Owosso council approves contract with Ludington Electric Inc.; council member abstains

Owosso City Council approved a contract with Ludington Electric Inc. after one council member recused themself and temporarily left the meeting room.

Council members voted to allow the member to abstain and have them step out before the formal contract vote. A council member moved to approve the contract; the motion was supported and carried on a roll-call vote with all voting members present voting yes.

The council first discussed whether the recused member needed to leave the room and how to record the abstention. Mayor Tice said the council must vote to permit the abstention and that the member must leave the chambers before the vote. After the member departed, a council member moved to approve the contract with Ludington Electric Inc.; the motion received support and was held as a roll-call vote. Pro Tem Haber, Council members Owens, Fear, Osmer and Olsen, and Mayor Tice each voted "yes." The clerk then read that the contract approvals for Ludington Electric Inc. were approved and the recused council member was invited back into the chambers.

The transcript did not provide details of the contract scope, term, or dollar amount; those details were not specified during the recorded discussion and are not included in this report.

The council handled the recusal procedure on the record before voting and then returned the recused member to the meeting after the vote.