City Charter moves to Village Council for approval next week

Members of the City Charter Commission at their meeting last Thursday night. From left: William Brinkman, Denise Collins, Mark Dresch, Michael Sessions, Herb Mahony, Jeff Wallace, Dan Geyer, Jack Gould, and Samantha Tank. Missing: Lou Way.

by Marsha Chartrand

On Thursday night, January 26, a small audience of nine residents and property owners within the village gathered to hear the City Charter Commission make its final discussions, presentations, and decisions on the draft City Charter that will soon be delivered to the Governor’s office for approval.

First, however, the finalized document will need to be approved by Village Council at its Feb. 6 meeting. Assuming that is done, Village Manager Michael Sessions will personally deliver the Charter to Lansing, about one week ahead of the 90-day deadline given to the Commission for completing its work.

“We started with one goal in mind, and that was regardless of being a village or city, we could keep the character of how this community has been forever,“ said Jeff Wallace as he introduced the Charter to the audience. “We will still do things primarily the way we always have.“

First of all, all elected and appointed positions within the City will remain non-partisan, just as they are in the current Village structure. Some services will remain under the auspices of the City (DPW, water and sewer service, zoning and planning, etc.); some new services will be added (in particular, elections and assessing); and many will be contracted out, especially in the beginning. Village employees also will remain in place regardless of cityhood.

The City will retain a Manager/Council format, which is in keeping with how it has operated for 150+ years. “We feel that this works well currently and will work best as the community continues to grow,“ Wallace stated. He also noted that even though Manchester is definitely considered a “small town“ by any standards (2,037 population in the 2020 census), about 74% of communities with a population of 2,000 and larger in Michigan are cities.

Once the Charter is signed and approved by Gov. Whitmer, the time of which may vary depending on circumstances, the village will seek authorization from Washtenaw County to set an election. At that election, the Charter will be voted on by the electorate and, if passed, Manchester becomes a City immediately. Because of this immediate transition, there will be on the same ballot a simultaneous election for six new trustees and a Mayor, who would begin serving immediately. Should the ballot on becoming a City fail to pass, the election for new Council members and Mayor would be rendered null and void.

Asked when the election would be held, Wallace explained that the County grants permission for a municipality to hold an election, and that it could be possible, in a best-case scenario, for it to happen as soon as November 2023. It would depend upon the timing of the Governor’s approval as well as County guidelines for elections. Wallace was also asked what the feedback from Manchester Township as regards to the village potentially becoming a city was, and Wallace referred the audience member to the FAQs from the Citizens Advisory Committee, which are available via a link on the Village home page.

At this time, Commissioner Mahony moved to make a resolution to approve the final draft of the Charter and transfer it to Gov. Whitmer upon approval of the Village Council. The motion was seconded by Geyer and passed unanimously by those in attendance.

This does not complete the work of the City Charter Commission, but there will be no more official meetings held until word is received back from the state, with the approval or disapproval of the Attorney General and/or the Governor. If further corrections are required to make the Charter acceptable to the state, the Commission will resume its meeting schedule as needed.

Village President Pat Vailliencourt commented from the audience that those who attended the evening’s meeting should take the responsibility to share accurate information about the cityhood process going forward.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.