Kalamazoo City Commission votes to enter closed session over attorney–client communication

The Kalamazoo City Commission voted Monday to enter a closed session to discuss an attorney–client privileged communication, Mayor Anderson said at the special business meeting on June 23, 2025.

The vote came after routine roll call and a four-minute public-comment period in which no one in the chambers spoke. Mayor Anderson told the meeting participants, “I will need a motion to go into closed session to discuss an attorney client privileged communication.”

Before the closed-session motion, the commission handled a request to excuse Commissioner Decker. Commissioner Cooney moved to excuse Decker and Vice Mayor Hess supported the motion; Mayor Anderson called for the ayes and the motion passed on voice vote.

Commissioner Wilson moved to enter the closed session; Commissioner Cooney supported the motion. Clerk Bowen conducted a roll-call vote on the motion to convene the closed session; officials recorded affirmative votes from each commissioner present. The commission then recessed to closed session and said it would not begin the second portion of the meeting until 7:00 p.m. Mayor Anderson told members of the public that those who wished to return for the open-session business later in the evening should not rush and could be back when the meeting resumed.

Because the subject named by the commission was an attorney–client privileged communication, the meeting record available to the public contains no substantive details of the discussion that occurred in the closed session. The commission gave no additional information in open session about the legal matter being discussed or any expected public action following the closed session.

The special business meeting was called to order at the start of the session and recessed for the closed session; the commission scheduled the remainder of its agenda to resume at 7:00 p.m.