The Review Magazine May / June 2021

Municipal Q&A

January/February Municipal Q&A clarification: The positions of councilmember and school board member are incompatible if there is a contract between the two entities, such as the school district paying the city for elections administration. (AG letter 11/22/11) Ordinance Publication Requirements Q. What are the various ordinance publication requirements for the different forms of government in Michigan?

Fourth Class City Act 89.6 Approved ordinances; publication; certificate; plumbing, electric, building codes, adoption; publication. Within 1 week after the passage of any ordinance the same shall be published in some newspaper printed and circulated within the city, and the clerk shall immediately after such publication enter upon the record of ordinances, in a blank space to be left for such purpose under the recorded ordinance, a certificate stating in what newspaper and of what date such publication was made, and sign the same officially, and such certificate shall be prima facie evidence that legal publication of such ordinance has been made. Q. I heard that candidates for elected offices in townships can pay a $100 filing fee instead of collecting signatures on nominating petitions. Are cities and villages allowed to do this? A. Township candidates are authorized to pay a filing fee of $100 in lieu of a nominating petition under Michigan Election law (168.349). Cities and villages do not have this statutory authority. However, a few cities have included such a provision in their charter. Most city and home rule village charters include the number of petition signatures required on nominating petitions (the number varies); where the charter is silent, or reference is made to the statutory number, then the city or village follows this formula (MCL168.544f):

A. For home rule cities and home rule villages, the statutory guidelines (which are later fleshed out in the charter) are:

Home Rule City Act 117.3 Mandatory charter provisions. Each city charter shall provide for… the following:

Adopting, continuing, amending, and repealing the city ordinances and for the publication of each ordinance before it becomes operative. Whether or not provided in its charter, instead of publishing a true copy of an ordinance before it becomes operative, the city may publish a summary of the ordinance. If the city publishes a summary of the ordinance, the city shall include in the publication the designation of a location in the city where a true copy of the ordinance can be inspected or obtained. Home Rule City Act 78.23 Village charter; mandatory provisions. Each village charter shall provide for… the following: The publication of an ordinance or a synopsis of an ordinance before the ordinance becomes operative. General Law Village Act 66.4 Publication of ordinance or synopsis; certification; adoption of state statute by reference; penalty. Within 15 days after an ordinance is passed, the clerk shall publish the ordinance or a synopsis of the ordinance in a newspaper circulated in the village. Immediately after the ordinance or synopsis of the ordinance is published, the clerk shall enter in the record of ordinances, in a blank space to be left for that purpose under the record of the ordinance, a signed certificate, stating the date on which and the name of the newspaper in which the ordinance was published. The certificate is prima facie evidence of the publication of the ordinance or the synopsis. For general law villages and fourth class cities, the complete guidance is in the authorizing statute.

Partisan petition Non-partisan petition Qualifying petition

Population Min Max Min

Max

Min

Max

0 - 9,999 3

10 6

20

9

30

10,000 - 24,999 25,000 - 49,999 50,000 - 74,999 75,000 - 99,999 100,000 - 199,999 200,000 - 499,999 500,000 - 999,999

20 50 40

100

60

150

50 100 100

200

150

300

100 200 200

400

300

600

200 400 400

800

600

1,200

300 500 600

1,000 900

1,500

500 1,000 1,000 2,000 1,500 3,000

1,000 2,000 2,000 4,000 3,000 6,000

* A qualifying petition: may be used by any candidate without political party affiliation who seeks a partisan office. Ann Arbor, Ionia, and Ypsilanti are the only remaining partisan cities in Michigan. The League’s Information Service provides member officials with answers to questions on a vast array of municipal topics. Call 1.800.653.2483 or email info@mml.org.

MAY / JUNE 2021

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THE REVIEW