Charter Review Committee Presents Recommendations to City Council

A committee the East Lansing City Council assembled last year to review the city charter – East Lansing’s guiding document – presented its recommendations at Tuesday’s council meeting. 

The Committee proposed 23 resolutions. Some of the recommendations include requiring future city managers live within 25 miles of East Lansing, the addition of a preamble and a new chapter on transparency. 

The next City Council, which two members will be elected to on Nov. 4, will vote whether or not to put the committee’s proposals on the ballot for residents to vote on. 

Transparency 

Mayor Pro Tem Kerry Ebersole Singh asked what themes frequently came up during public hearings that council should consider. 

“One of the things was transparency; it was a big deal, and we tried to work that in,” Committee Chair Diane Goddeeris said.  

Vice Chair Jeffrey Hank echoed Goddeeris’s comment and added that some things would be best addressed through ordinance changes. 

 “That [transparency] covers a broad array of things…so we put together not only resolutions, but some suggestions for ordinances…some things that maybe are not best dealt with as a charter provision but City Council could address through an ordinance instead,” he said.

The committee suggested adding a new chapter called, Transparency and Public Records Access, to make it clear what public information is available and where it can be located. 

The current charter doesn’t specifically mention the State’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or a clear process for obtaining documents. 

The proposed chapter explicitly mentions FOIA, including that public information records will be provided in a low-cost and timely manner that is consistent with the act. Although FOIA allows for an extension if more time is needed to retreive documents, the charter states that it should only be used when absolutely necessary.   

Councilmember Erik Altmann expressed hesitation regarding the language used to describe FOIA.

“FOIA is a statute, not in the state constitution, but we would be putting the equivalent of FOIA policy in our city charter,” he said. “If FOIA law evolves, and we’ve heard recently from our city attorneys that FOIA is a very active area of law, if that law evolves and we have a FOIA policy in our charter, we can’t evolve with it.” 

“The city charter is supposed to be reviewed regularly and changed, that was part of our process,” Hank said. 

Goddeeris added that the city should continue to update its charter as needed going forward, and if state law comes into conflict with the FOIA provision, the city should move to have the charter amended again. She pointed out that it’s easier to make a single change than do an entire review of the charter.

The committee also proposed making historical and current records from council, board and commission meetings available on the city’s website, at City Hall and the East Lansing Public Library.

The proposed charter also outlines that as soon as budget documents and financial reports are completed, they will be made available to the city’s website, at City Hall and the library. 

Moreover, it is proposed that a written Economic Impact Assessment should be made available to the public at least 30 days before any approval of tax increment financing or use of taxpayer resources for the benefit of a private person or development project that impacts the city’s general finances. 

The committee proposed a resolution outlining that within 180 days after the fiscal year ends, an annual report of the city’s business should be published by the city, and disclose important facts about the activities and finances of the city government. 

Preamble 

The current City Charter doesn’t have a preamble, and Goddeeris mentioned that all committee members felt strongly about adding one this time around. 

“Many charters of cities have that [preamble]…It was really a statement of who we are and where we are today, versus when the city was just started and they were putting together this charter,” Goddeeris said. 

The preamble recognizes the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg that the city occupies, prioritizes protecting democratic principles and affirms the city’s commitment to social progress.

“The preamble is an ethos of the values and rights, and aspirations of the community,” Hank said. “It’s a statement of community vision.” 

On a similar note, the proposed charter expands on the definition of discrimination. 

“We’re trying to be consistent across everything that someone would see before they even got in the charter that this is a community that espouses these values,” Goddeeris said. 

The current charter lists the city will not discriminate against any person based on marital or family status. The committee proposes expanding on that to include: economic status, religion, race, color, national origin, age, height, weight, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, student status, and the use of adaptive devices or aides.  

City manager  

Another proposed change is that future city managers will be required to live within 25 miles of the city within one year of accepting the position. 

Goddeeris relayed that the committee talked about how East Lansing is a university community mixed with permanent residents, and is constantly changing because of that makeup. 

“It’s a guiding charter provision that says we want this person to be a part of our community as they lead the community because we’re a city manager form of government,” Goddeeris said.

Councilmember Dana Watson raised concerns about a city manager who may need to move their children to a new school due to the provision. 

“Sometimes the city managers are at a place in their life where their children are maybe in high school, and that hesitancy to completely remove is coming to mind for me,” Watson said. 

Goddeeris said there’s nothing in the provision that would prohibit a city manager from renting a place in East Lansing and having a second residence somewhere else. She also said that candidates would be aware of the requirement before going through the entire application process.

Mayor George Brookover ended the discussion by asking the city attorney to write an opinion letter laying out the process, procedure and timing by which the charter provisions can be voted on by the council. The letter should be ready no later than the first City Council meeting in December.