Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legal Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City attorney: charter amendment on November ballot; draft kratom ordinance and housing commission fixes coming
Summary
City attorney updated council on a November charter amendment limiting interim department-head appointments, said the FDA is reviewing kratom but presented a draft local ordinance, and reported work on housing commission and other ordinance amendments.
City Attorney Schroeder briefed the Warren City Council on a range of legal and ordinance matters on Tuesday, including a charter amendment the governor approved for the November ballot, a proposed local ordinance on kratom and work to bring the housing commission’s governing documents into compliance with state law.
Schroeder said the governor signed approval to place a charter amendment on the November ballot; the Attorney General approved the ballot language as "fair, objective, and accurate." If approved by voters, the amendment would limit the mayor’s ability to appoint department heads to acting or interim status to three months without council extension, which the amendment would allow for an additional three months during a formal selection process.
On kratom, Schroeder said the FDA recently announced it will start the federal process to consider regulating kratom under the Controlled Substances Act. Because federal action can be lengthy, the city has prepared a draft municipal ordinance regulating kratom sales and locations under local health/safety authority; Schroeder suggested the legal-affairs committee meet with police to refine the draft before a first reading to council.
Schroeder also told council staff has drafted amendments to make the housing commission ordinance consistent with Michigan’s Housing Act and to clarify the employment status of housing commission employees in light of state law and recent case law. He said drafts of a civil-service ordinance revision, an ethics ordinance, and a special-event permitting ordinance are also in progress.
Council voted to receive and file the legal update.
