Council approves charter amendment to require two years of municipal management experience for city manager

The Eastpointe City Council voted May 6 to place an amendment on the ballot that removes the charter language requiring one year of prior service as a city manager or assistant city manager and instead requires at least two years of municipal management experience for the city manager.

Council member DeMonaco introduced and framed the change as a way to expand the candidate pool by replacing a narrow position‑specific requirement with a broader municipal management requirement; DeMonaco and other supporters said the change doubles the existing one‑year requirement while widening eligible backgrounds. Public commenter Charles Blackwell urged a comprehensive change for pronouns across the charter but the council discussed that a broader rewrite would require a charter commission.

Council and staff also discussed an outdated charter sentence that requires the manager to "file a bond satisfactory to the council." City Treasurer and city attorney representatives told council that bonding for employees is handled through MMRMA (insurance) and that the sentence is obsolete; several council members said removing that one sentence could be considered in a separate action but that it was outside the narrow amendment they were voting to put on the ballot.

Council approved a motion to adopt the simplified amendment language and ballot question wording. The motion passed on a roll call vote with three yes votes and two no votes. The council directed administration to finalize the ballot language that will be presented to voters as part of the charter amendment process.

Why it matters: The change will appear on a future ballot; if approved by voters it will alter the minimum experience the council can require for the city manager and may affect the city's recruitment and candidate pool for that senior administrative post.

Details: The amendment will modify Chapter 3, Section 18 of the Eastpointe charter by striking the clause requiring at least one year as a manager or assistant manager in a city or village and inserting a minimum of two years of municipal management experience. During debate council members raised concerns about restricting candidate pools and whether a higher experience threshold (for example, four years) would unnecessarily limit applicants. The city attorney and treasurer advised that bonding language tied to MMRMA can be removed but that a broader charter rewrite would require a charter commission.

Discussion vs. decision: Council debated scope and phrasing; the formal decision was to approve the proposed charter amendment language and ballot text described in the motion.

Vote: Motion to approve the resolution with the described changes passed (see action record).