City status updated at Village Council meeting
This slide from a presentation by the Michigan Municipal League describes why some villages decide to opt for city status.
At the Monday, Oct. 21 meeting of the Manchester Village Council, Village President Pat Vailliencourt wanted to make clear to those in attendance a few key points about the village’s quest to become a city.
“Our border survey that was recently submitted to the state contains the exact same boundaries as the village has today,” she said. “There have been many rumors that there will be annexation to ‘square off’ the boundaries and that is simply not true.”
She explained that although the state boundary commission does, indeed, have final say on the eventual boundaries of a city, there are no instances that anyone knows of where borders have been “squared off” by order of the state. And, if by chance the boundary commission did mandate such a move in Manchester’s case, the village would have the option to decide not to move forward with cityhood.
“We have pledged to our residents that we have no plans for annexation or ‘land grabs,'” Vailliencourt added. “This is just a fearful rumor, and it is not accurate.”
The boundary commission’s review will take “a while” to be processed due to other matters within its jurisdiction taking precedence. Village Manager Jeff Wallace indicated that it may be completed by the end of this year.
Vailliencourt also noted that at the October Manchester Township board meeting the board had agreed to contact its attorney to determine who they could hire to review and challenge the recommendations of the Citizens Advisory Committee and its resulting report, focusing on the impact to the township.
“It is unfortunate that before thousands of dollars would be spent on such an effort, that no one from the township came to the Committee or to Council to ask these questions,” she said. “These issues could be answered if we would just sit down and talk about it.”
For its own part, the township has released a statement whose opening paragraph states, “While the Manchester Township Board of Trustees recognizes and respects the Manchester Village Council’s right to explore the viability of transitioning from a village form of governance to a Home Rule city, this board does not feel the time is right for such an endeavor. As elected representatives for both township and village residents, the Manchester Township Board of Trustees firmly believes our community leaders, business owners, educators, residents and all elected officials should work collaboratively to strengthen one Manchester, rather than fracturing into political entities.”
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