Council considers hiring attorney for cityhood effort

Using public funds to hire an attorney who specializes in helping communities incorporate as cities is being considered by the Oxford Village Council.
“At this point, the expertise that is required to accomplish the objective (of cityhood) far exceeds the capabilities of our group,” said Tracy Miller, founder of a pro-cityhood citizens’ committee and husband of Councilwoman Renee Donovan, to council Tuesday night.
Miller told council that after “approximately eight months” of bi-weekly meetings, information distribution and talking to residents, the cityhood committee “has a clear consensus of the citizens of this community, and that consensus is that they believe the only alternative for this community is one government under a city form of government.”
“Our committee believes that that task is much greater than we have the capability of handling,” he said. “In order for it to be successful, this council needs to employ a professional person to accomplish that.”
With that, Miller introduced attorney Tom Ryan, who’s guided “several communities” through the cityhood process, including the City of the Village of Clarkston, which hired him as special counsel in 1988.
Ryan told council that cityhood is a “very, very political process” and a “time-consuming process.”
The attorney then proceeded to give a “quick overview” of the process necessary for achieving incorporation as a city.
Ryan recommended that “no more than two” council members meet with the cityhood committee to “decide boundaries” for the proposed city.
He said the services of a professional surveyor will need to be employed because the “legal boundaries have to be exact.”
Miller told council the cityhood committee has a surveyor who’s been given a “tremendous stack of information” and “is prepared to go forward.”
A petition for incorporation containing a “legally sufficient” number of valid signatures must be submitted to the state Boundary Commission, which examines it to make sure it “meets the statutory criteria.”
If the petition is determined to be valid, the Boundary Commission sets up a public hearing in the county where the incorporation is being proposed within 60 to 270 days “after the petition is received and deemed to be legally sufficient.”
An “adjudication hearing” is then held in Lansing sometime after the public hearing.
If the Boundary Commission deems the village has made a case for incorporation and approves the petition, an at-large charter commission must be elected by village voters to draft a city charter within a “specific time period.”
“You sorta lose control at that point,” Ryan told council. The municipality would “still operate as a village,” but the responsibility for writing the new city charter would be totally up to the separately-elected commission.
When completed, the proposed city charter must go before village voters for approval at the ballot box. If approved, the village then officially incorporates as a city on a selected date.
Because village residents are also township residents who pay township taxes, should the village incorporate as a city (which is totally independent of the township), the two municipalities would have to work out an “allocation/debt split” in which the former village/new city would receive a “pro rata share” of the “assets and/or liabilities of the township” based on the total State Equalized Value of each community’s properties, Ryan explained.
Ryan warned that the cityhood process “doesn’t happen quickly.”
“It’s kind of a glacial process,” he said.
Councilman Dave Bailey asked how long it took to incorporate Clarkston as a city.
“It took about 3 to 3? years,” Ryan responded. “A lot depends on the (Boundary Commission’s) docket and level of opposition, how far the opposition is willing to go.”
In Clarkston’s case, Ryan said Independence Township opposed cityhood and filed suit in court to stop it, which “elongated the procedure somewhat” and was ultimately unsuccessful.
Council President Allen asked Ryan, “From a standpoint of ethics, is it ethical for a village who wants to become a city to assume the cost and pay special counsel to do that?”
“I would say yes,” Ryan replied. “It’s a legitimate municipal expenditure because your doing the public’s business and you’re setting in motion the idea as to whether or not you want to change the form of government. In my opinion, it would be ethical to explore that.”
Miller wanted to make it “very clear that there’s been absolutely no village funds expended up to this point for anything that (the cityhood committee’s) done with the exception of allowing us” the bi-weekly use of a village meeting room, which is available for public use anyway.
Manager Mark Slown asked Ryan what level of involvement will be required from the village administration and staff in the cityhood process.
Verifying the validity of petition signatures and supplying certain information to the Boundary Commission will be the administration and staff’s only responsibilities, the attorney said.
Ryan said the “paperwork” and “grunt-work will be done by the (cityhood) committee” and “minimal effort” will be required on the part of the village council.
When the incorporation petitions are prepared, Ryan said they will “probably be brought to council to look at” and give its “blessing or approval.”
“That resolution could be attached (to the petitions) to show the Boundary Commission your support,” the attorney said.
Councilman Weber asked how Clarkston’s doing since its incorporation as a city.
“So far, their experience seems to be working,” Ryan said.
It was the consensus of council to act on whether or not it wishes to hire Ryan as a “special counsel” for the cityhood issue at the Tuesday, Dec. 23 regular village meeting.
“I think we’d be silly as elected officials not to listen to the call (for cityhood) because that’s obviously a cross-sectional call from our community,” Allen said.

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