1. Legal Framework for Michigan City Councils

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A. State Law & Home‑Rule Cities

• Michigan law divides local municipalities into general law versus home‑rule cities under the Michigan Home Rule Cities Act.

• Home‑rule cities adopt their own charters that define council structure, powers, and election rules. General‑law municipalities follow statutory frameworks.

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B. Legislative Powers & Responsibilities

• City council holds all legislative and policy-making authority not given to other city officers. They adopt ordinances, approve budgets, zoning, contracts, and oversee appointments. Individual councilmembers lack administrative authority unless explicitly empowered.

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C. Council Operations & Open Meetings

• Must abide by Michigan’s Open Meetings Act: all meetings (regular, special) must be publicly noticed (18‑hours for special; regular schedule within 10 days after a new term), open to public, minutes recorded, and posted within 15 days.

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D. Roles and Ethics

• Council sets its internal rules: quorum, agenda structure, consent agendas, committees, decorum. Ethics and transparent communication are emphasized in many municipal rulebooks. 

• Council appoints city manager (in council‑manager systems) and oversees intergovernmental affairs and community representation. 

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2. How it Works: Council‑Manager Form vs Mayor‑Council Form

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Council–Manager (most Michigan cities)

• Council (including mayor) is elected; hires a professional City Manager who runs daily operations.

• Mayor may be elected (ceremonial role, presiding officer) or selected from council depending on charter. 

• Council sets policy; Manager executes policy and oversees staff. Individual councilmembers do not direct staff.

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The major areas of City Council authority and responsibility are:
• Judging the qualification of its own members
• Setting and interpreting rules governing its own proceedings
• Exercising all the powers of the City that the law does not delegate to others
• Legislating for the City
• Appointing certain administrative personnel
• Transacting city business
• Managing the City’s financial operations
• Appointing members of the boards, committees and commissions
• Conducting the City’s intergovernmental affairs
• Protecting the welfare of the city and residents
• Providing community leadership

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Mayor–Council (strong‑mayor) – relatively rare in Michigan

• Mayor has executive powers, veto authority, hires department heads, and oversees day‑to‑day functioning. Council remains legislative. ​

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3. Elections & Terms: Cycle and Determination

Term Lengths

• Traditionally, councilmembers and mayors served two-year terms with elections every odd-numbered year.

• After charter updates (e.g. approved in 2020), many councils, including Sterling Heights and Roseville, moved to four-year staggered terms, starting 2021.

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Staggering

• Council seats are staggered so approximately half of members are elected in each election cycle. That ensures continuity. For example, Roseville elects three council seats at a time in odd‑year general elections. 

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Eligibility and Nomination

• Typical requirements: minimum age (often 18 or 25), residency in municipality for a period, and qualifying with personal statements or petitions per charter or general law. 

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4. Sample Council Meeting

Outline

A typical agenda structure (adapted from MML sample rules):

1. Call to order / roll call

2. Public hearings (for proposed ordinances)

3. Public comment on agenda items

4. Consent agenda (noncontroversial matters like minutes, usual bills)

5. Approval of regular agenda

6. Minutes, bills, communications

7. Committee / officer reports (manager, attorney, etc.)

8. Unfinished business

9. New business

10. Announcements / adjournment 

They may also hold study or work sessions earlier in the day, no binding votes, focused on information exchange. 

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5. Macomb County Context

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A. County Legislative Body: Board of Commissioners

• Macomb County Board of Commissioners is the county-level legislative body, consisting of 13 commissioners, each representing single-member districts.

• Starting with the 2024 election, commissioners now serve 4-year terms (they were 2-year terms earlier). 

• Commissioners set the county budget, supervise county departments, and adopt county-level ordinances. 

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B. Relationship to City Councils

• While city councils govern at the municipal level, county commissioners represent residents at county government, for county-wide services like roads, health department, courts, etc.

• Commissioners don’t oversee city councils directly but councilmembers may interact with them on shared issues like roads, public health, or regional planning.

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C. City Examples within Macomb County

​Sterling Heights

• Council–manager government: Mayor + six councilmembers elected at large.

• Since 2021, all four‑year staggered terms. Prior to that, terms were two years. 

• Council hires City Manager (appointed; not elected) to manage daily affairs. 

Roseville

• Council–manager format: six councilmembers plus mayor, all elected to four‑year terms, staggered, three seats at each odd‑year general election. 

Mt. Clemens, Fraser, Eastpointe, etc.

• Most Macomb cities use similar formats. According to elected officials lists: mayors and council seats have staggered term endings (2025, 2027, etc.). Macomb County Docs

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Key Takeaways

• Michigan city councils are primarily legislative, passing local laws, budgets, and policy; day-to-day operations handled by a manager (in most cities).

• Elections are generally odd‑year; many cities shifted to four-year staggered terms starting 2021.

• Macomb County’s Board of Commissioners governs county-wide operations—distinct from city councils—recently switching to four-year terms beginning 2024. 

• Cities within Macomb (Sterling Heights, Roseville, Eastpointe, Fraser, Mt. Clemens) follow council–manager structure, elect mayors plus councils on staggered four‑year cycles. Macomb County Docs