Temporary Polling Location Changes - August 4th

Absentee Ballot Application Return Information

Waterford Restaurants & Salons: Opportunity to Expand Capacity Outdoors

Waterford Restaurants and salons now have the option to apply for temporary special use to reduce parking requirements and expand operations outdoors in an effort to help provide relief due to the hardships imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If no outdoor seating space is available, parking lots may be utilized

On June 8th, a resolution was adopted unanimously by the Waterford Township Board of Trustees with support from the Superintendent of Planning & Zoning and the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce.

This Resolution will permit restaurant establishments to temporarily expand their dining areas, and permit personal grooming establishments to provide personal services outside once they are permitted to operate by the State of Michigan.
The application and resolution can be found at this link: https://www.waterfordmi.gov/273/Community-Planning-Development

Summer Tax Bill Information

SUMMER TAX BILL
2020 tax statements will be mailed July 1.
Summer taxes are payable July 1, 2020 through September 14, 2020.

Please refer to the front and back of statement for detailed tax information.

Tax bills are mailed to either the home owner or the home owner’s mortgage company. Copies of tax bills are available online through Waterford’s website at www.waterfordmi.gov/taxes, click on Tax Information Search.

SUMMER DEFERRED
2020 summer taxes may be deferred on your primary residence until February 14, 2021. If your 2019 total household income was less than $40,000 and you meet one of the following requirements:

Senior Citizen, age 62 by December 1, 2020
Hemiplegic, Paraplegic, or Quadriplegic
Eligible Serviceperson, Veteran, Widow or Widower
Blind
Total and Permanently Disabled

A copy of your 1040A Federal Tax Form or MI-1040CR Form needs to accompany your application. Applications for deferment are available at the Treasurer’s Office. The deadline for filing is September 14, 2020.

CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP
Report change of ownership promptly to Waterford Township Assessing at (248) 674-6270. Make sure your principal residence exemption and property transfer papers are file with the assessor.

Failure to receive tax statement does not exempt taxes from penalties. If you do not receive your tax bill after the first week of July, please contact the Treasurer’s Office at (248) 674-6220.

Waterford Township Census Self-Response Rate Reaches 78.3%

Why Is The Response Rate Important?
Census response is important to Waterford. Every year critical decisions are made from Census date that directly impact each and every person in Waterford Township.
Our community goal is to have at least a 90% response rate from Waterford residents for the 2020 Census.
Check out our tracker for the daily response rate estimate for the 2020 Census.
Share the importance of Census response with your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers and lets see this number soar toward our goal. Our goal to ensure that the Waterford community and its residents and business owners are accurately represented for the next 10 years!

How To Respond
It’s easier than ever! 9 questions, 9 minutes

Online: 2020census.gov
Phone: 800-923-8282
By Mail - send in your questionnaire

Get Counted, Waterford! It Counts!

Monthly Recycling- July 11th

Waterford Township offers free monthly recycling collection of magazines and cardboard (shipping boxes, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc, free of food debris and dry.)

This service is provided the second Saturday of every month from 9am to 1pm in the parking lot at Township Hall.

Waterford residents only, please.

Residents are also encouraged to practice social distancing and wear masks for their own protection, and for the protection of the workers and other residents.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Continues

Waterford Township has partnered with the North Oakland Household Hazardous Waste Consortium (NO HAZ). NO HAZ provides residents of participating communities a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the July event has been cancelled. This year's remaining collection event dates and locations are as follows. Time is 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We are NOT requiring residents to pre-purchase vouchers this year. You may pay the $15 fee at the collection event. Please stay tuned to the No Haz website www.nohaz.com for updates we we get closer to these events.

Saturday, September 26
Oakland County Service Center*
1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac
*Follow Signs on Campus

Saturday, October 10
Oakland County Service Center*
1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac
*Follow Signs on Campus

Waterford Historic Village Re-Opens

The Waterford Historical Society will open in limited capacity on Wednesdays starting on July 8 from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The Village will be open for self-guided tours only. The Hands-on area, Hatchery House and Log Cabin will remain closed.

It is mandatory to wear a mask and limit the number of visitors in the buildings. The buildings will be closed if it rains or storms.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate our temporary normal and keep our guests and volunteers safe.

Summer Sundays in the Village 2020

The Waterford Historical Society presents Summer Sundays in the Village. No hoopla, just history!

Spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon with us walking our Historic Village at your own pace. Free admission.

You will be required to wear a mask indoors and practice social distancing. Hands-On area will NOT be open. Weather permitting-if rain or storm we will not open.

Sundays from 1:00-4:00: July 19, August 16 and September 13.
We are located in Fish Hatchery Park at 4490 Hatchery Road in Waterford.
For more information please call 248-683-2697.

DPW Operations During Pandemic

Waterford Township DPW is asking all business be conducted via phone (248) 674-2278, US Mail service or online at www.waterfordmi.gov/199/Public-Works. Any business that cannot be accomplished remotely requires an appointment which can be scheduled by calling our office, and customers are asked to wear a mask during their appointment.

Customers that would normally pay in person are asked to use the envelope provided with their bill to mail payment in or place their payment in the drop box near the main DPW entrance. We kindly ask that bill payments not be made in cash. Contactless payments including Auto Debit, On-line payments or using a financial institution’s bill pay are preferred during this time.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as well continue to find ways to maintain operations while protecting the safety, health and welfare of our community.

Waterford Township Public Library July Update

Library Circulation Services - Back Online
Our thanks to our community for making the restart of on-site services go so smoothly. It continues to be a slow and careful process, implemented in phases.
In addition to opening the outside book returns, we are now offering Curbside Pick-up service. Filling your hold requests for items from our library as well as items interloaned from other libraries in our cooperative is now reestablished.

Here is what you need to do:

Place your hold requests in the online catalog. Or you can call or email us with your requests.
Adult and Teen Services: 248-618-7693; Children’s Services: 248-618-7692;

Email: wateref@waterfordmi.gov

Look for a return call or email notice telling you your hold is available
Upon arrival, follow signs for Curbside Pick-up back towards the cemetery and around to the Curbside Pick-up canopy
Call 248-674-4831 and have your library card and ID ready
Stay in your car and show your ID when staff bring your library items to you

HOLDS WILL ONLY BE RELEASED TO THE CARD HOLDER

Curbside Pick-up Service Hours: Monday – Thursday 1:00p – 6:00p, Saturday 1:00p – 5:00p
Note: Interlibrary loans from MelCat are expected to be available in the very near future. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with developments over the coming weeks.
In addition to these circulation services, library staff continue working remotely to provide library services weekdays from 9:00a-5:00p. You can call 248-618-7693 (Adults Services) or 248-918-7692 (Children’s Services) for reference/information services. Or email wateref@waterfordmmi.gov.
Need a library card? We are issuing them remotely. Residents of Waterford or Lake Angelus without a library card can email Jonathan Deahl, jdeahl@waterfordmi.gov to register.
Remote services available with your library card include the online databases through the library’s website (choose "Research & Learning" on menu at the top of the homepage) and downloadable eContent, e.g. eBooks, eAudiobooks, videos, music, from Libby (Overdrive), Hoopla and RBdigital (choose "Books & More" on menu at the top of the homepage). These eContent services have apps available for your phone/tablet/computer.
Our Wi-Fi connection can be accessed from the Library’s parking lot 24/7. Remember that proximity to the building and the number of concurrent users affect connectivity.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we progress through the phases to restart on-site services.

Virtual Summer Reading programs for Children, Teens and Adults
It’s not too late to join our Summer Reading Programs. Register using the Wandoo Reader software application, familiar to many of our previous participants.

The Children’s reading program is open to all students ages 3-12 (https://www.waterfordmi.gov/1156/2020-Childrens-Summer-Reading)
Track your reading through the summer. There are seven levels of reading with fun challenges. One level equals one-hour of reading. We will enter everyone who has completed at least four reading levels into our summer reading program prize drawing. You will get a free book for completing the program. We would like everyone to finish by Labor Day, September 7.

For tweens and teens going into the 6th - 12th grades (https://www.waterfordmi.gov/594/Teen-Programs)
Register for our Summer Reading Program starting June 1st using Wandoo Reader. Log the number of minutes you read over a 9-week period. Ideally, your goal should be to read at least 20 minutes a day. It’s important to keep reading over the summer in order to stay sharp for when school starts up again. You can read books, graphic novels, magazines, newspapers, and comic books. EContent and audiobooks are acceptable as well. Check out our Digital Downloads web page for information about how to download content. For book suggestions, take a look at our booklists for Teens.
If you wish, you can write a short book review for each book you read or listen to. We will feature one participant’s positive review each week on our website, Facebook, and Twitter. *Book reviews are optional.*
Please note: Due to COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the library’s re-opening to the public, we encourage you to use Wandoo Reader to log your summer reading. If you prefer not to use Wandoo Reader, you can still participate. Simply call the reference desk at 248-618-7693 to register. You can then keep track of your minutes on a piece of paper. In order to be in the grand prize drawing, be sure to call us when you’ve reached 500 or more minutes no later than 5:00 pm on August 1st. It is only necessary to call us once at the end to let us know how many minutes you’ve read this summer.
In early August, three prizes will be awarded to randomly drawn participants who have logged at least 500 minutes.

1st prize - Kindle Fire 7
2nd prize - $35.00 Meijer gift card
3rd prize - Pair of over-the-ear sport ear buds

Deadline to log your minutes is August 1st at 5:00 pm

For Adults – Escape into Reading (https://www.waterfordmi.gov/899/Adult-Summer-Reading)
How to participate:

Read or listen to adult books of your own choosing.
Log each book you read, choose thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and write a short (can be very, very short) review using our online summer reading tool, Wandoo Reader. You will need to register by creating an account to get started. Try do this every week or two during June and July.
There will be no weekly prize drawings this summer. Instead we will choose and feature one participant's well-rated title each week on our website and on Facebook.
In early August three Grand Prizes will be randomly drawn from the names of those who have logged at least 5 books by 5 pm on August 1. You must log at least 5 books to be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing.
First prize will be a Kindle Fire 7, second prize will be a $35 Meijer gift card, and third prize will be a set of over-the-ear sport earbuds.

1,000 Books before Kindergarten
For children, infant to 5 years. We are a participating library in this early literacy program. You can participate online using phone apps for either iPhone or Android. Search under 1000 Books before Kindergarten. Read to your young child. For every 100 books that you read together, we will put your child’s name on our “Wall of Fame.” Once the Library reopens, your child can pick out a book to keep. Reach the 1,000-book milestone and get a book bag.

Census 2020 reminder
The #2020Census impacts the funding our community needs to help kids learn and grow. Complete the 2020 Census for our community. Visit 2020Census.gov today. Did so already? Great, how about helping someone you know to complete theirs.
It only takes a few minutes, but the impact of your response will be felt for years. I count. You count. Everyone counts. GET COUNTED. IT COUNTS.

Youth Enrichment and Day Camp Scholarships

volunteer flyer Waterford Youth Assistance

Swimming Safety Tips From The Waterford Regional Fire Dept.

Swimming is a great recreational sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. However, it is important to know how to be safe while you are in the water. Here are some important swimming safety tips you should be aware of before you head out to the pool or beach:

Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
Always swim with a friend; do not allow anyone to swim alone.
Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
Maintain constant supervision.
Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Swimming classes like the Red Cross water learn-to-swim courses.
If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers. Many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time.
Avoid distractions when supervising children around water.
If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
Have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first aid kit.
Know how and when to call 9-1-1.

Be safe Fire Chief Matt Covey

Check Out These Great Events From The Chamber!