Please note that I’ve referred to the Local Historic Districts Act (MCL 399.201, et seq) as the LHDA, the Clarkston ordinance (152.01, et seq of the Clarkston Code of Ordinances) as the Clarkston Ordinance, and the HDC charter proposal as the Charter Proposal.
Discussion:
LHDA, MCL 399.205(7) – Requires compliance with Michigan’s Open Meetings Act (OMA). All business must be conducted at an open meeting and there must be public notice of the time, date, place, and an agenda that includes a listing of each permit application to be reviewed and considered.
Clarkston Ordinance, 152.07(H) – Same as the LHDA.
Charter Proposal – Same as the LHDA and the Clarkston Ordinance. Affirms that commissioners may not do things to evade the OMA. For example, Memoranda of Administrative Approval are prohibited because they are not authorized by the LHDA or the Clarkston Ordinance and were specifically created to avoid additional public meetings because the Memoranda of Administrative Approval allows deliberations and decisions to occur outside of a public meeting in violation of the OMA. Requires that meetings be recorded and uploaded to the city’s website the next day. Minutes must include the speaker, the substance, the decisions, and the reasons for the decisions. The HDC may not discourage anyone from attending its meetings.
Notes:
The HDC has regularly been violating the OMA, which subjects the individual commissioners to civil and criminal liability and the city to civil liability and litigation expense. Though it’s been discussed many times, the HDC inexplicably refuses to record and post recordings of its meetings on the city’s website. At one point, our city manager was told he was unwelcome to attend HDC meetings. The Charter Proposal language clarifies that is unacceptable, since everyone is welcome at a public meeting.
Paid for by Susan Bisio, P.O. Box 1303, Clarkston, MI 48347 with regulated funds.)