FAQs

To purchase a cemetery plot or niche, please contact the City Clerk's office at 269-983-6325 or clerk@sjcity.com.  The City Clerk or the Deputy Clerk will answer your questions and guide you through the process.  

See the Proclamation Policy, which is included under City Commission documents on the City Commission homepage.  To request a proclamation, you will need to arrange for a City Commission who is willing to sponsor your request.  Note that requests are due one month before the desired City Commission meeting.  The full policy is available at the link below.

City Commission Documents

Turnover is critical to most downtown businesses, since parking supply is limited.

If parking is used by longer-term parkers, such as beach goers, employees, residents, etc., fewer short-term customers have the opportunity to use that space.  This restricts access to the downtown. 

Turnover is important to the health of downtown businesses because of the economic value represented by multiple customers using the same parking space. One professional downtown analyst has estimated that a parking space in front of a retail establishment can be worth $300,000 in sales per year.

You never have to pay to park on or east of Main Street. West of Main Street, paid parking will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., only from May 15 to September 15.

Residents can park for free year-round on and east of Main Street. If a resident chooses to park west of Main Street, they will have to pay for parking between May 15 and September 15.  However, residents can receive a waiver if they live downtown and do not have dedicated parking serving their residence.

Click here for more information.

The on-street program area, west of Main Street, is expected to experience greater turnover and increased parking availability.  This means that those with mobility needs are more likely to find a parking space closer to their destination.  Parking west of Main Street requires payment for all vehicles, from May 15 to September 15.  

For more information on employee waivers, click here.

Yes!  There are more than a dozen free, 30-minute parking spaces on downtown streets west of Main Street.  These spaces are perfect for running a quick errand downtown.

In addition, the residential streets south of downtown remain free all day parking.

No! The Library has a free surface parking lot for library patrons only.  We've also ensured that spaces on Market Street next to the Library are free and reserved for library patrons only. 

Parking on the residential streets south and east of the Library will also continue to be free at all times.

The new program is an action-based plan designed to address congestion and the lack of parking availability.

The City is committed to understanding how the program might be refined in the future, and your continued feedback is important.

Please share your feedback by calling the City at 269-983-5541 or by sending an email to info@sjcity.com.  

Registration for elections and absentee voting is available here.  You may also call the City Clerk's office at 269-983-6325 to have a copy mailed to you or you may visit City Hall during normal business hours to complete an application.  

Absentee ballots are available 40 days before every election.  You can request to have a ballot mailed to you by the Friday before the election at 5pm.  You can also request a ballot in person at your city or township clerk's office until 4pm on the Monday before the election.  New voters can pick up an absentee ballot in person when they register to vote at their city or township clerk's office until 8pm on Election Day. 

All ballots must be returned to the city or township clerk no later than 8pm on Election Day.

8pm on Election Day is the latest you may register to vote in person.  Anyone who wishes to register to vote less than 15 days before an election, including Election Day, must register in person at their city clerk's office. 

Everyone can vote by mail.  No reason needed.  

To request a ballot, complete the Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application, and mail to your city clerk.  

Roadways closures will be limited to the day of the installation of the fog seal.  Typically the road will be closed after 8 am and will reopen in the evening.

Although not a "frequently" asked question, periodically someone asks if the city's name is properly "St. Joseph" or "Saint Joseph."  Well, whether you write "St. Joseph," "Saint Joseph," or "St. Joe," we know what you mean.  Mail and packages are delivered, and checks clear the bank; as a practical matter--they all work!

There is a correct answer, though.  If you're looking to pick up points in a trivia contest or just like knowing things...our city's name is "St. Joseph."

How do we know?  It is the name given to the community in the legislative acts incorporating the Village of St. Joseph in 1834 and the City of St. Joseph in 1891.  Think of those as the community's birth certificates.

If only we'd recognized that before putting the sign in front of City Hall in the late 1990s.  (Maybe someday "things you're used to seeing around town that we wish had been a little different" will be its own FAQ.)

We're in good company, though; the US Postal Service recommends "Saint Joseph" and indicates "St Joseph" is a name to avoid in mailing addresses, along with "St Joe" and "Saint Joe."  (Don't get anyone started on including punctuation in addresses.)  It says "Shoreham" will work, though!                                                                  

Facility rental information is available here.  Please note that if you have not previously created an account, you will need to create an account first.  Facility availability may be viewed on the recreation calendar.  After the request is submitted, you will receive an invoice email for payment.  For assistance with the website, please call 269-985-0326.

The fountain opens on May 1st and closes on September 30th. Hours vary throughout the season and are listed below. 

• May 1st to Friday before Memorial Day: 12 PM - 8 PM
• Memorial Day Weekend - Labor Day: 10 AM to 9 PM 
• Tuesday following Labor Day - September 30th:12 PM - 8 PM
• Fountain is closed October 1st - April 30th 

The fountain is closed for maintenance on the last Wednesday of the month.  Normal operations resume once the maintenance is complete. 

If you need to file a police report, they are available from the Public Safety Department on the first floor of City Hall (700 Broad Street). If you have any questions or concerns about filing a police report please feel free to contact the Public Safety Department at 985-0300 from 8AM to 5PM, Monday through Sunday.

Yes.  The website indexes web pages as well as PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and text documents.

Yes.   You can exclude words by using the minus sign (-).   In order to find the results of all pages that have alarm in the result but not permit, you would search for alarm -permit.

Under the City's current sidewalk program, sidewalks with a 1 inch difference present at any point between adjacent sidewalk squares are included in the replacement projects. Additionally, sidewalks identified with other trip hazards, cracks, surface deterioration or any other condition that creates a significant safety hazard are also replaced.  Sidewalks with a difference of 1.5 inches or greater are considered "urgent repairs" and when identified will be included in the replacement project regardless of which quadrant it is located in.  Sidewalks marked for repair have been identified with a white painted dot and logged by the City.  Before construction starts squares to be replaced will be marked with a white “X”.

The replacement projects are usually put out to bid during the winter. Past sidewalk projects have taken 4 to 6 weeks to complete. The work could occur anytime between late spring and early fall.

The Right-of-Way is delineated by legally established lines or boundaries and typically includes the road, the tree lawn (i.e. land between edge of curb and sidewalk) and the sidewalk.

When choosing a street to be part of a resurfacing project, the City looks at many variables including pavement age, utility condition under the roadway, street drainage, pavement base condition, safety, and maintenance history among other things.  Roadways that are good candidates for resurfacing are ones with a pavement surface age of 12 - 20 years, a good pavement base, and newer utilities with little to no history of maintenance being required.

The pavement preventive maintenance program is the name for the variety treatments the City uses to maintain pavements in better condition. The general purpose of the program is to extend the life of roadway pavements by keeping the good roads in a good condition. This is done by using more frequent but lower cost treatments when compared to a "do nothing" approach in which the roadway is left until it has failed and is then reconstructed. 

Resurfacing (also known as a mill & fill) is just one tool the City uses as part of it's pavement preventive maintenance program. When a resurfacing is done on a roadway that is a good candidate for this treatment it can extend the life of the pavement another 10 - 15 years.

Typical resurfacing projects do not require tree removals.

Information for reporting street light outages is available here. 

The City of St Joseph provides curbside leaf removal for its residents in the Spring and Fall.  Residents may place leaves in the street gutter avoiding placement on or near the drains.  Please do not place bags of leaves, branches, twigs, grass clippings, rocks or other debris in the leaf piles.

If you prefer to bag your leaves in yard waste bags, you may purchase Best Way stickers at City Hall. Stickers are placed on bags and set out on your trash pick-up day during the annual yard waste dates of April - November. 

Please note that residents who live on Niles Ave, Main St or Lakeshore Dr should bag their leaves in bio-degradable craft paper yard waste bags. Please contact Public Works for leaf pick-up at 269-983-6341. 

The Public Works staff will make multiple passes through the city for leaf removal.  

The Public Works Department is responsible for keeping city streets free of snow and ice and open to traffic. When intersections become slippery Public Safety notifies the Department and specialized trucks are dispatched to begin salting or sanding the roadways when this is appropriate. During major snow events, the entire Department of Public Works & Service crew is called into action.

Snow removal is a priority-based system that addresses major streets first and then progresses to the local streets. Streets which are dead-end or cul-de-sacs, as well as alleys, are typically completed last. The priority system is based upon the amount of traffic serviced by the street and the need to keep vital facilities such as hospitals and schools open to the public. With the current crew and equipment, it typically takes up to 12 hours to have all of the City streets, alleys and parking lots plowed and treated after a significant snow event.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is responsible for snow removal on state highways.  In the City, those roads include state highway M-63 and Business Loop - 94.  This includes all of Niles Avenue, all of Lakeshore Drive, all of Main Street (extending north across the bridge to the Harry Gast Parkway to Klock Road), portions of Port and Ship streets east of Main Street, and Wayne Street from Ship Street east to the city limits of Benton Harbor.  The Berrien County Road Department is responsible for snow removal on county roads, including portions of Hilltop Road and Cleveland Avenue along the city boundary.

The Right-of-Way is delineated by legally established lines or boundaries and typically includes the road, the tree lawn (i.e. land between edge of curb and sidewalk) and the sidewalk.

Tree planting requests may be directed to the Department of Public Works at 269-983-6341, or by submitting the online request form found here.

It does not.  Business Loop 94 (Lake Shore Dr.) and Michigan 63 (Niles Ave., Main St.) are considered State highway trunk lines.  Questions or concerns about street trees along these roads may be directed to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).  The local MDOT headquarters in Coloma may be reached at (269) 849-1165.

As in the case of all property damage, it is always best to notify your insurance provider first to begin a claim.  Your provider will direct you to contact a local tree service for the clean up of the tree, as the City of St. Joseph cannot perform any work once damage to property is involved.  Any questions from insurance providers may be directed to City Hall at (269) 983-5541.

The City does not remove healthy trees due to its dropping of natural debris (leaves, fruit, nuts, cones, needles, sap, pollen, etc.).  Though at times it can be inconvenient, like leaves in the Fall it is the nature of trees to drop fruit, seed pods and other natural material, however, the benefits of trees in the community outweighs these minor nuisances.  Per city ordinances, it is the duty of the adjoining property owner or occupant to keep the sidewalk free from debris at all times, so like snow, we ask that this debris be cleared as needed.

No unauthorized treatment, trimming or removal of a City right-of-way tree by residents or contractors is permitted.  On rare occasion, the City has allowed a removal at the property owner's expense, but only with expressed written approval by the City of St. Joseph.  In such cases, the City requires the work to be performed by an insured, reputable tree service, and that the stump be ground down below grade and the area restored with topsoil and seed.  The City also asks that the removed tree be replaced with a new planting from the city's approved tree list.

The City will only plant new trees that fall within the city right-of-way, and where there is sufficient space.   Approval of a new street tree is based upon criteria that includes the width of the tree lawn, as well as the proximity to underground utilities, overhead utilities, street signs, traffic lights, power poles, driveways, fire hydrants, walkways, etc.

If you are moving into a property, you must complete the application found on the website along with providing a photo ID.  The application with supplemental information can be dropped off at City Hall, 700 Broad St. or via email to water@sjcity.com.  Questions can be directed to the Finance Department - Water Billing at (269) 983-6324   

Your water bill may be paid at City Hall, 700 Broad St during normal business hours, by dropping off your payment in one of the drop boxes at City Hall or online.  Please note that there is a processing fee for the online payment.  

Water leaks may be reported to the Department of Public Works at 269-983-6341.  After hour emergencies may be reported to 269-926-2538.

Water leaks on the main public water line or between the main line and individual service connection shutoff valve are the City's responsibility and will be fixed by the City.  Leaks located on individual service lines located between the shutoff and the home or building are the responsibility of the property owner. 

If your property will be vacant and you would like your water service shut off temporarily, call 269-983-6324.  There is a fee for this service and a minimum quarterly fee that will show on your bill. Turning the water off at the shutoff will protect your home from damage that may occur from an undetected leak or frozen pipes while you are away.