Michigan Municipal League: The Review Magazine Jan-Feb 2023 Edition

COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE FOR MUNICIPAL BUSINESS

By Kim Cekola

“ Less than a month after a Royal Oak City Commission meeting ran until 2:20 a.m.—nearly six hours after it began— commissioners voted to limit individual public comments to three minutes instead of five . ” The Daily Tribune, 4/10/18

A council or commission meeting is the only place where an elected local governing body can conduct municipal business. Every policy, operational and programming decision, in addition to housekeeping items (e.g., paying the bills) must be accomplished at meetings that may only occur once or twice a month. There are aids to accomplish this business in the most realistically efficient way possible—agendas, council rules of procedure, and parliamentary procedure. However, a council or commission is not a homogenous group. As the City of Sandusky’s Code of Conduct puts it:

In addition, there is a misguided belief that city or village council meetings are a type of “town hall” where the audience participates in decision making. They are not. Catherine Mullhaupt, Michigan Townships Association staff attorney, wrote a great piece about this (substitute city/village council/ commission for township board). “Township board meetings are not ‘town hall meetings’ where everyone has a say in the decisions, and they are not meant to be extended complaint sessions or arguments. A township board meeting is not a debate or equal time situation for the public or individual board members. The public does not have a vote in the board’s decisions, and they have the legal entitlement to express their opinions at a board meeting only during the public comment period or a specific public hearing. The idea that all concerns, complaints, opinions, etc., must be expressed at a board meeting is not mandated by law or recommended from a practical standpoint.” (Township Focus, August 2017)

“Councils are composed of individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds, personalities, values, opinions, and goals. Despite this diversity, all have chosen to serve in public office in order to preserve and protect the present and the future of the community. In all cases, this common goal should be acknowledged even as council may ‘agree to disagree’ on contentious issues.”

10 THE REVIEW

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023