform us of a street light burnt out or a public nuisance. The website is currently being updated to meet the needs of our community.
In November of 2002, Garth Christie changed the face of township business with the e-packet project. Scanning the backup paperwork for the meetings and emailing the packets to the board members has resulted in cost savings by eliminating thousands of sheets of paper and hours of manpower. The e-packet project has been a huge success. In February of 2009 saw the advent of videotaping the board meetings and being posted on the township Facebook page and On Demand with the Brighthouse Cable Network.
Opening “Avenues of Access” is the trademark of the Clerk’s office. The website brings the residents into each and every department of the Township. A bi-monthly newsletter brings the residents information about what is happening in the Township. New residents began to receive a “Welcome Package” consisting of valuable information regarding Township services, when they filed their Homestead Affidavits. The cable channel needed revamping and in March of 2002, in an agreement with Time Warner Cable, the Township and the cable company split the cost of hard equipment and software to update the government access channel 8. As a result, we now run a Calendar of Events, provide live transmission of the Township Board of Trustee meetings and show recorded events (State of the Township, etc…) as well. Information pamphlets were created to encourage resident participation at the board meetings. The township Facebook page reaches a new group of residents about the township.
Reaching out into the community began with Clerk Christie visiting classrooms to teach government at the local schools. He has run mock elections and given out citizenship awards to All Star Students. In October, 2002 he commissioned the second grade class at Fisher Elementary to draw posters to encourage adults to vote. These posters were placed throughout the township businesses for all the residents to see. His commitment to Township youth has resulted in hiring high school students to work in the voting precincts during elections beginning in the November, 2001 election and continues today. In April, 2003 Garth Christie resurrected the Youth Commission and we now have Youth Trustees sitting on the Board of Trustees and Park Commission. It was at this time that the Clerk began writing monthly Citizenship articles in the local paper. Also, in January of 2004 Clerk Christie became a delegate to Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG).
There has been a spotlight on the election process across the country since November of 2000. Garth Christie has run 18 elections since then and has met the changes passed by the state and federal legislators each year. All members ofthe staff are state accredited for elections. Clerk Christie received the prestigious designation of Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) in February, 2003. In the December of2009 he became a Master Municipal Clerk (MMC). To save taxpayer dollars he lobbied for no presidential primary in the 2004 election year and no special elections to replace the state representative. He has worked with the county and state clerk associations in preparation for the changes that were implemented by the federal government under the Help America Vote Act (RAVA).
A new service to the residents came in May of2003 when the Clerk's office opened the Passport Acceptance Agency. Since then we have processed hundreds of passports bringing new revenue into the township. The business license division ofthe Clerk's office has been upgraded and we now are working at 99% efficiency; by computerizing the system and working with the building, fire and assessing departments we are able to ensure compliance with our licensing ordinances. Opening notary services to non-residents has provided an additional source of revenue with the charges allowed by state law. Since 2006 the Clerk has hosted a Document Destruction Day on the Saturday before the May election for our residents. By utilizing this service hundreds of residents have protected their identities and been a part of a major recycling effort. By restructuring how bids are done; joining BidNet (Michigan Intergovernmental Trade Network) has opened the township to a greater opportunity to receive the best price on bid awards.
The clerk's office will continue to review, update and create means to meet our resident's needs.
About Garth Christie - Township Clerk
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Garth Christie is a life-long resident of Redford and an honor graduate from Thurston High School, the University of Michigan Dearborn (B.A.), and Wayne State University (J.D.). He is a member in good standing of the State Bar of Michigan. Garth enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a Judge Advocate and an Adjutant in the Infantry. He retired from the reserves at the rank of Captain and is a member of the VFW Post 345 and American Legion Post 271 in Redford. Click here for photo of Garth Christie reading at Fisher School |
Eight years on the Zoning Board of Appeals gave Garth a solid background in zoning and planning issues. Consequently, when he was elected as a Trustee in 1996, he was appointed the Board's representative to the Planning Commission.
Garth began serving as Clerk on November 20, 2000. In 2004 he was re-elected to the clerk's office with the largest percentage of all township officials with 98.94% of the vote and again in 2008 with 98.32%. His goals for the Clerk's office were; to create and expand "Avenuse of Access" to plublic information, to promote community participation in local government and to simplify and reorganize the Township's record keeping system through the use of technologies. He has done that and more
In February, 2003 Clerk Christie was awarded his CMC designation. In October of 2006 he passed his final exam for the University of Wisconsin Extension course on Parliamentary Procedure and is now a member of the National Association honoring Clerk Christie as a graduate with the Township Governance Academy Credential at their Education Conference in Detroit, Michigan with his Board of Trustees congratulating him with a proclamation on February 13th.
In his 10th year as clerk, Garth Christie continues to bring innovation to the clerk's office and the township. He works with the Youth Commission, the elementary schools reading programs and has a retired flag project that has brought in hundreds of flags which have been retired properly by local Boy Scouts.
On December 1, 2009, Garth J. Christie was awarded the designation of Master Municipal Clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. His goals are to continue to create efficiencies and expand "Avenues of Access" to public information, to promote community participation in local government and to simplify and reoganize the Township's record keeping system through the use of technologies.
