Frequently Asked Questions

The City of Portland is one of 24 Michigan cities that has an Income Tax. In Portland, these funds are used for paving, curb and gutter, sidewalks, street lights, and related water and sewer infrastructure.

Current year resident or nonresident income tax returns may be e-filed through a paid tax preparer. Self-prepared tax returns are not accepted electronically. You must file a paper copy with the City of Portland.

Every resident or part year resident of Portland who has taxable income in a tax year must file a return. Every nonresident who has taxable income derived from working or from sources inside the city limits must file a return. Married persons may file either a joint return or separate returns. The following examples may be used to assist you in determining if a return is required.

For all tax years:

• If you are a single person or married filing separately and your income is greater than $1,000, you must file a return. 
• If you are married, filing jointly with your spouse and your income is greater than $2,000, you must file a return.
• If you are a single person and are age 65 or older and your income is greater than $2,000, you must file a return.
• If you are married filing jointly with your spouse and both you and your spouse are age 65 or older and your income is greater than $4,000, you must file a return
• If you do not meet the requirements for filing a return, but Portland tax was withheld or estimated tax payments were made, you must file a return to receive a refund.

A resident is subject to tax on all items included in total federal income. Taxable income includes: 

• Salaries, bonuses, wages, commissions, fees, vacation pay, profit sharing plan income and other compensation regardless of where earned. 
• Deferred compensation distributions.
• Fair market value of merchandise or services received as compensation. 
• Net profit from operation of a business or profession or other activity regardless of where earned. Income from a partnership, estate or trust, interest from bank accounts, credit unions, savings and loan associations and other income regardless of where earned. 
• Rental income, capital gains and dividends. 
• Lottery winnings 

A nonresident is subject to tax on all items included in total federal income, which are derived from or connected with Portland sources. Taxable income includes: 

• Salaries, bonuses, wages, commissions, fees, vacation pay, profit sharing plans and other compensation for services rendered as an employee in Portland. 
• Fair market value of merchandise or services received as compensation. 
• Net profits from the operation of a business or profession or other activity conducted in Portland. 
• Net profits from rental of real and tangible property located in Portland. 
• Net profits from sale or exchange of personal property located in Portland.

The following expenses incurred as an employee are allowable subtractions. A portion of expenses is allowable to nonresidents to the extent they apply to income taxed by Portland. 

• Travel, Meals and lodging while away from home
• Expenses as an outside salesperson that works away from his/her employer's place of business (does not include driver/salesperson whose primary duty is service and delivery)
• Transportation (but not transportation to and from work)
• Expenses reimbursed under an expense account or other arrangement with your employer, if the reimbursement was included in gross income.

Other allowable deductions include: 

• Alimony paid, to the extent deductible under the Internal Revenue Code. Nonresidents must prorate the deduction based upon the ratio of Portland income to total income. 
  • Child support is not deductible. 
• Individual Retirement Account deduction to the extent allowed under the Internal Revenue Code. Nonresidents must prorate the deduction based upon the ratio of each taxpayer's earned income in Portland to each taxpayer's earned income everywhere. 
• Moving expenses into the area only.

Payments are due monthly if your total monthly withholding exceeds $100; otherwise, your payments are due quarterly. To reconcile income tax withheld each year; you must file the City of Portland Income Tax reconciliation return (PW-3). Payments can also be made on our new Online Employer Withholding Tool.

Payment must be mailed with proper identification to:

Portland City Income Tax
259 Kent Street
Portland, MI 48875

Write your social security number or federal identification number on your check and the type of tax that you are paying. Never send a check or money order without some form of documentation. This could cause a delay in applying your payment to the proper account. Always include your social security and telephone number on any correspondence, so we may research your issue properly and contact you if we have questions. When mailing returns, always keep a copy for your records. Please notify us in writing when you or your business has a change (i.e. address, your business incorporates, you sold your business, you discontinued your business, etc.).

The City is divided into 2 areas for brush pickup. Area #1 will be east of the Grand River and south of Grand River Ave (the east side), area #2 will be the rest of the city. Brush will be picked up curb side on the first and third Monday of the month for area #1, and area #2 will be picked up on the second and fourth Monday of each month. 

Brush needs to be neatly stacked with ends facing the same direction that are no longer than 8’ in length (brush piles) and no branches should be larger than 6’’ in diameter. Small branches and twigs shorter than 2’ should be bound together, placed in paper biodegradable bags, or containers that will be returned to your yard. Stumps and root balls will not be picked up. Please do not place brush behind or close to signs, fire hydrants, trees, etc. This service is for maintenance not lot clearing and is available for residents. It is not for contractor use.

Brush may be placed curbside between the Friday before pick up and 7:00 A.M. on pick up day. Brush should be placed in your curb lawn and not placed in the roadway pursuant to City Ordinance. The D.P.W. will accept self-haul brush Monday through Friday 7:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. These services are for residents of The City of Portland only.

The DPW crews will be out daily during the Fall for leaf removal; but due to weather, emergencies and breakdowns it is sometimes impossible to meet that goal. 

DPW crews can serve you better if leaves are placed in long narrow rows at the curb.   Please keep limbs, branches and rocks out of leaf piles as these items can damage the leaf machine.  Leaves can also be placed in paper yard waste bags for pickup. Leaves can also be self-hauled to the compost pile located behind the horse arena at Bogue Flats. We also ask that you DO NOT place any animal waste in leaf piles; these piles will not be picked up.  Under the Refuse Ordinance the burning of brush and leaves is prohibited.

Loose leaf pickup ends the first Monday in December each year.

How

• Cash:
  • Pay in person at City Hall
  • Dropped in the Drop box at City Hall
• Check, payable to City of Portland: 
  • Mail to City Hall 
  • Pay in person at City Hall 
  • Dropped in the Drop box at City Hall
• Credit Card : A service fee will be applied to all credit card payments 
  • In person at City Hall 
  • Or by calling City Hall at phone: 517-647-3205

Where

Payment for parking tickets are received between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday at:

City Hall
259 Kent Street 
Portland MI

Contact the 64A District Court at

• Phone 616-527-5346 
• or by going in person to 100 West Main Street Ionia, MI 48846 between the hours 8 AM to 5 PM Monday thru Friday, excluding federal holidays

Send a written request to:

Portland Police Department
773 East Grand River Ave
Portland, MI 48875

or Email Portland Police Department

Additional Information

• FOIA Itemization (PDF)
• FOIA Procedures and Guidelines (PDF)

Yes we have a technician located at :

Portland Police Department
773 East Grand River Ave
Portland, MI 48875

How to Make An Appointment

• Phone: 517-647-4111
• Email Portland Police Department

We do not accept walk ins. Everyone must make an appointment.

The goal of this project is to get unused and expired prescriptions and medications out of the medicine cabinet in hopes of reducing the risk of abuse or theft, in addition to keeping medications out of our water and waste treatment systems.

The Police Department has joined resources with Ionia County in participating in the national prescription drug take back.

The drug drop box is available to Portland area residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Location

Portland Police Department
773 East Grand River Ave
Portland, MI 48875

The drop box is located inside the secured police department building. In order to drop off prescription drugs please visit the police department entry way, call us by using the phone located next to the front door and someone will let you inside to take and dispose of your drugs.

The following items are accepted:

• Prescriptions
• Over-the-counter medications
• Vitamins
• Medication samples
• Medication for pets

The following items are NOT accepted:

• Liquid Medications
• Ointments
• Lotions
• Needles (sharps)
• Thermometers
• Bloody or infectious waste
• Medications from businesses/clinics/pharmacies/hospitals
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Aerosol cans
• Inhalers
• Liquid medications

Online registration is available at the link below. 

• Program Registration

For additional assistance, please contact the Parks & Recreation office at 517-647-7985 or 514-647-3207.

Great! We are always looking for new programs. Please fill out the Program Proposal Form (PDF) and submit it to Portland Parks and Recreation at 259 Kent St., Portland, MI 48875 or by email to ehonsowitz@portland-michigan.org. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to Emma at (517) 647-3207.

For parks and recreation programs, to be considered a resident, you must live within City limits. 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 within RecDesk.

For pavilion rentals, residents must live within City limits to get the resident rate.

We cannot guarantee placement with a specific team or coach, but we try to accommodate as many requests as possible. You may request it on your registration in the note section or email Emma at ehonsowitz@portland-michigan.org.

Both youth and adult schedules/standings can be found online at https://www.portland-michigan.org/326/League-Schedules or on the registration software at https://portlandmi.recdesk.com/Community/League.

If the school is closed for any reason (snow day, in-service), games and practices are automatically cancelled. 

To check the status of a game or practice, please call the inclement weather line at 517-647-3207. The timing of the message will vary by sport. Please reference your schedule.

Messages may also be posted on the Portland Parks & Recreation Field Status page.

The pavilions at various Portland parks can be reserved for family reunions and other gatherings. Please see below for more information.

Online Pavilion Reservations

Pavilion Rental Information (PDF)

Bogue Flats, Community Lake, Joe Tichvon, Thompson Field, and William Toan:

Red Mill:

Please note that on Saturdays in June-September, the Red Mill is available starting at 2:00 PM due to the Farmer's Market.

Parks & Recreation offices are located within City Hall at 259 Kent St., Portland, MI 48875

Portland Parks & Recreation is always seeking new and experienced officials and scorekeepers. For more information, visit the Officials & Scorekeepers page.

Please contact our office immediately by phone or email:

• Email Neil Brown, Director or 517-647-7985
• Email Emma Honsowitz, Recreation Coordinator or 517-647-3207

Trees planted in the curb lawn should be at least 2" caliper trees. Prior to purchasing/planting a tree in the curb lawn, please contact the Parks Director, Neil Brown at 517-647-7985. **Always contact Miss Dig prior to digging or excavating.**

By having our own electric utility, underground infrastructure and available conduit though the Board of Light and Power, the City of Portland is uniquely positioned to potentially provide superior broadband services with the same reliability that our electric customers have come to expect. Further, the City of Portland believes strongly in the free market, private enterprise and the benefit of competition to the consumer. Therefore, the City does not limit the number of service providers to our residents and should the City ultimately provide broadband services, it will be nonexclusive. While offering broadband internet service is desired among our residents, this prospect primarily lays the foundation for “smart city” concepts and infrastructure improvements related to our existing utility services for the future. The benefits go well beyond residential and commercial internet service.

Currently, there is no firm date or timeline, but the City will be diligent as we move forward. As stated above, the EPP was just completed which established a conservative estimate of approximately $4 million required for total project capital costs. While the City recognizes the demand, we must be steady and surefooted as stewards of taxpayer dollars and in no way comprise the critical essential services that we currently provide. It is further important to understand the anomaly of a municipality exploring this potential new service, the complexities and related challenges. The City will continue to work through the process and provide additional information as we move forward.

There are many factors considered during the design of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).  Design is primarily based on what capacity the wastewater system should be designed to treat.  Capacity can be broken down into two categories – hydraulic capacity and biological capacity.   

Hydraulic capacity is the ability of the treatment systems to maintain or pass a given liquid flow rate through each of the treatment processes. Biological capacity is the ability of the treatment systems to handle and treat the organic loads delivered from the collection system. Most of the organic load comes from domestic wastewater which primarily comes from homes.   Biological treatment relies on bacteria and other microorganisms to break down organic wastes.

Throughout the design process, population trends are reviewed along with projected areas of development to establish a baseline hydraulic flow and projected biological and nutrient loadings to the WWTP.  This projection typically covers a 20-year planning cycle to coincide with the useful life of many pieces of equipment and infrastructure.  

Capacity, both in the form of hydraulic and biological, greatly impacts the capital costs to expand the plant’s treatment capabilities and impacts the long-term operating costs of the facility.  For this reason, it is important to right-size the improvements to offer a cost-effective solution.  Providing excessive capacity that may never be utilized is cost prohibitive to the community and increases operating costs over the useful life of the project.  For this reason, it is important to select design capacities based on reasonable growth projections for the selected planning period.

During planning stages, the City and its engineering consultant reviewed historical flow and loading data to develop the project scope for the current project.  During that review, it was determined that the City’s WWTP was operating at its design biological capacity and improvements were needed to expand the facility’s ability to treat incoming wastewater.   The proposed project aims to address the City’s projected capacity requirements for the next 20 years.

Collection and treatment systems are typically designed to reduce the need for pumping wastewater and utilize gravity flow to the extent possible.   Treatment facilities are normally located near rivers or streams for two reasons: low-lying areas allow the collection system to utilize gravity to deliver wastewater to the treatment facility, and it locates the facility to discharge the treated effluent to the receiving body of water.

The City’s WWTP was originally located and built in the 1950’s in its current location on the Grand River.  The facility has undergone subsequent improvements projects in 1971 and 2012 to expand the facility and its treatment capabilities.  Building a new WWTP in a different location would be prohibitively expensive for the City and would increase long-term operating costs of the system as wastewater would have to be pumped continuously versus using gravity flow. The more cost-effective solution is to upgrade the existing facility while implementing measures to address discharge during high river stages.

As part of the planning process for the current project, the City and its engineering team reviewed the impacts of sustained high river levels (such as during the 2019 ice jam) on the WWTP’s ability to continuously  treat the wastewater and process the influent flows received throughout the collection system.  

The proposed improvements include repairs in the collection system to reduce inflow and infiltration (I/I) that must ultimately be treated at the City’s WWTP.   I/I can be defined as clean water that enters the collection system through cracks or seepage in the pipes from storm runoff, groundwater infiltration, or inflow from high water events.  Decreasing the amount of  I/I from the collection system to the WWTP frees up available hydraulic capacity for wastewater that needs to be treated.  In addition, the proposed project includes hydraulic improvements and implementing provisions to enable the City’s operations staff to pump treated effluent to the river during high river stages.

In order to perform the necessary improvements to the WWTP, the City will be required to bond out for this Project. The anticipated cost is approximately $10 million with the City qualifying for 1.5 million in principal forgiveness though EGLE’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). In order to support the bond and pay for the Project, rates will increase 29% beginning July 1, 2022 and are anticipated to increase another 25% for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023.

The project involves replacement of the Divine Highway bridge over the Looking Glass River.  Related work includes approach reconstruction, removal of abandoned concrete mill structures in the river, channel restoration, replacement of the City’s water main crossing of the Looking Glass River, and river trail underpass replacement.

Design work is in process with project bidding to take place early in 2026 and construction to follow in the spring of 2026.

The bridge will be replaced using part width construction techniques to leave one lane open for northbound traffic and emergency services throughout.  

The project will be completed in 5 stages:

1. Stage 1:  The water main river crossing will require a traffic shift on Grand River Avenue to the south, as the water main is located under the westbound (north) lane of Grand River Avenue.
2. Stage 2:  Replacement of the west side of the bridge and approach roadway will close the bridge to southbound traffic with northbound traffic using the remaining east side of the bridge.
3. Stage 3: Replacement of the east side of the bridge and approach roadway will close the bridge to southbound traffic with northbound traffic using the newly constructed west side of the bridge.
4. Stage 4:  Replacement of sidewalk ramps on the south side of the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Divine Highway will require a traffic shift on Grand River Avenue to the north.
5. Stage 5:  Top course asphalt paving and pavement markings will be constructed using flag control.

The City received a grant through the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Local Bridge Program that covers 95% of the construction costs.  The City’s costs on the project are being funded by income tax revenue.

1. The City originally applied for funding for a project that would build the new bridge west of the current bridge and realign the road, leaving the existing bridge open during construction. The City applied a number of times, but the project was cost-prohibitive due to the cost of realigning the road and replacing the traffic signal at Divine Highway and Grand River Avenue.
2. Complete closure of the bridge during construction would reduce the cost and duration of construction, however, the detour route is lengthy, and would increase emergency services response times to an unacceptable level.

A number of factors were considered, including:

1. Temporary signals were evaluated, which would allow alternating northbound and southbound traffic, however, the proximity of the bridge to Grand River Avenue does not allow for queuing (waiting in line) of northbound vehicles on Divine Highway. The signals at Grand River Avenue would need to be incorporated, which would increase the cycles times of those signals significantly and cause severe congestion on Grand River Avenue.
2. If southbound traffic was maintained on the bridge instead of northbound, vehicle queueing at the Grand River Avenue signal would block emergency services vehicles. Northbound traffic is free-flowing and can clear ahead of an oncoming emergency service vehicle.
3. The detour for southbound traffic using David Highway, Keefer Highway and Grand River Avenue is a less confusing one for most drivers.  Detouring northbound traffic would involve signage for traffic on Grand River Avenue, Kent Street and I-96, as those are all used to access Divine Highway.  There are several shorter detour routes that can also be utilized – the signed detour is intended for truck routes and those not familiar with the area.

The park will remain open throughout construction, including the parking lot.  The river trail underpass will be closed throughout construction with trail users detoured to the at-grade crossing between the bridge and Looking Glass Avenue.

The signal will remain in its normal operation for several reasons. 

• Construction vehicles and ADM traffic will continue to use southbound Divine Highway south of the bridge and need green time to turn onto Grand River Avenue. 
• Red time for Grand River Avenue creates gaps in traffic for those turning onto Grand River Avenue between signals, like at Maple Street. 
• The same is also true for pedestrians attempting to cross Grand River Avenue.