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CLINTON TOWNSHIP — The workings of government are often portrayed as Byzantine and unknowable, but Clinton Township is looking to curtail that.
For the first few months of 2026, Clinton Township municipal department heads have been speaking with residents in a series of community conversations. Paul Gieleghem, township supervisor, said the idea for community conversations came from a series of internal changes made during his first year as supervisor.
“The focus of these events is to bring the people that are administering departments that are service oriented out of the office (and) speak directly with the public,” Gieleghem said.
For their part, the administrators were willing to take part and talk about their departments.
“It’s something that is just part of what we are as directors,” said Bruce Thompson, head of the township’s Planning Department. “We’re in the customer service business and we know that, so getting in front of people, answering questions (and) providing information is just a normal part of what we do … The whole point, I think, is to try to demystify government and let folks know we’re here for them.”
So far, the three departments that have held presentations are planning, building and public services. Each one homes in on a different role the department plays. Public Services Director Mary Bednar’s presentation focused on the water and sewer aspects of the department. Thompson used the Planning Department’s meeting to discuss how the planning process works. Building Department Director Barry Miller touched on how the recently changed building code enforcement process works and “pre-instruct” people about what to do in certain enforcement situations.
“One of things Paul really drove home (when planning for the Building Department meeting) is that this isn’t necessary about what (a department) does, but getting the public to understand what you do,” Miller said. “It’s not — I can talk technical all day, and everybody would glaze over, and they’d dial out in the first five minutes — but (it is) trying to apply (the department’s work) to the people in the audience so they understand and get a better look at what the department does to serve them. And that’s the whole goal. We want to let them know what we do to serve you.”
Meetings have been held across the township, with one being held at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library’s Main Library on Romeo Plank and two being held at the CMPL’s South Branch on Southbound Gratiot Avenue. The meetings are also broadcast on the township’s public access cable channel and on the township’s YouTube page.
Gieleghem says there are plans for more meetings as the year goes on, though scheduling around each department’s busy periods poses a challenge. The next meeting in April will discuss roads in the township — a common subject from Gieleghem’s time in the Clinton Township office — and other meetings will be planned throughout the year.
“I think you can expect more of these throughout the year and then we’ll have to re-evaluate and see if there’s some more specific issues we have to home in on,” Gieleghem said. “Maybe we’ll continue this in a less structured kind of way and just have some general conversation where people can talk about whatever issues they want. I think it’s first important to get out the information on how our departments are performing their roles to serve the public.”
