Lansing committee sets Aug. 11 public hearing on ordinance to penalize council absences after public complaints

Two residents urged the City of Lansing’s Committee of the Whole on June 28 to adopt firm attendance standards for city council members, and the committee voted unanimously to set an Aug. 11 public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would define absences and allow censures and other penalties.

The proposed ordinance would amend the Lansing Codified Ordinances Chapter 2.10 by adding Section 210.06 to define “council meeting,” “committee meeting,” “absence,” and “excused absence,” and to establish a scale of penalties and a process for requesting excused absences under authority cited to City Charter section 3-204. Councilmember Pali Vanoglu moved to set the public hearing for Aug. 11; the motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: The ordinance would create a formal local mechanism to respond to repeated unexcused absences by elected members, a matter that residents said affects neighborhood outreach and…