This is part of a series of articles aimed at informing Farm Bureau members about elected and appointed positions that offer opportunities for representing agriculture in government.
Tim Matchett has community involvement in his blood and roots sunk deep in western Charlevoix County -- specifically Marion Township, just south of the bottlenecked tourist Mecca. The roots go so deep that the road his centennial farm sits on happens to be Matchett Road. Long an active Farm Bureau loyalist, Tim has led the Charlevoix County Farm Bureau as its president for longer than anyone can remember.
Matchett's 1980 appointment to Marion Township's planning commission launched a similarly loyal and longtime relationship with his local municipality. Two decades later he was elected to the township board, and in 2003 stepped up again to fill the vacant township clerk position -- which he retains to this day.
'Marion Township is a very rural community, but we don't have a lot of farmers left, so it's very important agriculture is represented on the township board,' Matchett said. 'Farmers help provide common sense. Example: We had a professional planner once say we should have property line setbacks for fences.
'I put a stop to that. The fence is the property line. I can't imagine how much land would be wasted with five-foot setback for fences.'
Township clerks are responsible for a wide variety of tasks, from taking minutes, record keeping and publishing ordinances to receiving and paying the bills. Another big clerk duty is administering elections, including voter registration and absentee ballots.
To effectively serve in government, Matchett said you need an interest in helping and working with people. For the clerk job it helps to have a knack for numbers, accounting and record keeping.
'Being a clerk isn't about the education -- you can get that from the Michigan Townships Association. It's really about the willingness to serve people. At a meeting a resident may have a crazy idea but you can't just say that. You need to be able to politely and professionally explain why their idea won't work.
'Sometimes I get tired of hearing government isn't working. We all work together to make local government work. As long as I have anything to do with it, Marion Township government is going to work.'
When Tim isn't serving the township, he's busy farming with his two sons, running one of Michigan's largest sheep farms: 1,200 acres and 1,800 ewes, most of which are lambing from early spring through late summer.
Without hesitation, Matchett encourages his fellow Farm Bureau members to get involved in government.
'Agriculture needs to be represented in all levels of government, and township's where it starts -- be involved locally and make a difference in your community. If you're not on the board, you're not likely going to the meetings and not likely knowing what's going on.
'We need agriculture involved in all local government issues. Road millages and zoning ordinances affect agriculture, and more farmer involvement would be extremely beneficial. I admit it's definitely a time commitment.
'If I'm baling hay and have a township meeting I'm going to, I have to stop baling early. But that's the sacrifice of serving my community.'
Local government positions examined in this series:
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