What’s changing?
In the past, households located within Portland city limits, Danby Township, and Portland Township were all considered Residents for registration purposes. Moving forward, only households located within Portland city limits will be considered Residents.
What does this mean for me?
Households outside of the city limits, including those townships, will now be labeled as Non-Residents in our system. However, if your township has agreed to financially support recreation programming, you will still receive a discounted program rate; you will just be classified differently.
New Registration Process:
When registering for programs, you will no longer see a Resident or Non-Resident option under Fee Type. Instead, you will select your township or municipality. This allows us to apply the correct pricing based on where you live and whether your township is currently supporting recreation programming.
Why the change?
This shift helps us more accurately reflect which entities are helping fund our programs. The Recreation Department relies significantly on program fees and contributions from the city and surrounding townships, and we’ve been working closely with them to share the financial responsibility of offering high-quality, affordable programs.
Moving forward, we want to recognize and acknowledge the townships that choose to support the Recreation Department. If your township contributes financially, you will receive a discounted program rate, even if your household is outside Portland city limits.
What about pavilions rentals?
This update also applies to pavilion rentals. Only households within Portland city limits are eligible for the Resident rate. All others, regardless of township agreements, will pay the Non-Resident rate for rentals.
While some townships contribute to help offset recreation program costs, those agreements do not extend to parks and pavilion rentals because they are funded separately.
When does this take effect?
We’re in the process of finalizing agreements with surrounding townships, so these changes will roll out over the coming weeks. As soon as your township’s agreement is in place, your registration and fee options will reflect the updated residency status.
If you’re unsure of which category your household falls into or have questions about your registration, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help you navigate the change.
Thank you for your understanding as these changes take effect. We appreciate your continued support of recreation in the Portland community.
Neil Brown
(517) 647-7985
nbrown@portland-michigan.org
Erin Junge
(517) 647-3207
ejunge@portland-michigan.org